South African pastor found guilty of treason, racist plot

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African court has convicted a pastor of plotting to overthrow the government and to kill thousands of Black people in the country. Harry Johannes Knoesen, 61, a leader of the National Christian Resistance Movement, was on Monday found guilty of high treason, incitement to carry out violence, and recruiting people to commit attacks. According to the prosecution, Knoesen’s group explored the possibility of using a biological weapon to kill Black people, including the poisoning of water reservoirs supplying Black communities. Knoesen was also found guilty of unlawful possession of firearms by the Middelburg High Court. Weapons and ammunition were found when he was arrested in 2019 in Middelburg, a small town in the eastern Mpumalanga province.