1996 Shoprite bombing

The 1996 Shoprite bombing was a white-supremacist terrorist attack that took place on 24 December 1996 after bomb was detonated at a Shoprite (South Africa) supermarket in Worcester, South Africa killing 4 people and wounding several others.[1] A second bomb placed in a tree down the street at a local pharmacy was also detonated, injuring 2 sitting nearby.[1][2]

Planning and motive

The four men involved in the bombings, who were all members of the Israel Vision religious sect, were Abraham "Koper" Myburgh, Cliff Barnard, Jan "Voetbol" van der Westhuizen and Stefaans Coetzee. Coetzee was 17 at the time of bombing.[3] All four men were part of the Afrikaner nationalist, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist paramilitary organisation Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, or AWB for short.[3]

Bombing

On 24 December 1996, Coetzee walked into a Shoprite store and discreetly planted a bomb in a Christmas tree decoration.[4] The attackers left four explosive devices, only blasting two, despite this the explosion killed four civilians (including three children).[5][6]

Abraham "Koper" Myburgh, Cliff Barnard, Jan van der Westhuizen, and Stefaans Coetzee were all found guilty of murder. With the exception of Coetzee, who received a 40-year sentence, each of the men received life terms. Coetzee was released on parole July 2015. He has since recanted his views and met with the relatives of some of his victims in an act of reconciliation.[7][8][9]

References
  1. Daley, Suzanne (December 25, 1996). "Bombing in South Africa Kills 3 and Wounds 50" – via NYTimes.com.
  2. "My pain can't compare to pain of my victims - Worcester bomber". News24.
  3. Potgieter, De Wet (December 20, 2012). "Meet the youngest Worcester Bomber – now a poster boy for reconciliation". Daily Maverick.
  4. "Victims and offender dialogue on 1996 Worcester bombing | South African Government".
  5. "A Christmas Nightmare in Post-apartheid South Africa". William & Mary Law School. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  6. "Meet the youngest Worcester Bomber – now a poster boy for reconciliation". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  7. "AWB member jailed for 1996 murder". News24. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  8. News24, Jenna Etheridge. "Worcester bomber now 'a beacon of hope'". News24. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  9. By (1997-10-24). "3 SOUTH AFRICAN BOMBERS GOING TO PRISON FOR LIFE". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
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