Constand Viljoen General Constand Viljoen SSA SD SOE SM ( born on 28 October 1933 , Standerton , Mpumalanga ) is a former South African military commander and politician . He is partly credited with preventing the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected white South African s prior to post - apartheid general elections . He is married to Christina Sussanna Heckroodt and has four sons and a daughter . Military career . Viljoen matriculated in Standerton High School in 1951 . He joined South Africa ' s pre - republic Union Defence Force in 1956 upon receiving a degree in military science at the University of Pretoria . By 1974 , Viljoen had been named the South African Army ' s Director of General Operations , subsequently serving as the Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the South African Defence Force . He was appointed as Chief of the Army in 1977 and succeeded Magnus Malan as SADF chief in 1980 . Angolan service . Viljoen was the senior SADF military official directing Operation Savannah in 1975 . He is also credited with planning the first major airborne assault in South African military history , Cassinga , a raid carried out against SWAPO insurgents . Despite his rank , Viljoen was present during the battle , offering what has been described as a " swashbuckling " front - line leadership which won him the respect of many fellow Afrikaner s . Political career . Viljoen is credited by some with kick - starting the Afrikaner s ' self - examination that lead to their acceptance of universal suffrage and free elections , with his famous speech at the Broederbond annual assembly in Voortrekkerhoogte , saying of the black South Africans in his army - " As hulle kan veg vir Suid - Afrika , kan hulle stem vir Suid - Afrika ! " ( " If they can fight for South Africa , then they can vote for South Africa ! " ) . In 1993 Viljoen and fellow retired generals formed the Afrikaner Volksfront ( Afrikaner People ' s Front ) , an umbrella body for right - wing groups . However , Viljoen reportedly had strained relationships with the leaders of other right - wing parties . Bophuthatswana action and decision to contest elections . Immediately prior to the 1994 elections Viljoen had a force of between 50 , 000 and 60 , 000 trained military personnel at his command , with the ability to take over large parts of the country . The force was assembled in preparation for war with Umkhonto we Sizwe , the military wing of the ANC , as a last - ditch move to protect Afrikaner interests . In March 1994 Viljoen led an effort by several thousand white militia to protect the government of Lucas Mangope in the bantustan of Bophuthatswana against a popular uprising . Despite being asked not to participate in the action because of their racist views , members of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement also moved into Bophuthatswana , sparking clashes with the security forces the white militia were supposed to support . Immediately after the incident Viljoen split off from the Volksfront and started an election campaign , co - founding and becoming leader of the Freedom Front ( Afrikaans : " Vryheidsfront " ) , a political party representing conservative Afrikaner interests . His decision to take part in the elections are believed to have prevented a violent uprising by Afrikaners and on the occasion of his retirement from politics the ANC government thanked him for preventing bloodshed . Viljoen ' s decision was at least partially influenced by the mediation of his identical twin brother , Abraham ( Braam ) Viljoen , who was an anti - apartheid activist while his brother led the military . Post - Apartheid South Africa . In the election , the Freedom Front , under the leadership of Viljoen , received 2 . 2 % of the national vote and nine seats in the National Assembly . It became the strongest party not involved in the government of national unity under Nelson Mandela then . Although his party was at odds with the government and the ANC , Viljoen praised Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his retreat from politics in 1999 , even ending his Parliamentary speech with an attempt at speaking in Mandela ' s native language , Xhosa . Translated , he said : " Go rest in peace . Go rest in the shadow of a tree at your home . " In 2001 Viljoen handed over the leadership of the Freedom Front to Pieter Mulder and retired from politics , saying he had grown frustrated working in a parliament dominated by the ANC . Post retirement . In 2003 it emerged that Viljoen had been a target of the Boeremag paramilitary right - wing group , which considered him a traitor who had underhandedly sold out the Afrikaner people . In 2008 Viljoen , aged 74 , put up what was described as a spirited fight against two would - be muggers , who were subsequently arrested .