Dr. Wouter Basson, the former head of South Africa's germ warfare program, has been aquitted on all 46 charges against him, including murder, fraud and drug dealing. 

Judge Willie Hartzenberg ruled in favor of Dr. Basson, the cardiologist dubbed by the South African media as "Dr. Death." The 51-year-old doctor had pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Dr. Basson had been on trial for 30 months in Pretoria's High Court. He served in the apartheid government of the 1980's and was accused of - among other things - masterminding bizarre plots to poison prominent opponents of the government. 

Reports say witnesses testified his unit tried to create anti-fertility drugs that would affect only blacks and that he hoarded the deadly bacteria anthrax. He was also charged with stealing millions of dollars from the government's warfare unit and of organizing the sale of the narcotic, cocaine. 

The case began in October, 1999, after a hearing by the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated apartheid-era atrocities. 

Dr. Basson initially faced 67 charges - 21 of which were dropped. Among those dropped was the allegation that he tried to poison anti-apartheid activist Frank Chikane. Also dropped was the charge that Dr. Basson murdered five activists, who were allegedly injected with muscle relaxant before being dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters. 

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