With the consent of Media24’s attorney, Willem de Klerk, the book described the
“Third Minister” as follows: He was still alive, had a holiday home on the Eastern
Cape coastline, had visited Bird Island in 1987 (on a fishing trip together with
his two deceased colleagues and other guests) and was in the final run when a
successor to President PW Botha was elected.
That “Third Minister” could only have been Barend du Plessis and none other. On
that Sunday and thereafter, he received hundreds of messages from people who
immediately had recognised him from the article, expressing complete disbelief
and disgust with the article.
In an interview with Rapport of the following Sunday, 12 August 2018, Barend du
Plessis confirmed that he was the only person that could fit the description of
“The Third Minister” and rejected with contempt, any suggestion that he was a paedophile.
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