The name Dylann Roof carries with it a sinister reminder of the atrocities we as a nation have committed, once again brought to the world’s attention when pictures of Roof emerged wearing a jacket with the old South African flag on. Some are saying those photos may have been doctored, but to the world that will matter very little.
A name that might be less familiar to some is Barend Hendrik Strydom, a man so despicable that the fact he is allowed to walk amongst us is truly frightening. Here’s Max du Preez describing Barend’s case on News24, where he is referred to as Strijdom:
[He] was 23 years old when he walked onto Strijdom Square in Pretoria on 15 November 1988 and killed seven black people as if they were stray dogs. A day earlier he had killed another black man as a “trial run”…
Strijdom only spent three years behind bars. In 1992 the De Klerk government swept Judge Harms’s words off the table, declared that Strijdom was a political prisoner and set him free.
After his release he told the newspaper Rapport: “I am not sorry. To have regrets would have implied I did something wrong. I did nothing wrong. If necessary, I would murder again. My action was not impulsive but fully planned ahead of time”…
In a bizarre and disturbing television interview Strijdom declared himself a “Boer freedom fighter”. He smiled when he walked with the journalist around Strijdom Square, pointing out where and how he had shot his victims, saying it made him “feel good”.
You can have a good look at just how sick of a puppy we’re dealing with here at the four-minute mark in the above video. Remorse for his actions? Not even close.
You can be pretty sure Barend has more than a few old South African flags hanging in his closet.
