Charges filed in poisoning attempt
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South Africa filed attempted-murder charges against two apartheid-era officials in the 1989 poisoning of a prominent black minister.
The accused are Adriaan Vlok, former minister of law and order, and ex-police chief Johann van der Merwe, the National Prosecuting Authority said.
The case, in which three lower-ranking police officials are also charged, is due to be heard Aug. 17.
The Rev. Frank Chikane was a high-profile anti-apartheid activist and secretary general of the South African Council of Churches in 1989 when his underwear was laced with poison that attacked his nervous system.
He is now a trusted advisor to President Thabo Mbeki.
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