Hans Dreyer, South African paramilitary officer, Died at 84

  Military

Hans Dreyer is also known as General Hans Dreyer or Sterk Hans, died on November 1, 2015.

He was a South African paramilitary officer, head of the Secret Police, commander of Koevoet in Namibia.

Hans was the commander of the notorious paramilitary police unit Koevoet during the decade before Namibia’s independence.

The Koevoet translated to crowbar, abbreviated Operation K or SWAPOL-COIN) was a major paramilitary organisation under South African-administered South-West Africa, now the Republic of Namibia.

It was an active belligerent in the Namibian War of Independence from 1979 to 1990 – “Crowbar” being a popular allusion to successful attempts at prying insurgents from the local population.

It was created by South African Police Brigadier Hans Dreyer, Hans was a veteran of the Rhodesian Special Air Service, the unit’s initial directive was to conduct internal reconnaissance.

Koevoet quickly became one of the most effective combat forces deployed against the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) during the war.

Hans Dreyer passed away at age 84 from multi-organ failure, in Pretoria, South Africa.