Butana Almond Nofomela

Butana Almond Nofomela (born 1957) is a former South African security policeman. On 19 October 1989, hours before he was scheduled to be executed for an unrelated non-political murder, Nofomela confessed to his involvement in a police assassination squad known as Vlakplaas that killed and terrorized opponents of apartheid. Nofomela was granted a stay of execution so he could give more information. His death sentence for the unrelated murder was commuted to life imprisonment and he was released on parole in 2009.

Death sentence Nofomela was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of the murder of a white farmer, Johannes Lourens, in November 1987.

Confession On the evening of 19 October 1989, Nofomela made a confession from his death row cell in Pretoria, just hours before he was due to go to the gallows. He announced that he had information to disclose about his membership from 1980 in a death squad operated by the South African Security Police. He gave accounts of torture and murder that took place at the notorious Vlakplaas police farm. Nofomela identified a retired captain in the security police, Dirk Coetzee, as his old commander. Coetzee, who was hiding in Europe, confirmed that he had led one of five "hit squads" run out of a restricted police base at Vlakplaas near Pretoria.

Release During his sentence Nofomela expressed remorse for his deeds. In an interview he reflected on how his life has changed: "Prison has been a blessing in disguise; I’m remorseful, but my eyes have been opened. I appeal to all those I've wronged to forgive me." Nofomela was released from the Pretoria Central Prison on parole in September 2009, after he had served 22 years in prison.