Amnesty Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — 1998-02-10

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: As I have already mentioned, that we arrived during January.  The operation was carried out on the 14th of February, therefore I would say during all the time between this two time period, we were busy trying to identify targets.
	We were also trying to find ways as to how we would find cars which we would use as a get away car.  So it did take time before the attack, I can't remember the exact dates.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Why did you only identify places frequented by white people?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: It is because when you are given an instruction as an army officer, you have to follow the instruction given by the Commander, therefore we were following the instructions.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you not at any stage question that instruction?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Any army member will tell you that you don't question an order.
	You are supposed to go and do or carry out these instructions, and after carrying out the instruction, you have to report back.  It is then that you get a chance to ask questions if you have questions with regard to the order as to what was the purpose behind it and we never got that chance, even up to now, because we were arrested before.
	We didn't get a chance to ask.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you not, why didn't you ask those questions of Power or Mzala or Jones, why didn't you ask him those questions in January when he picked you up at Port St Johns or when he brought you to Umtata to meet Andile?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Within the APLA organisation, each member of APLA is told that if you are under a Commander and when given instructions to carry out an operation, you don't have to ask but you can only ask after the operation.
	Therefore there was no reason as a member of APLA to ask, so I could carry any instruction given to me by the Commanders of APLA.

NORMAN ARENDSE: When did you become a member of APLA?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: I got training in 1990.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Where did you get that training, was it inside the country or outside the country?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Inside the country.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And when did you do your first operation, when did you carry out your first operation?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: It was during 1991 where I was instructed to go to Cape Town, when I arrived in Cape Town, I stayed there.
	I used to work as a person who received APLA members who were employed to the Cape Town region.  And also to identify targets.  After that I was involved in police operation in Cape Town.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Let's just come back to the Newcastle operation.
	We have heard from your comrade Bongani Malevu, that earlier before you actually launched the attack on the disco, he drove a vehicle which took you to a place where you hijacked a Cressida motor vehicle, is that correct?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: That is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Who was with you when you hijacked the vehicle?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: It was Funani and Situlele and myself.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Funani and Situlele, are those the two gentlemen you referred to earlier, the members of the Unit, the other two members of the Unit?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Yes, those are the ones we were together in Transkei.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And after you hijacked the vehicle, who drove the hijacked vehicle, the Cressida?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: It was myself.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Okay, and where did you go with the vehicle?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: We took it from the scene where it stopped.  When we were hijacking it, I went to them, I approached them asking them to get out of the car.
	It was a militant approach because I pointed a firearm at them.  After that, after they got out, we took them and tied them and we took them to an area where you can't switch on the car.  I went back to get R20-00 petrol into the car.
	After that I went to the house which we used, I packed the car and Andile knew that there was supposed to be a driver.  They were on standby with a driver, Funani, then I gave them instructions that they should get into the car to go to Newcastle.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Now, we know from the criminal trial that Dumisane Dube, he was the driver of the vehicle, or he became the driver of the vehicle that took you back to the disco, is that right?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: That is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Now, so in the vehicle it was Dube, you, Shiceka, Funani and the other chap, Sitembele?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: That is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you, did Dube drive you straight to the disco or did you go anywhere else?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: After taking the car he drove it to the restaurant. I told him to stop the car.  Shiceka alighted from the car and looked around as to whether people were inside or not and he came back to the car.
	After seeing the situation, if we tried to attack this restaurant, there were many people outside, it is possible that there might be some African people, passerby's who might be injured, to avoid that, we tried to move to another target.
	We tried to move to another target, because we had two targets.

NORMAN ARENDSE: So, would it be correct to say that the restaurant was in fact the main target for that night?  You targeted the restaurant?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Yes.  It was one of the selected targets, however, it wasn't a target because of a very simple problem I have just explained.

NORMAN ARENDSE: How far is the disco from the restaurant?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: It is not far, although I can't estimate the metres.  After the restaurant, behind it, there is an open parking and at the corner of the park in the other street, that is where the disco was situated, it is not that far.

NORMAN ARENDSE: So did you drive from the restaurant to the disco or did you walk there?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: We drove by car.

NORMAN ARENDSE: You drove and who got out of the car first?  Did you get out of the car?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: When we arrived at the disco, I went out.  I looked around in the disco, I went back to the car.  I instructed Shiceka to get out.  I also instructed Funani to give us a firing cover behind so that while we are attacking the place, he can ...

NORMAN ARENDSE: Yes.

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Dube was to sit in the car just to protect the driver.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And you then entered the, did you go through the back or the front of the disco?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: I will say we didn't enter into the disco, because there were iron bars on the door, we shot through the door which was facing the main road.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Okay.

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: It was myself and Shiceka who were shooting.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And can you recall how many people were inside the disco when you shot?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: I cannot specifically say the number and I won't be able to know that because I didn't count them.  I only looked at the place and I see that there were people inside and there were many.  I don't know how many they were.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And you were armed with a, what was it, an R4 rifle?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Yes, that is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And you also had a hand grenade?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: That is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you throw the hand grenade?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: I didn't throw it.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Why didn't you throw it?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: As there were bars on the door, it is possible that if you throw it, it can hit and come back to near to you and it might injure us instead of the targets.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Would it be correct to say that you, when you shot and when you fired the shot from your rifle, you and Shiceka, that you aimed to kill and injure as many people inside the disco as possible?

WALTER FALIBONGA TANDA: Our aim was to kill as many people as possible.