Right wing Wit Kommando bombs academic’s office

The office of a member of Prime Minister P.W. Botha's team, responsible for drawing up plans for a Southern African Constellation of States, Professor Jan Lombard, was destroyed at the University of Pretoria. The aims of the proposed constellation included inducing neighbouring states to deny bases to guerrilla forces seeking the armed overthrow of government in SA; curbing Russian influence in these states; strengthening economic ties in the subcontinent; and, prevailing on them to 'display some moderation' in criticising SA's internal policies. The government proposed to use its economic power to secure these objectives by means of incentives and rewards to countries which complied with the initiative. The Black states, including the independent 'homelands' rejected the idea, but the SA government was hoping to sell the concept to the White electorate, who would be going to the polls in two weeks time. An extreme right wing group, the Wit Kommando (White Commando), foreign White expatriates opposed to any relaxing of apartheid principles, claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. One source states the year as 1979, but gives no specific date.