S. Africa Judge Overrules Police, Frees Suspect in Assassinations

A judge Monday overruled police investigators and ordered the release of a former policeman detained in the assassination of two white left-wing activists.

Police had opposed the release of Calla Botha, saying there was evidence linking him to a right-wing group responsible for political assassinations.

But Johannesburg Supreme Court Justice J. C. Kriegler granted an application filed by Botha’s father, a retired police colonel, seeking release of his son. Kriegler said there was insufficient evidence connecting Botha to death squads.

Botha was detained without charge on Nov. 30 as part of an investigation into the assassinations of David Webster, a university lecturer and human rights activist, and Anton Lubowski, the only white officeholder in Namibia’s main independence movement, the South-West Africa People’s Organization.

Both were shot outside their homes--Webster in Johannesburg on May 1 and Lubowski in Windhoek, Namibia, on Sept. 12.

In a court affidavit last week, police Brig. Floris Mostert described Botha as the “handler” for Donald Acheson, who is being held in Windhoek awaiting trial for Lubowski’s murder.

Another former policeman, Ferdinand Barnard, is still in custody in Johannesburg on the case. Mostert said Botha and Barnard were held briefly in June after they were uncovered monitoring the movements of one of Webster’s activist colleagues.