Dirk Coetzee (15 April 1945 – 7 March 2013) was co-founder and commander of the covert South African Security Police unit based at Vlakplaas.
Coetzee publicly revealed the existence of the Vlakplaas death squads in 1989, making himself a target of a failed assassination attempt.
[2] He joined the South African Police Service on 1 April 1970 and was nominated the best student for that year[2] In November 1973, he received counter-insurgency training and was then sent to Rhodesia as part of a South African Police contingent during the Rhodesian Bush War.
[2] Coetzee was promoted again, becoming the Commanding Officer of Section C, at Vlakplaas, a secret security police farm near Pretoria on 1 August 1980.
[3][4] His role as Vlakplaas commander ended after 18 months, following a disaster when two of his operatives were arrested on a sortie in Swaziland.
[2] During this time, an internal disciplinary inquiry found him guilty of insubordination, obscene phone calls and distribution of a pornographic video[citation needed].
Jacques Pauw and Martin Welz of the Rapport newspaper first met Dirk Coetzee in late 1984.
[6]: 16 Later meetings he would describe to the journalists the security police's murders and assassinations of anti-apartheid activists.
[4][7][6]: 29 After exposing the existence of the unit,[7][8] he went on the run, staying in 38 houses in four countries – including a short while in London.