Coups and murder: the sinister world of apartheid´s secret mercenaries
(The Guardian South Africa)

A South African militia that claimed to be behind the murder of a UN chief was involved in deadly work across the continent, its members sayKeith Maxwell, the self-declared `commodore` of the South African Institute for Maritime Research (SAIMR), liked to dress up on special occasions in the garish costume of a 18th-century admiral, with a three-cornered hat, brass buttons and a cutlass. Ordinary members of his organisation were expected to show up in crisp naval whites.Gathered together in upmarket restaurants, or the quiet of the Wemmer Pan naval base in south-central Johannesburg, they had the air of eccentric history buffs. Maxwell talked about the group´s roots in a Napoleonic-era treasure-hunting syndicate, and told outsiders it was still focused on deep-sea exploration.I couldn´t prove it, but I was convinced that he was financed and directed by MI6 Continue reading...