A South African court has ruled the former head of the apartheid-era ‘Project Coast’ program must face disciplinary proceedings
Cape Town cardiologist Dr. Wouter Basson, who gained notoriety as the head of a secretive chemical and biological warfare program during apartheid, has failed in his latest effort to avoid disciplinary proceedings.
The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, earlier this year turned down an application by the 75-year-old Basson for a permanent stay of the proceedings before the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Basson subsequently applied for leave to appeal, which was also turned down. The court found that the four charges he is facing are so serious that he has to face the music and that no appeal in this regard would succeed.
In December 2013, Basson was found guilty of unprofessional conduct following a disciplinary hearing that investigated complaints related to his actions in the early 1980s, when he led the apartheid government’s chemical and biological warfare initiative, known as Project Coast.
His sentencing proceedings began in January 2015, but were halted due to a number of factors, including legal proceedings for the recusal of committee members. The proceedings against him have not been concluded to date.
Basson, now a cardiologist practising in the Western Cape, served in the South African Defence Force (SADF) from 1980 to 1995. During 2000 and 2001, complaints were filed against Basson with the HPCSA relating to alleged unprofessional conduct. The complaints relate to his involvement in the SADF during the 1980s, in his capacity as head of Project Coast.
In the early 2000s, Basson faced 67 charges, but he was acquitted on all charges in 2005. Extracts of Basson’s evidence at his criminal trial were presented to the court by the HPCSA during his application for a stay of the proceedings. It also presented the affidavit of Prof Steven Miles, who will serve as its expert witness in the disciplinary proceedings.
The four charges Basson is due to face include that around 1986 to 1988 and 1992, as Project Officer at Delta G, he coordinated the production of various drugs and tear gases on a major scale. These include the production of Methaqualone — also known as Mandrax, which is a sedative drug. The usual effects include relaxation, euphoria, and drowsiness, also reducing the heart rate and respiration. Larger doses can cause depression, a lack of muscular coordination, and slurred speech. An overdose can cause delirium, convulsions, hypertonia, and death through respiratory arrest, the court noted.
Basson’s evidence at the criminal trial was that these substances, including the gases, were created to conduct crowd control. He said at the time: “You want to break the cohesion of the crowd.” He explained that protesters who inhaled the gases “just want to go home to lie down and die”.
But it was argued on his behalf that the intention was not to harm or kill people; the opposite was his intention. The submission was that, if there was a violent crowd, one could disperse them with force or attempt to develop a substance to neutralise aggression. Miles, however, maintained in a summary of the evidence to the court that Basson’s actions were unethical as he had manufactured large amounts of toxins which could be lethal.
The primary conclusion by Miles was that Basson, as a practising medical doctor, violated the ethics of the medical profession by being instrumental in the production of drugs and teargas, using these chemicals in mortars and supplying substances to tranquillise victims. Basson, in his leave to appeal application, objected to the court having considered Miles’ view in finding that he should face his disciplinary hearing.
He said these facts were not contained in an affidavit, but the court rejected this and said the allegations remained serious. The court also slammed his argument that he would face prejudice if the hearing went ahead after all these years.
