About this site

This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. It is the product of almost two decades of research and includes analyses, chronologies, historical documents, and interviews from the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.

Davidson, Christo

Davidson was born and educated in the district of Springs in the Transvaal. He joined the Police Force in 1963 and was eventually transferred to the Security Branch in 1972.

In 1990 he was co-investigator in the investigation into Operation Vula and in 1992 he was in charge of the investigation of the Boipatong massacre. Subsequent to this he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed Co-ordinator of Commission Investigations on national level at Police Head Office. He also assisted the Goldstone Commission with its investigations.

For a period of about one year, after the term of the Goldstone Commission expired, he was staff officer for the commanding officer of the Crime Intelligence and Investigation unit at Police Head Office and was promoted to the rank of Colonel.  In December 1995 he was appointed as Commanding Officer, Service Evaluation at the National Inspectorate at Police Head Office, with the rank of Director. This was a new Unit and over a period of four years the unit was built up to render a valuable service to Police management and the public.

During his service in the Police Force he was awarded several good service medals as well as for counter insurgency operations. He took early retirement from the Police in 1999 after 36 years of service and then commenced work at a private forensic investigation company for two and a half years. He thereafter joined the Special Investigating Unit, an independent governmental body aimed at fighting corruption in government. He presently holds as assistant-managerial position with this unit.

This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. Return to theThis resource is hosted by the site.