Shocking apartheid secret laid bare
IN the late 1980s, serious allegations surfaced about three prominent National Party cabinet ministers. It was said they were regularly abusing young boys on an island just off the coast of Port Elizabeth.
From opposite ends, a brave policeman and a driven journalist investigate. Mark Minnie and Chris Steyn independently uncover evidence of a dark secret. But the case only surfaces briefly before it disappears.
Thirty years on, the two finally connect the dots to expose this shocking story of criminality, cover-ups and official complicity in the rape and possible murder of children, most of them vulnerable and black.
The Lost Boys of Bird Island is a shocking exposé of an alleged paedophile ring. In an excellent foreword, Marianne Thamm writes: “While many ordinary people can, at a push, imagine themselves in the mind of a criminal – be it a thief, a cheat, an embezzler or even a murderer – it is virtually impossible to fathom the mind of a child sex offender, Perhaps it is because this crime goes so against nature.”
Thankfully, the book is not graphic when it comes to what took place on the Island. What it is, though, is a thoroughly exciting read and a wonderful insight into the world of a brave, conscientious and determined policeman and an equally courageous and dogged journalist. Minnie ends with a desperate plea: “If anyone is out there who has knowledge about any of the boys, I hope they’ll come forward.” Two of the three cabinet ministers are identified, the third isn’t… and he is still alive. Sadly, Mark Minnie died the day I completed this review.