Pretorius

CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION
Name	Pretorius
Type	Homegrown Terrorists Serial Killers Cop Killers (once)
Country of Origin	South Africa
Area of Operation	South Africa
Affiliation	Office of State Security
Leader	Rowan Bosch
Modus Operandi	See below
No. of Mutual Victims	15 killed
Appx no. of Members	3 (2 incarcerated, 1 deceased)
First Appearance	"Iqiniso"

“	You cannot punish these men. They're protected forever.	”
	— Curtis Miller

Pretorius was a secret covert operations unit responsible for the torture and murder of fifteen people on behalf of the Office of State Security, the secret service of Apartheid South Africa. It appeared in the Season One episode of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, "Iqiniso".

Background

Pretorius was formed by three OSS operatives (Rowan Bosch, Armand Smit, and Noah Coetzee) as a last ditch attempt to save apartheid. On February 5, 1989, the group ambushed Constable Sara Miller while she was on patrol duty in the Azaria District of Johannesburg. Coetzee wanted to shoot her, but Bosch said that the killing should look "more Zulu", and Smit stabbed her. The body was then staged to look like an umkovu, a zombie-like creature in Zulu folklore. Miller's murder was a false flag operation used to retroactively justify the creation of the group and the torture and murder of anti-apartheid activists, who were collectively blamed for the attack. As part of the deception, Coetzee selected a young man named David Lubbe, who was arrested and confessed to Miller's murder. Lubbe was later murdered in prison.

One year after the end of apartheid, in 1995, Bosch, Smit, and Coetzee voluntarily confessed to the torture-murders of fourteen anti-apartheid activists before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In exchange, they received amnesty, their military and criminal records were expunged, and they were allowed to keep their identities secret. Bosch moved to Pretoria, Coetzee to Bloemfontein, and Smit to the U.S. state of Georgia, where he founded a construction business and married an American citizen named Camille, with whom he had a son. In 2015, immediately prior to the events of Iqiniso, Bosch developed terminal cancer and decided to tell the truth of Miller's murder to her brother Curtis. He also provided him with documents that proved the sincerity of his confession.

Iqiniso

Miller lobotomizes Bosch but keeps him alive in an abandoned mining area outside Johannesburg, disguising and arming him so that he will be shot when the police find him. He then kills and stages the bodies of the biological children of Bosch and Smit in Azaria, but keeps Smit's adoptive son Brandon alive in the same area so he can relay the truth of Miller's murder when he is rescued. Miller then goes to Coetzee's family home in Bloemfontein and forces Coetzee to confess while holding his pregnant daughter at knifepoint. However, he is found by the International Response Team and the South African Special Forces in time and they rescue the Coetzees. Coetzee and Smit are arrested for Miller's murder because although they received amnesty for the fourteen murders they committed while operating as Pretorius, the same protection did not extend to Miller's death. Smit is subsequently extradited to South Africa to stand trial.

Modus Operandi

After stabbing Miller, the three members of Pretorius scratched her skin and uniform with a rake, covered her body in white clay, divided her tongue longitudinally, and drove a spike on her forehead before abandoning the body in Azaria. The anti-apartheid activists were tortured and killed by unknown means.

Profile

There was no official profile of Pretorius or any of its individual members, since the IRT was focused on Curtis.

Members

• Rowan Bosch (leader; deceased). Portrayed by an uncredited actor.
• Noah Coetzee (incarcerated). Portrayed by Sean Cameron Michael.
• Armand Smit (incarcerated). Portrayed by Arnold Vosloo.

Known Victims

• 1989:
  • February 5: Constable Sara Miller (stabbed and staged like an umkovu)
  • February-December: Fourteen unnamed anti-apartheid activists (all tortured and killed by unknown causes)

Notes

• Pretorius was named after the South African city of Pretoria, according to the CBS website. Ironically, Pretoria itself was named after a man named Pretorius. Pretorius was also named after the Praetorian Guard, a specialized security unit in ancient Rome; and a mixture of common Afrikaan surnames; also according to the CBS website.

Appearances

• Season One
  • "Iqiniso"