Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1997-07-14

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: I am number W80113K, in the South African Police, Detective Warrant Officer, stationed at Cape Town.
	On Thursday, the 9th of July 1987, at 13h35 I was on duty, I was sober and clad in civilian dress.  I was accompanied by number K173415M, Sergeant A.D. Abels of the Security Branch in Cape Town.  On the instructions and orders of our Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Liebenberg, Sergeant Abels and myself went to Albermarle Road 8, Hazendal, Athlone.
	Our task was to do surveillance of the grounds there, to determine whether the trained ANC terrorist, Ashley Kriel, was hiding out there.  We only had information to the effect that the abovementioned terrorist could be in the house or in one of the adjacent houses and therefore Sergeant Abels and myself, approached the house on foot whilst other members of the Security Branch waited out of sight of the house.
	Upon arrival at the abovementioned address, I saw that there was a gate in front of the door and this gate was locked with a padlock.  Sergeant Abels and myself then walked around the back of the house to the back door.  I requested Sergeant Abels to knock on the door to determine whether anybody was home.
	After a couple of minutes, a Coloured man opened the door.  The Coloured man held a jersey and a towel in front of his trousers, his right hand was covered with this jersey and a towel and his left hand was pressed against his covered right hand.
	I immediately recognised this person as the wanted terrorist, Ashley Kriel.  I identified myself to Ashley Kriel as a member of the South African Police.  Kriel immediately  made an upwards motion with his covered hands.  At the same time, he tried to run into the house.
	I threw both my arms around Ashley Kriel's arms and chest, trying to pin his arms to his body.  He resisted furiously and battled to free himself.  I suspected that he had either a firearm or a handgrenade in his arms under the jersey and the towel.
	Sergeant Abels assisted me and we managed to restrain Ashley Kriel, who resisted.  During this struggle the towel and the jersey fell and I saw Kriel holding a firearm with both his hands in front of him, and he tried to raise it.
	We had already fallen to the ground during the struggle, and we tried to pin down to the ground.  I succeeded in getting the firearm from, loosening it from his grip, it was an automatic pistol and I hit him on the forehead, quite a heavy blow and this wound bled freely.
	Kriel released his grip for a moment whilst he was laying on his back, and we pinned him down to the ground.  I was in a crouching position on his right hand side and Sergeant Abels to the left of him, at his head.  	I still held this firearm which I took from Kriel in my right hand and with my left hand, I took my handcuffs from my pocket and I handed them to Sergeant Abels, with the instruction that he should handcuff Kriel's hands.
	Just after Sergeant Abels had placed the one cuff around Kriel's right wrist, Kriel jumped up into a sitting position and grabbed my right hand in which this firearm still was.
	I grabbed my right hand with the firearm out of his grip.  He turned to his left, whilst he was still in a sitting position in order to free himself and get up.  Sergeant Abels, meanwhile tried to restrain Kriel.  I however, realised that Kriel was getting into an upright position and from my position at that stage, which was behind him, because he was turned away from me, I jumped on his back in order to pin him down to the ground once again.
	With me on his back, he thrashed in all directions and tried to enter the house.  At some stages we were on the ground and other stages we were kneeling or - it as during this stage that I heard a shot.  I realised that it was his firearm which was still in my right hand which had gone off.
	I realised that Kriel had been wounded and I noticed blood at his mouth and nose.  I immediately instructed Sergeant Abels to cuff the deceased's left hand as well, and to guard him whilst I immediately went to my vehicle to get help on the radio.
	The struggle couldn't have lasted for more than a minute.  At no stage did I cock the weapon and in the struggle, I didn't notice whether it had been cocked.  
	However, I am of the opinion that the deceased must have cocked the weapon before opening the back door of the house and had concealed the weapon underneath the towel and the jersey.
	When I returned to where Ashley Kriel was, it was clear that he was dead.  During the search of the deceased's room in Albermarle Road 8, a handgrenade was found under his pillow.   This was found by Warrant Officer Nel of the Security Branch and the explosives expert seized this handgrenade.
	I seized the deceased's firearm, a .22 star, self loading pistol, number F739725 with seven rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber of the pistol.
	Next to the body, there was one .22 pellet which I seized.  After the incident, I secured the weapon myself.  I pointed out the relevant points of the official police photographer as well as members of the video unit.
	The handcuff on the left hand wrist had been loosened to indicate the position of the handcuffs during the struggle and the body was then taken from the scene by ambulance.
	During the incident, my glasses, the left lens of my glasses had been damaged and I sustained light chafing wounds to my elbows and arms and bruised my right knee.  I did not receive any medical treatment for my injuries and there then follows the details regarding the oath.

UNKNOWN: Captain Benzien, do you admit then that you are aware of the contents of the statement and you've signed it on all the pages?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: That is correct.

UNKNOWN: Is there anything else which you would like to add?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: If I may mention it once again, I would like to say to the family of Mr Kriel, now that I am older  and perhaps know a bit more about the politics of those years, I believe that Mr Kriel acted very courageously.
	My purpose was to arrest him and not to kill him.  Although his death was a tragedy for his family, I am very, very sorry that he had to die, but the tables could very easily have been turned on that day, the outcome could have easily been very different and it could have left myself and Sergeant Abels being wounded or killed.
	And once again, I apologise to the family for his death and I thank God that I, who also have children, also a daughter who is 22 years old, that I was not the person who was killed on that day.

UNKNOWN: Thank you Chairperson.

UNKNOWN: .

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Papier, are there questions you wish to put to this witness?

MR PAPIER: There are Mr Chairman.  May I proceed?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, you may do so.

MR PAPIER: Thank you.  Captain Benzien, I see in your amnesty application it is dated the 8th of May 1997, in Malmesbury, is that correct?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: Yes, that is correct.

MR PAPIER: Who compiled it?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: My Advocate.

MR PAPIER: The Advocate appearing here?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: That is correct.

MR PAPIER: It was signed by you, is that correct?  Did you swear or was it an affirmation?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: That is correct.  That is correct.

MR PAPIER: What was it, did you swear or was it an affirmation?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: I took the oath.

MR PAPIER: Or can't you remember?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: I took the oath, but I see here the certificate was not entered.

MR PAPIER: I see.  Where did you sign this?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: I signed it with my Advocate.

MR PAPIER: And the Advocate sent it to the Amnesty Committee?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: Yes, that is correct, I brought it in by hand.

MR PAPIER: I see that regarding Mr Ashley Kriel, on page 8 of your application, you simply just say that you abide by the statement during the judicial inquiry?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: That is correct.

MR PAPIER: Where did you make this affidavit?