Umbrella Murder

Testimony before the TRC also revealed that the apartheid-era South African government used biological weapons to murder political opponents and to maintain peace and stability. While many of the activities of the so-called Project Coast headed by Wouter Basson remain secret, witnesses told the Commission about producing umbrellas with poisoned tips and making anthrax-infected chocolates and cigarettes. A leading scientist admitted that he tried to develop a serum that would render black women infertile. At the government s request, other scientists tried to create a bacteria that would only kill or injure black people. Thankfully, their efforts failed. 

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