~~ ~~ J ~·\n. Independent Boord of Inquiry Into Informal Repression

Phone (011) 403-3256/7 Fax (011) 403-1366

REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT BOARD OF INQUIRY INTO INFORMAL

REPRESSION FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 1991

I . INTRODUCTION:

Hopes for a lasting peace in the Reef townships received new

impetus this month when the facilitating committee set up by

the government sponsored peace summit managed to get all the

major parties to the table bar the right wing. The

government's original peace initiative was shunned by several

organisations including the African National Congress (ANC),

the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and the South African

Council of Churches (SACC) . Despite their non attendance

there has been a drop in the number of violent clashes in the

Reef townships. Whether this can be attributed to the

conference is not clear.

The latest peace meeting has set up a special committee in a

bid to end the violence which has embroiled the townships

since July last year. The decision was taken after a marathon

meeting behind closed doors. The summit decided to set up a

"preparatory committee" made up of the present facilitating

BOARD MEMBERS Prof L Ackermann. Dr Allan Boesok. Dr Alex Boralne, RI Rev Dr Monos Buthelezi. Mrs Judy Chalmers. Dr Fronk Chikane. Dr Max Coleman, Mr Brion Currin, Mrs Sheena Duncan. Mr Peter Horns. Mr Enc Molobl. Br Jude Pleterse. Archbishop Desmond Tulu

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committee which was established under the government peace

initiative in May and nine other members, three each from the

ANC, the government and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The

task of this committee was outlined in a statement released

after the conference. "The task of the preparatory committee

will be to consider draft proposals in working groups on

issues identified as being necessary to end violence and

bring peace". The key issues identified at the summit include

the establishment of codes of conduct for political

organisations and the security forces; socio-economic

development and reconstruction; and enforcement mechanisms

such as statutory standing commissions and peace secretariats

at national, regional and community levels. (Sunday Star May

23 1991). The new committee plans to report on its progress

by the first week of August.

June, also saw an Independent MP in the House of

Representatives call for a second probe into the activities

of the civil Co-operation Bureau (CCB). In response to the

request the Minister of Justice, Kobie Coetsee said that

there would not be a second investigation as the matter had

been fully investigated by the Harms Commission. However, he

did say that there would be a number of individual

prosecutions resulting from the information gathered by the

commission.

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Attacks on squatters by rightwingers continue. The focus has,

however, shifted to a more urban setting. In Germiston, a

group of armed white men attacked unarmed squatters at the

Goedehoop High School leaving at least 11 people injured.

There seems to be a set plan by many rightwing groups to

disrupt squatter communities in white towns and in particular

to prevent displaced black farmers and their families

returning to the land of their forefathers.

II. STATE INSTITUTIONS:

1.civil Co-operation Bureau (CCB)

CCB members Abram "Slang" van Zyl and Carl Castelyn "Calla"

Botha have applied for indemnity for acts committed whilst

working for the CCB in 1989. Both Van Zyl and Botha were

operatives for the CCB's internal cell Region 6. Van Zyl was

responsible for the Cape Province and Botha for the

Transvaal. Both men testified before the Harms Commission.

Judge Harms found Botha to have been involved in the bombing

of the Athlone Early Learning Centre; the conspiracy to

murder Cape Town advocate Dullah Omar; and the conspiracy to

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murder Johannesburg journalist Gavin Evans. Botha was found

to have been involved in the Athlone bombing. Furthermore at

the commission he refused to answer questions on a number of

other incidents on the grounds that he might incriminate

himself.

2. South African Police (SAP)

Reacting to allegations which former SAP member Ronald

Bezuidenhout had made about the Vlakplaas unit (See May

report), the Police have responded with the following

statement: Bezuidenhout was neither a policeman nor an

"askari" he was an informer, due to poor performance he was

no longer utilised and that the police appointment

certificate in his possession was a forgery. Nevertheless

however, does not explain why Bezuidenhout was issued with a

service pistol and he used it to effect arrests, which

police have not denied. This is inconsistent with the

police's suggestion that he was merely an informer.

A further development of interest surrounding the issue of

policing in south Africa in general is the creation of "The

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Policing" Project by the Wits Based Project for the study of

Violence. The IBIIR is one of a number of groups who will be

assisting in the project which is expected to run for at

least a year.

3. The South African Defence Force (SADF)

The most startling development around state institutions in

the month of June were the claims of an ex-military

intelligence (MI) agent Nico Basson. He alleges that prior to

the Namibian elections - MI ran a covert-operation to

discredit the South West African People's Party (Swapo) and

to build the stature of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance

(DTA). Basson claims a similar operation is being run in this

country with the parties affected being the ANC and the IFP

respectively. The operation includes the use of force and to

this end AK47's are being supplied to Inkatha (The Star

11/6/1991). This claim has been vehemently denied by both the

SADF and the IFP (The Star 12/6/1991). The IBIIR is currently

investigating Basson's claims.

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III. RIGHTWING:

Approximately 11 people, eight women and three men were

injured when attacked by a group of white men in Germiston on

June 1 1991. The people had been using the abandoned

Goedehoop High School as a dwelling place. Legal permission

had been granted for this until June 4 1991 (Business Day

3/6/1991). Five Afrikaner Weerstand Beweging (AWB) members

have appeared in the Germiston Magistrate's Court in

connection with the incident (Sowetan 10/6/1991).

Wives of several National Party MP's received letters

containing threats to their husbands' lives. The threat could

be avoided if the MP resigned or a white election was called.

The letters went on to state that action of this nature was

necessary because MP's were allowing laws protecting the

white race to be scrapped recklessly and irresponsibly (The

Star 5/6/1991). The National Party accused the Conservative

Party of sending the letters saying that this fitted in with

the CP's "Operation strongarm". This operation is designed to

use "different tactics" to exert pressure on the government

and the resignation of individual National Party MP's. The CP

strongly denied this accusation but said t hese types of

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incidents and more violent ones, were inevitable unless the

government called a white election. (Citizen 6/6/1991).

Assault charges laid against 14 AWB men in Louis Trichardt

have been provisionally withdrawn. The charges arose out of

an incident in November last year when a group of Sunday

School children were attacked in the town. No reasons were

given for the withdrawal of charges (Sowetan 6/6/1991).

Charges of interfering with police duties were dropped

against Eugene Terre/Blanche, Piet Rudolph and 12 other

members of the AWB. The charges had been laid after the men

had tried to disrupt an ANC march in Pretoria. Terre/Blanche

said he intended suing the Minister of Law and Order for

wrongful arrest (The Star 7/6/1991).

Reacting to the scrapping of apartheid legislation ~n

parliament the CP has announced that it plans to issue its

own identity documents which would state the race of the

holder (The citizen 12/6/1991). Leader of the Boere Staat

Party (BSP) Robert van Tonder announced that his organisation

would be issuing a Boer identity document. This would be

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issued on application, to those who support the restoration

of the Boer Republics (Beeld 19/6/1991). Both the AWB and the

Boere Vryheid's Beweging (BVB) have said that the scrapping

of the Population Registration Act meant that "Boere" would

now have to go to war (Citizen 19/6/1991).

Terre'Blanche's latest threat is that the Rightwing should

sack all blacks working for them unless the ANC removed

squatters from white land and the government listened to the

demands for a white homeland. (City Press 16/6/1991). A

f urther development relating to the AWB this month is the

formation of the "Ystergarde". This is said to be an elite

unit within the AWB's military wing the Wenkommando and it

will be used to protect the volk from the "ANC death squads"

(Citizen 17/6/1991).

IV. ATTACKS ON INDIVIDUALS:

The assassination of Western Cape African National Congress

activist Mziwonke "Pro" Jack on Wednesday June 19 brings to

six the number of ANC cadres killed since May 1991. The

latest killings have fuelled speculation of continuing hit

squad activity .

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1. Mziwonke "Pro" Jack

Jack (33) died at about 22h15 when his car was struck by a

hail of gunfire unleashed by three balaclava-clad men

apparently lying in wait for him about 200m from his Nyanga

home. Jack's 15-year-old nephew, Andile, escaped with minor

shotgun injuries. Andile said they were approaching the

corner of Emms Drive and Lansdowne Road when three men in

balaclavas standing under some trees shouted out Jack's Xhosa

name, Mziwonke. Jack stopped the car and started reversing

towards the men who suddenly turned and opened fire with a

rifle and a shotgun. Andile's version of events differs from

that given by the Western Cape police liaison officer Major

Gys Boonzaaier, who said Jack's car was forced off the road

by a taxi and fired upon. The incident is being inve~ 'r'-~ed

by the police Special Investigations Unit led by Cap~~~

Louis van Brakel. (Weekly Mail 21/6/1991)

2. Mhleli Mgwayi

Mgwayi ANC activist in East London was killed in early June

after being stabbed when he ventured out of his house to

investigate a commotion on the street.

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3. Phanuel Molaudzi

Molaudzi, South African Communist Party (SACP) branch

secretary and organiser of the ANC Youth League in Chiawelo,

Soweto was shot dead on June 7 by men who sought him out on a

train.

4. Jackie Matjili

Matjili, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) secretary was shot dead on

May 1. The Board is still seeking information on this killing

and the previous two.

5/6. Samuel Itumeleng Padi and Nokuzola Ncalo

Both were killed by members of the South African Police in

Phiri, Soweto. Padi, a former security detainee escaped from

the Johannesburg Prison in November 1990 whilst facing

charges of sabotage, terrorism and possession of a firearm

and ammunition. Police allege that Padi attempted to throw a

handgrenade and that Padi's girlfriend "attacked them from

the dark" . Padi's father informed lawyers acting for the

family that when he was detained and interrogated at Pro tea

Police Station in February this year, he was told by members

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of the SAP that they would not arrest his son but kill him on

the spot. Family members also informed the lawyers that the

bullet holes were concentrated on the headboard suggesting

that the couple were still in bed when they were shot at.

This is supported by the post-mortem report which says that

Padi was killed while in a supine position.

A week after the Padi shooting an unidentified man living in

an adjacent room to Padi's was shot dead by unknown

assailants. According to the Padi family it is possible that

this man may have been a witness to the killings.

V. REEF VIOLENCE:

1. Intimidation

Despite the decline in the number of violent clashes between

members of the ANC and the IFP, the Board has received

several reports of people being forced to leave their homes

after failing to join the IFP or to pay penalties imposed by

local IFP warlords. The Board also has reports of workers in

the East Rand and Johannesburg resigning from their jobs for

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fear of being attacked after refusing to resign from their

Cosatu affiliate union and join the IFP.

Often the incidents of intimidation are hidden as the victims

fear for their lives and would rather just join the IFP than

face reprisals. However, over the last month or so more and

more people are starting to come forward and report

incidents of intimidation. Below the Board has put together

some of the incidents which have been reported to us over the

last month

A woman in Mapetla, Soweto claims that on four separate

occasions she has been approached by well known Inkatha

members. In April, 1991 the woman claims she was approached

by three youths who demanded money from her for the purposes

of paying for the furniture of an Inkatha member whose house

had been burnt. During the same month the woman claims she

received a second visit from the same people to establish

whether any members of the ANC were living at her home. On

the third occasion the same three men attempted to abduct the

woman's late husband's niece to go and scrub the house of the

Inkatha member whose home was burnt. On May 28 1991 the same

men arrived at approximately 23hOO they were armed with a

gun. They proceeded to take the woman's television set and

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threatened to kill two youths who stay at the house after

having accused them of being members of the ANC. The woman

claims she was also told to join Inkatha on or before June 30

1991 failing which when Inkatha attacks the community of

Mapetla she would not be exempted from the attack. The men

also demanded that she vacate her home and give it to one of

the three men that threatened her on the above four

occasions. The woman has now moved all her furniture out of

her home and taken it to her neighbours place. She claims

that two other families in the area have had their furniture

taken and the family in one of the houses has now fled.

In Dobsonville, Soweto two residents occupying the family

units at Siphiwe Hostel have been forced to vacate their

flats following alleged threats by identifiable persons

claiming to be members of the Inkatha Freedom Party. The two

men were forced to leave all their belongings behind. The two

men have allegedly approached members of the SAP for

protection as well as for an escort into the hostel so that

they may retrieve their belongings. The two men and their

families were forced to vacate their homes after several

threats. On one occasion they were told that each family unit

would have to pay R20 to the IFP members because they

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were starving and that the flat dwellers did not assist in

patrolling the hostel. The IFP member also told one of the

flat dwellers that as of May 9 1991 each unit would have to

pay R100 to the IFP members at Siphiwe hostel. On May 10 when

the two men returned to their flats to retrieve their

belongings there was nothing there. One of the men alleges

that he then spotted his stove outside the room of an IFP

member. He went to the police to report this and the police

accompanied him back to the hostel but refused to search the

IFP members' room. In early June the two men approached the

Board and we then contacted the police. The police searched

the hostel for the two men's belongings but this was a month

after the initial request, none of their goods were

recovered.

Residents living in houses near the Nancefield hostel in

Pimville have reported that they are forced to pay R2 per

house per month to members of the IFP as a protection fee so

that their homes will not be attacked by hostel inmates. In

Alexandra many residents have lost their homes to IFP

supporters. Local residents have been forced to flee when

they could not come up with the necessary protection fee or

if they failed to sign up as IFP members.

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There have been a number of reports regarding the hostels in

the Soweto area. Hostel inmates who refuse to join Inkatha at

the Dube hostel have been evicted and there have been

allegations that still others are being held in the hostel

against their will. There are similar allegations emanating

from Diepkloof hostel.

Apart from people being forced to leave their homes and pay

protection money a new wave of alleged intimidation has been

reported in the industrial areas of Jeppe, Denver and

Benrose. Scores of workers have threatened to resign

following alleged threats from members of the IFP. Two

members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa

(Numsa) resigned from the Powermote company near Benrose late

last month. The two men claim that they were part of group

workers who were stopped by men who asked them to produce

Inkatha membership cards. They dir not, and were told to

produce the cards the following Monday morning or leave work.

Both men said that their lives were more important than their

jobs and resigned. Powermote's financial manager, Brendan

Molaney, confirmed that workers had been intimidated and had

resigned as result.

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Cosatu has also alleged that similar incidents have occurred

on the East Rand where Numsa and the Food and Allied Workers

Union (Fawu) shop stewards have received threatening letters

after some Zulu-speaking members of the unions were told by

members of the IFP to resign. The members refused and

informed their shopstewards who in turn informed management.

Furthermore the Board has received reports of commuters being

followed to their place of work by alleged IFP members and

asked to produce cards. In some areas workers have been told

not to travel without cards. From the information available

it would seem that people are being forced to carry cards

which can identify them with the organisation (s) they belong

to. The purpose of this latest strategy has not yet corne to

light but workers suspect that it is a new way to identify

and deal with non-IFP members.

2 .Sebokeng

Residents of Boipatong in the Vaal area claim the disused and

dilapidated KwaMadala hostel on the edge of Iscor's

Vanderbijlpark steelworks is being used as a springboard for

Inkatha attacks on residents in the Vaal. A comprehensive

report compiled by Cosatu's western Transvaal Region shows a

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significant increase in the incidences of violence and

intimidation in the area since November last year. On

Thursday May 23 at about 19h15, two men armed with AK-47

rifles opened fire on about 100 people in the Gobizitwana

Kooperasie Beer Hall in Sebokeng. Five people were killed

immediately and by Monday May 27 the death toll had risen to

13. According to the nightwatchman who was on duty at the

time of the attack the men wore masks or at least it seemed

as if their faces were coated in a shiny black substance. He

said the men did not utter a word before opening fire on the

beerhall patrons. Following the attack lawyers received

information that a suspect who lives at the KwaMadala Hostel,

sibusiso Ndamara was seen speeding away from the Beer Hall in

a Nissan Laurel. This information as well as request to

search the KwaMadala Hostel was conveyed to the Minister of

Law and Order and Major General R van der Westhuizen. The

investigating officer informed the lawyers that they had

searched KwaMadala Hostel as requested but had found no

firearms. The police say that they also questioned Sibusiso

Ndamara but no witnesses were able to connect him with the

shooting. The police say it was found that Ndamara was

present at the beerhall at the time of the shooting but that

he could not be linked to the incident . Ndamara's car, a

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Nissan Laurel was searched but nothing was found in the ~ar.

Ndamara had a pistol with him for which he produced a

license. No pistol cartridges were found at the scene of the

shooting. However, people who saw Ndamara's vehicle at the

beerhall claim that his car was only searched by the police

the second time it was seen. It was thus possible that

Ndamara had time to rid himself of other weapons in his

possession.

There have been several other incidents involving residents

of KwaMadala Hostel. A few weeks ago they stopped an ANC

march and tore up the posters and flags. The protesters were

on their way to the Boipatong Police station to present a

memorandum to demand, among other things, the scrapping of

the hostel system. As regards the January 12 night vigil

massacre, where 38 people were killed when a group of men

opened fire on the night vigil of Christoffel Nangalembe,

most of the accused in the trial, on applying unsuccessfully

for bail gave their address as KwaMadala Hostel: However none

of the accused are Iscor employees.

On Tuesday May 28 at about 20hOO at a squatter camp next to

Houtkop railway station, several people who had gathered

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around a fire were shot at with AK47's by three unidentified

men. Five were injured, one seriously. The Board is still

investigating this incident.

3. Soweto

On Thursday June 6 1991 a police sergeant was killed and

three others shot when they attempted to search the

Nancefield Hostel in Soweto for weapons. The police claim

that their men were confronted by a large group of Zulu

speakers who refused them entry. The police allegedly then

explained their task and were allowed to proceed with the

search. Whilst some of the policemen were inside the hostel,

gunmen opened fire at policemen outside killing one policeman

instantly. Following the shooting the hostel was surrounded

by the SADF. Police conducting the search did however seize

several homemade weapons, automatic rifles, pistols,

ammunition and hand grenades. The IFP has, however, blamed

the police for the death of the policeman. According to the

IFP hostel dwellers killed the policeman and injured three

others because they thought they were being attacked by the

ANC. The IFP said the deaths and injuries were sparked by

police, who "crawled" towards the hostel at about 23hOO on

Thursday, firing as they went (Sowetan 10/6/1991).

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3. Swanieville

In our May report on Swanieville we mentioned that IFP

spokesperson Suzanne Vos had confirmed that the attack on the

Swanieville squatter camp was carried out by Inkatha members.

She said the attack was in response to the earlier abduction

of two hostel residents by Swanieville squatters. However,

this month Ms Vos denied saying that Inkatha supporters had

"deliberately" attacked the Swanieville squatter camp on May

12. Police are still investigating the incident. The owner

of the Swanieville farm where the massacre occurred, Mr Sarel

Swanepoel, appeared in the Krugersdorp Magistrate's Court on

a charge of contravening the Illegal Squatting Act. The case

~ was postponed until June 28.

4.Alexandra

victims of the March 27 night vigil massacre claim that they

are being harassed by members of the SAP. Several witnesses

have claimed that they were arrested in the early hours of

the morning and told to make statements regarding the

massacre. Some of the witnesses have approached lawyers

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who are now serving as intermediaries between the witnesses

and the police. Also related to the massacre is the long

standing dispute between the Alexandra Clinic and the SAP

over police methods of acquiring information about patients

who were treated following the massacre at Second Avenue.

This dispute has finally been resolved following a May 30

deadline when the director of the Alexandra Clinic, David

Robb, was ordered in terms of section 205 of the Criminal

Procedures Act to give the identities, addresses and nature

of injuries relating to patients who arrived at the clinic

after the massacre. In terms of the order Robb had to appear

before a Randburg magistrate, failing which, he would be

liable for arrest. An agreement has now been reached on a

proper procedure where the clinic staff can first get

permission from their patients before releasing the

information.

According to The Star nine IFP members charged with the

vigil murders appeared in the Wynberg Court and were remanded

in custody. None of the accused were asked to plead.

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Alexandra residents are also in the process of forming a

non-aligned peace force to monitor violence in the area. The

Alexandra Peace Corps (APC) started operating on a limited

basis at the beginning of June and has a membership of 35,

comprising of local youth organisations, community and church

leaders. APC facilitator and co-ordinator Timothy Mabena said

that they hope to have at least three members in every

street, or a total of 120 members in Alexandra.

5. Train attacks

Charges against the five men who were arrested for the Jeppe

train massacres last year when 26 passengers were shot and

hacked to death have been provisionally withdrawn. The men

who faced a total of 66 charges of murder and attempted

murder arising from the two incidents were freed after

Magistrate R Ie Roux refused any further postponement and

withdrew the charges because " the police were having

difficulty in getting witnesses to come forward and assist in

investigating the matter". Three other suspects crucial to

the case "went underground" shortly before the five made

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their third appearance in court on October 17 last year. A

massive hunt has thus far yielded nothing. Three of the

accused, all from Jeppe Hostel had been in custody for seven

months because they could not raise the R20 000 bail. Should

further evidence come to light the five men could be

re-arrested and charged.

v. NATAL:

While the Natal war has not yet returned to the intensity of

the past it is clear that the peace agreements are neither

stable or holding. Sporadic violence continues to break out

through out the Natal area and the Natal Midlands area is

particularly affected. At least sixteen people died in the

Natal area during the weekend of 22/23 June, and at least 12

on Sunday June 23 1991 in Richmond's Ndaleni township. Peace

talks planned between the ANC and the IFP on June 24 were

called off following the incident. Most of the victims are

believed to be members of the ANC. There is speculation that

the attacks were a deliberate effort to derail the fragile

peace initiatives in the area. A further six people lost

their lives in the greater Maritzburg area and more than five

in the South Coast region.

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An incident which, though of great concern passed with very

little media exposure was the conviction of Samuel Jamile,

KwaZulu Interior Deputy Minister and IFP Central Committee

member on charges of murder and attempted murder. Jamile was

sentenced to life imprisonment. There has been speculation

that this could be the start of investigations into several

KwaZulu Legislative Assembly members, many of whom have been

accused of similar activities. Jamile has been dropped from

the KwaZulu cabinet and the IFP Central Committee (Weekly

Mail 14/6/1991).

VI. EASTERN CAPE

Ciskei remains the focus of the region, with tension

increasing as military ruler Brigadier Oupa Gqozo struggles

to hold onto his position. The entire Border and Ciskei

region has been affected by the consumer boycott called by

the ANC-Ied alliance which started at the beginning of the

month, and in neighbouring Transkei conflict between the

South African and Transkei governments continues.

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1. Ciskei

Ciskei is looking increasingly unstable as Gqozo faces

renewed efforts from local organisations to topple him. His

rule is under threat from two different sources: the popular

calls for his resignation and accompanying consumer boycott;

and the ongoing inquests into the deaths of Ciskei rebels

Charles Sebe and Onward Guzana.

Conflict between Ciskei and local organisations continues in

the northern area of Whittlesea. The area is still under

curfew, but the ANC Youth League has been defying the curfew

since the beginning of the month. The consumer boycott

started at the beginning of the month and is effective

throughout the Border and Ciskei region. Amongst the demands

being made are the removal of Askari, civil Co-operation

Bureau and Koevoet elements from the region. Lawyers for

Human Rights (LHR) have also called for Gqozo's resignation,

calling him "the greatest destabilising factor in the Border

region" (LHR press statement, June 12 1991).

Gqozo has now been linked to a new political party which is

emerging in Ciskei. The party is called the Ciskei

-26-

Freedom Party (CFP), and there are indications that it may be

linked to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Gqozo has always

said that he admires IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and

publicly expressed admiration for him when the two met in

Natal last year. He was also accused last year of making a R8

million donation to Buthelezi by the Ciskei civil servants

and senior soldiers. The new party seems to be focusing its

attention on the rural areas, and there are reports of party

cards being printed in black, green and gold - the same as

both the ANC and Inkatha colours. On June 10, the

Inkatha-supporting Ilanga newspaper said it was unable to

clarify reports that a new Ciskei government political party

was being formed which would have close links with the IFP.

Information was that the new party would work hand-in-hand

with the IFP, and would also work with the South African

g overnment (Daily Dispatch 13/6/1991).

2 . The Sebe and Guzana inquest:

The inquest into the deaths of Ciskei rebels Charles Sebe and

Colonel Onward Guzana started in the Bisho Supreme Court this

month. There is a possibility that evidence extremely

damaging to the Ciskei government and poss i bly Gqozo himself

-27-

will emerge, leading to intense interest in the case. The

inquest is being attended by lawyers representing the

families of the dead men, Brigadier Gqozo, the Ciskei Defence

Force and the Ciskei Intelligence Services.

Guzana and Sebe died in mysterious circumstances when they

returned to Ciskei in January this year after having

separately fled the homeland. Guzana fled late last year

after he fell out with his former colleague on the military

council, Gqozo, while Sebe had spent several years in exile

in Transkei after escaping from his brother Lennox Sebe's

jail. The two were shot at a roadblock in Ciskei on January

27. Guzana died at the roadblock while Sebe was shot dead by

soldiers at a nearby village the following day. At the time,

Gqozo was widely reported as saying he had ordered his

soldiers to "seek and destroy" the two and allegations were

that the two were lured back to Ciskei, ambushed and

executed.

Evidence before the court so far has included:

* Sebe had 11 bullet wounds including one in the right temple

indicating he was shot at close range with a high velocity

weapon, probably an R4 rifle;

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* Guzana had over 10 wounds in his body, head and legs,

including a wound in the nape of his neck which a pathologist

stated was consistent with direct contact shooting or a case

where a high velocity rifle was used;

* Lawyers alleged that it was impossible for Guzana to have

sustained bullet wounds to the skull, the neck and the

mid-spine and lower back while driving through a roadblock,

and the pathologist said he thought the wounds in Guzana's

head would have had to come from above the head;

* A CDF soldier told the court he had attended two briefings

at which soldiers were told that the car in which Guzana and

Sebe would be travelling "must be caused to stop" at the

roadblock, that a shot had been fired from the vehicle when

it reached the roadblock barrier, and that soldiers had shot

with the aim of hitting the car.

3. Transkei

The conflict between the Transkei and South African

governments, in particular between military ruler

Major-General Bantu Holomisa and Foreign Affairs Minister

-29-

Pik Botha, continues. On the surface, the conflict revolves

around financial matters and Transkei's alleged inability to

administer its financial affairs correctly. However. it seems

that there is more to the dispute than this and Holomisa has

been increasingly accusing South Africa of destabilising his

territory.

On June 12 1991 Holomisa hit out at South African actions

against the homeland, attacking what he called the

destabilisation of areas under leaders who are outspoken

about apartheid. Holomisa said there was a "premeditated

strategy to throw the homeland concerned in disarray by

arousing panic and loss of confidence in the government". By

the middle of the month the Transkei budget had still not

been finalised, which Holomisa said smacked of "a political

ploy deliberately to engineer starvation of far-reaching

proportions and cause widespread chaos". Holom~~u

for a written undertaking by all affected governments that

they would not obstruct the process of negotiating a new

social order for the sake of protecting their privileged

positions at the expense of national interests (Daily

Dispatch 12/6/1991).

-30-

At the same time, there have been rumours in the area that

another coup attempt is being planned to unseat Holomisa.

Speculation has been fuelled by reports of increased South

African troop movements in the East London and Komga. These

were dismissed as i'straight forward routine" by the officer

commanding the SADF's Group 8 base in East London, Colonel

Phillip Hammond. Hammond said the movements were annual

exercises in citizen force training and other forces were

involved in "command and control" manoeuvres. Members of One

Parachute Battalion from Bloemfontein arrived in King

William's Town to participate in a group command control area

protection exercise, scheduled to last for a week (Daily

Dispatch 13/6/1991).

The same week, pamphlets call i ng for Holomisa's resignation

appeared, circulated by a group calling themselves "The Voice

of Bona Fide Transkeians" and claiming support o f senior

government officials, civil servants and teachers. Several

people named in the pamphlets as regional co-ordinators have

denied any links with the grouping. Holomisa condemned the

pamphlets as external propaganda and said that any coup

attempt would be a "sponsored" attack by enemies from South

Africa (Daily Dispatch 14/6/1991) . The pamphlets appeared all

-31-

over Transkei and Holomisa speculated that they had been

dropped by an aircraft. He also claimed they appeared a day

after Botha "selectively briefed" some journalists about

Transkei's financial problems. "Whoever is responsible had

good timing" commented Holomisa (Daily Dispatch 17/6/1991)

VII. CONCLUSION:

Recent government moves to establish a standing judicial

commission on violence and intimidation have already come

under criticism. Some political organisations feel that the

commission will be seen as biased as they have not been

consulted. It is clear from our report that a commission of

inquiry where people could bring their complaints may be

useful but it will serve no purpose if it is perceived to

favour one party over another. The Prevention of Public

Violence and Intimidation Bill makes provision for a panel of

judges appointed by the state President to investigate and

make recommendations of the causes and manifestations of

violence. The ANC has voiced some objections to the

commission saying that most black South Africans do not have

confidence in the jUdiciary and that if the State President

-32-

alone appoints the members of the commission it will be seen

as biased. However, the ANC did say that the commission may

be useful if there could be some leeway on who is appointed

to the commission and how deeply they could probe. Inkatha

spokesperson Suzanne Vos said that the commission had been

discussed at the government sponsored peace summit and

Inkatha had supported its formation.

Although most Reef townships have been relatively calm, the

declaration of a number of Reef townships as unrest areas was

extended by three months on June 10 1991. Law and Order

Ministry spokesperson confirmed the areas were: Soweto,

Meadowlands, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Thembisa, and Alexandra.

They were originally declared unrest areas on March 11 1991.

There is however cause for concern over the recent claims by

former MI agent Nico Basson that Inkatha has been supplied

with weapons. Basson's allegations also call into question

the supposedly neutral role played by the security forces in

the Reef and Natal violence.

Collection Number: AG2543 INDEPENDENT BOARD OF INQUIRY (IBI) Records 1989-1996 PUBLISHER: Publisher:- Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand Location:- Johannesburg ©2012

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