'Apartheid can never be forgotten': Phumzile Van Damme on BBC documentary and 'denialists'

The recent release of a documentary chronicling atrocities committed by apartheid-era serial killer Louis van Schoor has sparked a heated debate.

Van Schoor, a former security guard, admitted, in a documentary by BBC to fatally shooting over 39 black men and boys over a three-year period in the 1980s.

Former DA MP and spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme said the documentary was hard to watch, adding it would “shatter” the hearts of those with good hearts. 

“This was difficult to watch. Difficult is an understatement. I had to pause numerous times to breathe. Every South African needs to watch this but may I take the liberty to add a heavy trigger warning. It will shatter the hearts of those with good hearts,” she said.

“Apartheid can never be forgotten, ever. Do not submit to those who want the past glossed over because it forces them to contend with parts of themselves they try to forget. Never relent to those who prefer it not to be spoken about because it makes them uncomfortable with themselves and their God. History lives not only because it is recorded but because it is told. Do not have it relegated to a sin. It must live on.”

She tackled ongoing debate in the political arena that “apartheid should be forgotten because it is in the past”. She believed apartheid should not be forgotten, as many families and African people still live with the impact of the oppressive system. 

“The man was a serial killer of black boys and men and the apartheid government gave him only a gentle slap on the wrist. Forget apartheid, it ended? It is only those with guilty consciences that insist apartheid must be forgotten. We shall not help you with the redemption you think is offered by our forgetting,” she said.

“Stand before the mirror, confront your contribution to it and don’t make the burden of your sins ones that must be collectively shouldered by forced collective amnesia. The amnesia is yours alone to try to enforce on your mind. Your sins are yours and yours alone. For the innocent and its victims.” 

Van Damme said such documentaries were a reminder about South Africa's past and how the names of those who committed crimes should not be forgotten.

“Monsters such as Wouter Basson, Hendrik Verwoerd and Van Schoor represent some of the worst atrocities of apartheid. Do not gloss over their sins.

“History serves the purpose of not only recording humanity’s past but a reminder of what should never be again. Their names serve as a stark reminder of the cruelty and inhumanity that characterised apartheid. Their crimes must neither be forgotten nor repeated. Their names must not be forgotten.” 

Despite confessing to killing scores of people, Van Schoor, in interviews with the BBC, remains defiant and unrepentant, insisting his actions were justified under apartheid's laws. He was convicted of seven murders and served 12 years in prison, a sentence widely viewed as inadequate given the scale of his crimes.

“Watching his documentary, this guy is a psychopath and shows no remorse, typical serial killer behaviour,” said Buthelezi Mpumelelo on social media. 

Joining the debate, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said South Africans needed to accept their past and build a future. 

“To be able to move forward and build the Rainbow Nation that Archbishop Desmond Tutu so eloquently promoted, we need to accept our past and plan together how to build the future we want. I was deeply touched watching this, but proud of this lady for her humanity and empathy,” he said. 

In an opinion piece published by the Sunday Times, EFF leader Julius Malema spoke about Ursula Haverbeck-Wetzel, who in public platforms said the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of millions of Jews between 1941 and 1945, was “the biggest and most sustainable lie in history”.

He drew parallels, saying in South Africa there were some politicians who downplay apartheid's horrors, labelled as “apartheid denialist”.

As South Africa continues its journey towards healing, the debate continues: 

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