About this Books (from NB Publishers / Melinda Ferguson Books)
After a string of police botches, Captain Ben Bliksem Booysen was assigned the Krugersdorp Killers’ case in 2016. Eleven people had already been brutally murdered by a group calling themselves Electus Per Deus. Booysen made headlines when he arrested the mastermind Cecilia Steyn, and her accomplices. South Africa’s own “Chuck Norris” takes the reader behind the scenes of the satanic killings, divulging new and shocking details of the crimes that have kept the nation on edge for almost a decade.
If you are not familiar with the Krugersdorp Killers’ case, there is plenty of information available out there if you want to catch up. I would highly recommend the “True Crime South Africa” podcast and Showmax’s “Devilsdorp” docuseries. Nicole Engelbrecht from “True Crime South Africa” also did the “Devilsdorp: The Companion Podcast” as extension of the TV series. So, as you can gather, this is a case that grabbed and demanded a lot of public attention and caused a media frenzy. We always hear of these things happening in other countries, but in South Africa? What is this all about? And, if you mention the word “satanists” everyone shivers in their boots to boot.
Whilst watching “Devilsdorp”, Captain Ben “Bliksem” Booysen immediately stood out as quite a character. Within the first couple of minutes, I recall telling my husband “This guy deserves a show of his own!”. It is obvious that he doesn’t take nonsense from anyone (or what I gathered from the book is Ben’s favourite word, he doesn’t take “bullshit” from anyone), that he is there to get a job done, doesn’t have any patience with red tape, and that he probably made some enemies along the way. So yes, I was keen to get my hands on this book to hear more of his side of the story.
Together with Nicki Gules, renowned news assistant-editor and investigative journalist, this autobiography came to be. The first half of the book is mainly about Ben’s childhood, background and history in the South African Police Service. That is itself is a love-hate relationship, as he resigned four times during his career and every time he returned/was reinstated. So why would he return every time? Because he believed that this is a calling and that he could make a difference.
The second half of the book focuses more on the Krugersdorp Killers’ case – how he was assigned the case only after the last murder, and the fact that some of the suspects have been identified as “persons of interest” years previously. By taking on this case, Captain Booysen’s health and personal safety were severely impacted as well. By being persistent and following the leads where he could, it all started to unravel for the 6 key players in the Krugersdorp ‘cult’ – and currently all are behind bars, serving the time they deserve.
I wasn’t too shocked to read that Capt Booysen didn’t really get a lot of recognition and praise from SAPS for breaking this huge case. It is no secret that there are always internal (and external) politics at play at all state institutions. And that may be the reason for writing this book, just to be able to proudly say that “I did it, and I did it well”.
Thank you to NB Publishers and Melinda Ferguson books for this copy, in exchange for a honest review.
