Steeped in Blood

by Klatzow, David; Walker, Sylvia

• ISBN13: 9781868729227
• ISBN10: 1868729222
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-15
• Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa

Summary

For a very long period of time, Dr. David Klatzow was the only independent forensic investigator in South Africa. During the apartheid years, a time of police brutality and state cover-ups, he was the man human rights lawyers called when they needed independent forensic evidence to uncover the truth. Although some cases are still unsolved, for him a case is never closed. The truth is out there, and he will find it. Klatzow's investigations into countless notorious cases, such as the Guguletu Seven, the Trojan Horse, the murders of human rights lawyer Bheki Mlangeni and activist Dr. David Webster, and the bombing of Khotso House and Cosatu House, made him a controversial public figure. Hampered by the apartheid police and the legal system, he was always fearless and earned a reputation of being an 'ANC supporter', even though he always remained impartial. On a non-political level, he was instrumental in changing the testing mechanism for drunk driving in the 1980s and became an expert in fire investigations. One of his most enduring interests is uncovering the truth behind the Helderberg airplane crash. Through a detailed analysis of the findings of the Margo Commission of Inquiry and having sifted through all available evidence, he is convinced that the official version of the story is far from the truth. More recently, Klatzow investigated the Paarl Press fire, the assassination of Brett Kebble and the murder of Inge Lotz. Fascinating reading for anyone interested in crime and current affairs; puts into perspective much of the information one hears about in the news.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. x
Author's Note	p. xii
Abbreviations	p. xiv
Setting Sail on My Voyage of Discovery	p. 1
A Scholar and a Gentleman	p. 17
Alcohol Is a Good Friend, Just Don't Overdo the Friendship	p. 34
The 'Hired Guns' of the Insurance Industry	p. 47
The Expert Who Never Was	p. 58
Queensberry Rules	p. 64
Kinross: A Black Day in South Africa's History	p. 77
It's Sad When the State Goes Bad	p. 84
A Place Called Vlakplaas	p. 94
The Murder of Ashley Kriel	p. 104
The Trojan Horse Massacre: Not My Finest Hour	p. 113
Orders to Eliminate, Not Illuminate	p. 119
The Devil Is in the Detail	p. 128
Never Send the Fox to Investigate Crimes in the Hen House	p. 134
Death, Drugs and Dirty Tricks	p. 144
Post-Mortems: The Good, the Bad and the Totally Inept	p. 157
The Mystery of Flight 295, the Helderberg	p. 165
The Naked Truth	p. 197
Till Death Us Do Part	p. 205
Bent Coppers?: The Murder of Inge Lotz	p. 216
Smoke and Mirrors: The Death of Brett Kebble	p. 228
The Dynamic Investment That Shrank	p. 240
Too Good to Be True	p. 250
Creativity Knows No Bounds	p. 258
Opinions, Lies and Simple Truth	p. 264
Condemned to Repeat History	p. 272
Appendices	p. 279
Bibliography	p. 305
Index	p. 308
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