Amnesty Hearings — Kimberley — 1997-10-27

LAURENS MBATHA: That prior to the incident on the 25th of May, that one should indicate it was, the 25th incident was, actually, the second incident that was taking place in Kimberley.  What I am trying to say about that, it was not the first blast.  It was the second blast, but on that particular day what occurred is there was a march.  It was a joint march, that is between Cosas and the Youth League and at the march, predominantly, we had members of Cosas with Youth League, particularly, in leadership, where I became part of the march.  The march proceeded from Areno.  At that time I was driving with a 16V number plate of RCL, I am not sure about the figures.  It was, actually, belonging to the organisation.
	Inside there I had some of my command structure members.  As we reached centre, that is social centre, it is, actually, on the way as you are coming over to town right in Galishewe.  I drove away, actually, with the RCL with my members in the car not realising even and not notifying exactly, because they thought that we were just moving along the road.  We drove, actually, back to the office where I picked up the F1 hand grenade and went back to the marchers with the grenade.  At that time I drove off immediately as we reached Tikkie Stop.  Tikkie Stop is one area in Kimberley as we are fast.  Unfortunately, this is how we know it, it is a bus stop.  It is at that point that I drove off, picked up one of my members, that is Walter Smiles.  
	Smiles, actually, entered the vehicle and in the process of driving, when we reached an area right in town, it is called in Afrikaans, die klein OK, small OK.  It was that time when I branched off the vehicle with Smiles next to me and the vehicle drove off.  It is ... (intervention).

MR TSHOLANKU: What do you mean, sorry, what do you mean by branched off, Mr Mbatha?

LAURENS MBATHA: I, actually, climbed off the vehicle.

SISI KHAMPEPE: You and Smiles?

LAURENS MBATHA: Myself and Walter Smiles.  It was during the process of the march, because the concentration and the spirit of the march was towards the destiny of the Trust Bank building where the Bop Consulate was.  The concentration of the people were there, they could not notice and exactly realise what I was doing at that time.  Smiles was just next to me and we were part of the marchers.  It was at that time when I told Smiles and those were my instructions, that as soon as we reach the Trust Bank building, after the last memorandum has been submitted and the marchers moving away, you must throw that hand grenade right into that sliding door.  That was my instructions to Smiles.
	We proceeded with the march.  I parted with him, I went to the forefront up until we reached this Trust Bank building.  I remember during the last memorandum there was an exchange of words that were coming up from the marchers at that stage and we were still standing in front.  One of the comrades, who were senior in the march, came in front, calmed them down, they must calm down, because they were preparing to move away.  It was at that time when Smiles threw the grenade, but just at the verge of the door, I might not know his name, he is a security officer, but it is a private company, came out of the door and he was struck by that grenade right in his face.  
	The grenade, actually, fell off right into the corner, where I should say today, it is where the deceased, Ezekiel Mokone was standing and it exploded from there.  The whole situation was very pathetic and a very chaotic one after the explosion.  Members of Cosas and the League became victims of that blast including their leadership.  When the explosion took off, everybody was running all over the direction.  We ran back to the office and I came back with the Bakkie.  The victims, we took them immediately over to Kimberley Hospital and at that time Smiles, I think, was still at the ANC office, if I am not sure.  
	The reason why it became chaotic is that the situation turned out not as planned and expected mainly because of the grenade, actually, strike the security guard in the face and it went back where the deceased was standing, of which that was not intention and it resulted in the death of the deceased, Ezekiel Mokone.

MR TSHOLANKU: What was the intention or what was the hand grenade supposed to do, what was the meaning of throwing the hand grenade?

LAURENS MBATHA: As I have said, this is, actually, not the first, it was the second one at that stage.  If one does recall well, during that stage we had a situation where the mass action campaign was introduced, because things were not, actually, proceeding well.  We had an operation called Operation Barcelona spearheaded, actually, by the league and at that time, as one commanding, actually, in the Northern Cape, I was commanding in the Northern Cape, actually, focusing on all areas of the Northern Cape.  To me, at my level, it became very clear that there is a situation that is starting to build up and, unfortunately, that is being (...indistinct) so fast, but when we proceeded at that stage, it appeared that the intensification was around the right-wingers, of which, when you go to Kuruman, it is about 27km away, they one, actually, one of their largest training camps.
	Their training camp there was, it was more on a weekly basis.  The intimidation, assaulting of people, was becoming a very common thing (...indistinct) as the Vaal, Haaswaterbel, the situation was becoming very serious and for me, at that stage, I could not come up with a clear distinction, because I regarded the right-wingers, especially from the statements that we are (...indistinct), that they have a very strong force and support within the security forces of the country.  That situation did not end up there.  One, actually, became more sensitised when one learnt of the Polo Park incidences, when one learnt, actually, about the death of comrade Chris also, that was in April.  It became very clear that this situation is not, actually, going out as one, as one was, actually told, or expected that it should have gone.
	For me, at that stage, preparations started to occur in the Northern Cape. Preparations were engaged mainly to prepare for the eventuality which might rise and it is unfortunate.  I have a very limited strength of members, that is those who were trained. When I refer to a trained MK (...indistinct) I am referring to those who are coming from outside and with that limited number, one had to try and centralise the whole approach, decentralise it, in the sense that we had to reopen up structures all over the Northern Cape and those structures stretched from all areas, that is Kimberley, Upington, De Aar, Posman, Petrusville, you go into Warrington, you go into the Bop Belt, where you have the (...indistinct), you have the Gomotso's, because that was the basis that it is important that one will have prepare himself now, because of these activities that are becoming very visible to us and among which of the civil war aspect was becoming very serious.

CHAIRPERSON: At whom was the hand grenade aimed?

LAURENS MBATHA: The hand grenade was aimed at the building, because that was to clearly signal to the Bop Government that they should know that the intensification of their brutality is numbered up to so far.

SISI KHAMPEPE: Will you not come again, Mr Mbatha, what was the reason for launching the hand grenade at the building?

LAURENS MBATHA: We knew exactly it is where the Bop populace Consulate was situated and by throwing that hand grenade inside there, it was not meant, actually, to kill anybody, like the rest of the other blasts that can pay testimony to that, but it was basically to send out as a signal the level and the attitude that was existing by then towards the Bop Government.