The seeds of Apartheid were sowed as early as 1910. Apartheid officially became law after the Reunited National Party won the white minority elections on the 28th May 1948. This victory was hailed as a "Miracle" and clear proof that God was watching over his Volk" 

Only The so called "white"citizens of South Africa were allowed to vote and participate in government, black South Africans were forbidden

The all white Dutch reformed church embraced the Reunited National Party Apartheid policy and  solemnly declared in a speech made by a prominent church leader "South Africa belongs to us once more. For the first time since Union, South Africa is our own. May god grant that it will always remain so"

A quote from Albert Luthuli best sums up the sentiment of black South Africans, "the Nationalist win did not surprise or interest us, though we realized that there would probably be an intensification of the hardships and indignities which had always come our way. Nevertheless I think it is true that very few if any of us, understood how swift the deterioration was to be". Luthuli later became the president of the ANC.

The Reuninted National Party Apartheid rule was swiftly placed in action. Daniel Malan swiftly had the new government and Afrikaans speaking parliament in place. To the rest of the world the new  government portrayed a Western style democracy. Forty-three days later, it produced its first major shock, when it demoted the country's most celebrated soldier - Deputy Chief of Staff, Major - General Poole.

Defense Minister Frans Erasmus ordered Intelligence chief Charles Powell, to vacate his post with-in 24 hours, and ordered his aides to seize what were described as "two lorry loads" of wartime files. These files contained Afrikaner Broederbond secrets, of the time during world war 2 when Afrikaner activists planted bombs, caused destruction and brutally assaulted soldiers to demonstrate their solidarity with the Nazi regime.

Major - General Powell was a key member of a top army spy team that exposed the secret activities of the Broederbond and other dissident Afrikaner groups during the world war 2. The men that Powell spied on were now taking revenge. They also had to destroy the evidence, dossiers of treason and terror activities committed by many of their supporters. The above measures signaled the beginning of a concerted effort to reduce white political opposition at all cost.