Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1998-04-17

MR WILLS: Now there was further action taken as regards attempts to cover up this incident, is that correct?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes that is so.

MR WILLS: Can you explain to the Committee what this was?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Major Mkulu and myself when to Brigadier Msemela's office for the reason that I was refusing to continue discussing secret missions with him because he had said that he had been sent by Brigadier Msemela.  I suggested that we go to Brigadier Msemela and we then went...[intervention]

MR WILLS: Sorry, if I can just put this in perspective here, here we're talking about you as a constable refusing to discuss this with a person who was then a Captain is that correct?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes that is so.

MR WILLS: And you essentially insisting that this go as to Brigadier Msemela, is that correct?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes that is so.

MR WILLS: Yes carry on?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: On arrival at Brigadier Msemela's office, Brigadier said "My son, trust Mtunu because he's my spokesman" we then started discussing the reason why I was being arrested at that particular time.  They explained that the initial investigation should be done by them, the KwaZulu Police so that they can cover up all the evidence regarding the case so that when the case is transferred or goes to the Goldstone Commission, the Commission will not be able to investigate it because all important evidence will have been removed.

MR WILLS: Now just to be absolutely precise on this point, that when you say "they" the discussion occurred as I understand your evidence, between Brigadier Msemela, Captain Mkunu who was later made a Major and yourself when this cover up was discussed?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes that is so.

MR WILLS: Okay continue?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Major Mkunu then suggested that how will it be if we took empty cartridges from J1, that is at the scene where these four youths were killed and take this to the Pretoria Forensic Labratory together with gun but it should be mentioned that these cartridges had been found at Sergeant Dlamini's house.  We protested because the cartridges that had been used in J1 were from the same gun.  Then Brigadier Msemela said that what should be done is to shoot other - using another gun so that those cartridges would be sent to Pretoria.
	We agreed on this but then I said that I didn't think that it was enough - it will be a good idea that the barrel of my gun be changed and then queried what type of gun it was and it was a 9 mm, a Z88 and there was a steel cabinet behind his chair in his office.  He opened the cabinet and removed a gun similar to mine and he said I should exchange the barrels of these two guns.  I did so.  I then told them that Constable Mtetwa's gun had been involved in Constable Dlamini's incident.  Because Mtetwa was not present at the time, it was decided that he would be contacted and some means would be devised about his gun.
	We agreed that I would go to the Sondumbile Police Station to Major Zama and I would stay there and on the following day I would go to the Umtenzeni Court and I would receive bail of one hundred rands.

MR WILLS: Just to digress there slightly, how did it end up that you went to the Sondumbile Police Station, why weren't you just put in the cells at the eSikhawini Police Station?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: There were two officers at the eSikhawini Police Station, Captain Mazini and Captain Masinga who were suspected of supporting the ANC.  It seemed that I would not be safe if I went to the eSikhawini Police Station and that it would then be known that I was being arrested.  So it was to try to hide information so that other police at the police station wouldn't know what was happening and that Zama, being the Station Commander at Sondumbile was also a member of the hit squads so he would be able to plan for the entire thing.

MR WILLS: Sorry, was it your choice, did you get a choice of which police station to go to, could you choose or were you ordered to go to a particular police station?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: I did have a choice.

MR WILLS: And was it you who elected to go to Sondumbile?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Can you please repeat the question?

MR WILLS: Was it you who chose to go to Sondumbile Police Station?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: It was Brigadier's suggestion which I also accepted.

MR WILLS: And why did you accept Sondumbile?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: I would like to explain this a bit - there were suspicions that eSikhawini Police Station had been infiltrated by ANC members such as the ones that I've mentioned.

MR WILLS: Sorry to bother with this, you've explained that, I think you're misunderstanding my question.  What was it about Sondumbile Police Station?  You've explained why you didn't want to stay at eSikhawini - what was it about Sondumbile Police Station that made you accept very politely Brigadier Msemela's suggestion?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: The Sondumbile Police Station and the entire police force as well as the Station Commander, Major Zama are all IFP members.  If they'd been requested to come and give assistance to the eSikhawini police in the violence, Major Zama put it clearly that he would not work with the eSikhawini  police because they have ANC members amongst them.  When Sondumbile police came to work at eSikhawini all eSikhawini policemen would go off duty except for the charge officer.  The Sondumbile police will then attack and shoot ANC members on the streets then Zama will make statements to cover up all those operations.

MR WILLS: Yes, okay, you were taken to Sondumbile Police Station and were you locked up or what happened to you that night?  What happened to you when you arrived?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: When I arrived at Sondumbile, I went into Major Zama's office and he explained that I should relax, this is home and he took me to a cell and said this was going to be my sleeping place and he gave me an office in which I could use the phone and he told me that I wouldn't be kept in custody.  I stayed at the charge office and worked with the police who were at the charge office until the following day.  I then went to court in Umtumzini the following day.

MR WILLS: Do I understand your evidence that you actually, despite the fact that you were a murder suspect that you weren't actually physically locked in the cell but that you just hung around the charge office the whole evening?

ROMEO MBUSO MBAMBO: Yes that is correct.

MR WILLS: You then - before you went to the court the next day did you draw some money for bail or was that after you went to court?  I'm referring you to page 56 of your affidavit where - sorry paragraph 120, it's page 56 and page 58 of the record where you say that - oh sorry it was after you had been denied bail.  You were denied bail and can you tell us what happened thereafter?