Ciskei leader acquitted of ordering murder of rival

JOHANNESBURG - Brigadier Oupa Gqozo, leader of South Africa's Ciskei 'homeland', was found not guilty in Bisho yesterday of the murder of a political rival which he allegedly acknowledged ordering, writes Karl Maier.

Judge William Heath said the state had failed to prove beyond all doubt that Brig Ggozo ordered the January 1991 murder of the former Ciskei Defence Force chief Major-General Charles Sebe. Brig Gqozo's bodyguard was also found not guilty. The state had built its case around interviews Brig Gqozo gave to five journalists shortly after the murder in which he allegedly boasted about ordering Sebe's death.

Brig Gqozo came to power in a March 1990 coup d'etat.