Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, dies

Dimitri Tsafendas

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, dies — Dimitri Tsafendas

Dimitri Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, died at the age of 81 at the Sterkfontein psychiatric hospital on the West Rand. Dimitri Tsafendas, parliamentary messenger, was declared schizophrenic three months before he knifed to death Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. After killing Verwoerd he claimed that he had a giant tapeworm inside him, which spoke to him. He was declared unfit to stand trial and was sent to Pretoria Central Prison, where he spent 28 years on death row. During the last five years of his life he was kept in a psychiatric ward for infirm men .

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01Science in africa,'Once around the Prickly Pear',From: Science in africa,[Online], avaolable at:www.scienceinafrica.co.za,[Accessed: 02 October 2013]
02Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, dies. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013460

South African History Online (2011) 'Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, dies', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013460 (Accessed: 2 October 2026).

South African History Online, Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013460, (accessed 2 October 2026).

"Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, dies." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013460. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Tsafendas, murderer of South African Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd in 1966, dies." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0013460.