The Lost Boys of Bird Island: three apartheid ministers named in paedophilia ring

News24 has released information about three ministers who were central figures in a paedophilia ring during the apartheid era.

Magnus Malan, John Wiley and a third minister of the National Party were labelled as paedophiles in a book titled, The Lost Boys of Bird Island. 

Authors, former policeman Mark Minnie and ex-journalist Chris Steyn, saw the country go into a frenzy over the damning allegations contained in their book when it hit the shelves on Sunday.

What do we know about the three ministers involved in paedophilia ring?

Magnus Malan, who died in July 2011, was the Minister of Defence during P.W Botha’s tenure as president of South Africa.

His firm hand in using the military to instil order during apartheid made him one of the most feared members of the National Party.

He was also the one who helped devise Botha’s “total strategy” against the liberation movements.

John Wiley, after disbanding his political party, the South African Party (SAP), in 1980, he served as the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism under P.W Botha’s leadership.

He died in 1987 of a gunshot wound to the head, and the case involving his death remains unsolved. His son, Mark Wiley, currently serves as the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) legislator in the Western Cape.

The third minister alleged to be a central figure in the paedophilia ring was not named in the book after publishers were warned against it by their legal advisors.

It is speculated that he resides in a holiday home in the Eastern Cape and that he was on course to become P.W Botha’s successor.

The disturbing acts of cruelty the children were subjected to at Bird Island

In the book, Minnie and Steyn detail how the three ministers, including John Allen, the dishonoured businessman from Port Elizabeth, would take children of colour to Bird Island, in Algoa Bay, and molest them.

The perverted men were said to have forced these children to satisfy their sexual fantasies. It is alleged that one boy was sent to the hospital in a critical condition after a gunshot was released into his anus.

At the time, it is alleged that Malan, who went by the nickname Ore, used the military’s air force helicopters to traffick the children to the island. Allen was said to be responsible for recruiting the children.

Tafelberg Publishers speaks out about the importance of the book

Wiley, who was the only English-speaking member of Botha’s National Party, and Allen died under suspicious circumstances after they were meant to appear in court on charges related to the possession of pornography.

Steyn and Minnie were active in the case of the children being trafficked by Malan and his cohorts. Minnie was forced to resign from the police. Steyn’s investigative articles that revealed a lot about the ministers were never published by the Cape Times.

The controversial book is published by Tafelberg Publishers, and Maryna Lamprecht highlighted the importance of exposing the depravity of the apartheid system. She stated that,

“it dehumanised people in every possible way, even to the point of exploiting vulnerable children sexually to satisfy the needs of powerful politicians.”

The book is available at all participating retailers and it sells for R280.

UPDATE 21 August 2020: Media24 has apologised for the publication of defamatory statements regarding Mr Barend Du Plessis in the books “The Lost Boys of Bird Island” and “Die Seuns Van Bird Island” and for the emotional harm that the publication of the books may have caused the Malan and Wiley families. Follow this link to the relevant apologies.

Media24 het verskoning aangebied vir die publikasie van lasterlike stellings aangaande Mnr Barend du Plessis in die boeke “The Lost Boys of Bird Island” en “Die Seuns van Bird Island” asook die emosionele skade wat die publikasie van die boeke vir die Malan- en Wiley-families kon veroorsaak het. Volg hierdie skakel na die relevante verskoning.