They partied and swam naked on Bird Island before allegedly engaging in sex orgies with little boys – and were “arrogant” enough to sign their names in the visitors book.
Former photojournalist Colin Urquhart, of Port Elizabeth, has revealed details of the depraved trips former National Party defence minister Magnus Malan, environment minister John Wiley, an unnamed government minister who is still alive, and Bay businessman Dave Allen, allegedly made to the island off Port Elizabeth.
Urquhart was speaking on Sunday, the same day that an explosive book, The Lost Boys of Bird Island, was released.
The book, written by former Port Elizabeth policeman Mark Minnie and reporter Chris Steyn, contains details Urquhart also remembers clearly and recalls instantly.
Minnie and Steyn claim in the book that investigations into the alleged paedophile ring were halted by the police.
They allege that Malan, who was called “Ore” (Afrikaans for ears), commandeered air force helicopters to use the island for the purpose of abusing boys, sometimes for days.
They also place Malan in a bathtub in a flat in the city where a young boy was sexually assaulted.

Malan died in 2011 and Wiley and Allen’s deaths in 1987 were officially ruled suicide.
However, neither Minnie nor Urquhart are convinced that they were suicides.
Urquhart, now 71, said he had investigated the paedophile ring claims while working for Weekend Post after he was tipped off by a contact who worked on the island.
The contact, whom Urquhart declined to name citing confidentiality, had “clear vision of what was happening”.
That Malan and Wiley had been dropped off on the island in a military helicopter was confirmed by pilots.
Urquhart also photographed the visitors book.
“They were so arrogant they even signed the visitors book,” Urquhart said.
He then sent a telex (a form of pre-fax communication) to Wiley asking for answers...