Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1998-04-17

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: I say this for the reason that I was a member of the IFP from the time that I grew up until the time became a member of the KwaZulu Police.

MR WILLS: Sorry, Mr Mbambo if you could speak a bit louder, I think some of the people at the back of the hall haven't got microphones or perhaps you could bring that microphone a little bit closer and it will amplify your voice.

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: It's because of the reason that when I grew up and until the time that I joined the KwaZulu Police I was a member of the IFP.  When I grew up when I was still school, at primary in Mandini my parents - my mother was a teacher at that school.  She was one of the teachers who taught the subject Inkatha which was then a cultural subject and my father was also an IFP members although he was not a teacher.  He worked in Durban for Shell.
	We grew up in the struggle in Inkatha, as a youth until I finished school, when I grew up there was conflict between the IFP youth and the UDF youth.  When I finished school I joined the KwaZulu Police.  After joining the force I was stationed at eSikhawini Police Station.
	Shortly after my arrival there I discovered that there was a great conflict between the ANC and the IFP.  I did not get myself involved in that conflict until the time when I was approached by Mkhize who was also a member of the KwaZulu Police at eSikhawini Police Station.  He came to my room at J2 and introduced himself to me although I already knew his name because we were working together.  He then asked me if I knew about the Israelis.  I said I did have knowledge because it was common knowledge within the KwaZulu Police that...[intervention]

SISI KHAMPEPE: Mr Mbambo, I'm going to request you to speak a little slower because you are too fast and we are trying to write what you are saying whilst it is being interpreted.

MR WILLS: Yes also Mr Mbambo, I'm going to get into detail about those incidents later.  If you can also just give your evidence in little bits, that will assist the Committee and in my questions, we'll be going through what the details that you've been given which do appear in your affidavit.
	What I'm driving at when I asked you the question, Mr Mbambo, about why did you think your activities were politically motivated?  What I'm asking you is why did you do, in a short two or three sentences, why did you do what you've detailed here, why did you perform these crimes?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: I did these crimes because I had been given instruction to do them by the hit squad members at eSikhawini.

MR WILLS: And what did you think the result of this would be?  We know that you were given instructions, that's clear from the affidavit but why, what do you think the effect of your activities would be?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: This would have greatly effected the ANC because the people that we were supposed to kill were ANC members and they had been identified by the B.S.I. and the local leadership as people who were a threat to the organisation, the IFP.  Therefore some of these members or some of these people were good at mobilising people to join the ANC therefore that effected the strength of the IFP.  Therefore, in killing these members of the ANC it would weaken the IFP's opposition, therefore the IFP will also be able to then mobilise and gain strength.

MR WILLS: Yes you've given very quick evidence about your upbringing, about your parents being members, supporting members of Inkatha.  Were they in fact quite - I heard the word used staunch members of the IFP and Inkatha?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes they were.

MR WILLS: Your joining of the KwaZulu Police which occurred in, well some time after 1985, you've indicated that it was in a way as a result of the relationship you had with a person whose name has been mentioned here before, a person Sipiwhe Umviana, is that correct?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes, that is correct.

MR WILLS: Can you describe to the Committee what your relationship with this person was and then later who this person actually was?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: When we grew up Sipiwhe Umviana was ...[inaudible] in P Section at Umlazi.  I was staying at F Section.  We were at the same Karate School, that means High School.  We were friends since that time from that Karate School.

MR WILLS: Please remember to talk slowly, people are taking notes.

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: I said that Sipiwhe resided at Umlazi, staying at Section P whilst I stayed a section F.  We both attended a Karate School in other words a dojo of Menzi High School.  That is where we started to become friends because we trained together, we continued being friends until the time that Sipiwhe joined the South African Police.

MR WILLS: And did Mr Umviani influence you to become a member of the KwaZulu Police in any way?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes he was the reason why I ended up joining the KwaZulu Police because when he returned from college he worked as a South African Police and he was also a member of the IFP.  At that time I was still at school.  When I finished school he influenced me to join the KwaZulu Police because at that time he had become a KwaZulu Police member.

MR WILLS: Yes and you detail in paragraph 7 of your affidavit, the time when you accompanied this Umviani to Ulundi where he had a meeting with the IFP President, Mr Buthelezi, is that correct?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes it is so.

MR WILLS: Now when I refer to the end of your paragraph 7 you say that Umviani was requested that he go and work at Ulundi and that he issued conditions as to whether or not he would work at Ulundi - he would only go there if he was made in charge of a certain branch, is that correct?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes it is so.

MR WILLS: Now it seems strange to me that someone of the rank of a constable can make those sorts of demands.  Can you elaborate on why he was in that position?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Firstly Sipiwhe did not like to go work at Ulundi the reason that Dr M G Buthelezi was insisting that he come work at Ulundi was because there were investigators from the SAP who were investigating cases that Sipiwhe had been involved in whilst he was working for the IFP as well as the Goldstone Commission and they were insisting that Sipiwhe should be suspended but the Chief Minister was refusing that he be suspended because he was one of his strongest members who was also active in performing activities that would benefit IFP. So he called Sipiwhe to Ulundi.  At that meeting Sipiwhe went to Ulundi with me.  We went to the KwaZulu Parliament, Sipiwhe went into the office of the Chief Minister and he had a meeting for about two hours.  After that we returned and he told me about everything that had gone on between him and the Chief Minister in the meeting.  He told me that he was not prepared to go work at Ulundi if he was not going to be made a Branch Commander of a certain unit.  He was demanding this because he knew he had a good reputation amongst the IFP leadership especially with the Chief Minister who had spoken several times publicly congratulating him on his activities.  Therefore he put this demand forward that if he was to work at Ulundi he would have to have his own unit.
	At that time the KwaZulu Police did not have a firearm unit so that because of Sipiwhe's demand this unit was launched and Sipiwhe was made a Commander of this firearm unit and the Chief Minister also gave Sipiwhe a house at D Section in Ulundi.

MR WILLS: Yes, you mentioned that he was one of Inkatha's strongest supporters.  What do you mean by that?