The mostly untold
story of Koevoet –
the South African Police’s highly successful counter-insurgency
unit.
Initially based on the Selous Scouts of Rhodesia, it was formed in
1979 and deployed in Namibia until independence in 1989 when it was
disbanded as a sop to the UN.
During its almost ten year existence it fought in 1 615 contacts and
killed or captured 3 225 of SWAPO’s PLAN soldiers — the
equivalent of almost six battalions of troops. But it paid a high
price in blood and lost almost 160 policemen killed in action with
another 949 wounded — more grievous casualties than
any other South African fighting unit since World War II.
