Eugene Alexander de Kock (born 29 January 1949) is a former South African Police colonel, torturer, and assassin, active under the apartheid government.

Nicknamed "Prime Evil"[1][2][3] by the press, De Kock was the commanding officer of C10, a counterinsurgency unit of the SAP that kidnapped, tortured, and murdered numerous accused terrorists from the 1980s to the early 1990s.

Following South Africa's transition to democracy in 1994, De Kock disclosed the full scope of C10's crimes and acknowledged the loss the families suffered of the victims he was instructed to murder, while testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In 1979, he co-founded Koevoet, an SAP counterinsurgency unit tasked with combating the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) during the South African Border War.

While testifying at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, De Kock recounted one incident during his time serving in the Border War in Angola.

''In 1983, the SAP transferred De Kock to C10, a counter-insurgency unit headquartered at a farm called Vlakplaas, located 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Pretoria.

De Kock, who had established a reputation for commitment during his tours in Rhodesia and Namibia, was promoted as the unit's commanding officer two years later.

[9] De Kock first became prominent during his testimony in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1998, during which he made multiple revelations relating to ANC deaths.

[19] Masutha further said that De Kock had expressed remorse for his crimes and had co-operated with authorities to recover the remains of a number of his victims.