Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1999-08-17

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: Yes, we discussed the matter with him, that we were being harassed.

CHAIRPERSON: And what was decided?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: We did not make a decision but we just thought that we would monitor the situation and see how things go and as time progressed, this war did not stop and in fact it got worse and at some point when we were discussing some things, Mr Ninela showed us some weapon, it was a bomb and he told us, gave us instructions on how this bomb worked.  We did not take it from him at that time but we just discussed about it and left it with him, but eventually we got hold of the bomb.

CHAIRPERSON: When was that?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I cannot remember precisely when, but we did take it from him.  At that time the war against us by Inkatha was at it's worst.

MS GABRIEL: Did you use this bomb?  Can you tell us about that?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: When we had the bomb in our possession, it became clear that we could not just wait for an attack but should attack first, so we launched an attack on the Mbambo house on the 8th of June.

CHAIRPERSON: What year?

MR LAX: It was 1988.

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: That's correct.

MS GABRIEL: Yes, and then what happened?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: As we arrived at the Mbambo house, we prepared the bomb for detonation.  I don't know what happened, but I fell unconscious and I regained consciousness at some point and I tried to find out exactly where I was but, because of the injuries that I had sustained, I could not see clearly.  My left-hand side was totally injured.  I then moved from that place and went to Blessing's home.

MS GABRIEL: Did you find him?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: No, I did not.

MS GABRIEL: What did you do next?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: At his home I received assistance.  They washed my injuries with warm water and they gave me some tablets.  The following morning, I went to my home and I also slept there when I'd arrived.

MS GABRIEL: Did you have any contact with Blessing after this?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: The morning before I went to identify the spot where we had been, we met him along the way and we managed to talk.

MS GABRIEL: And what was said?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I told him that I had this problem.  I did not know what had happened, if one had been shot at or if anything had happened to my brother, because I could not find him and we were on our way to that spot to look for him.

MS GABRIEL: What did Blessing say?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: As we were talking we realised that there was something wrong and he then told me that I should inform the police on what had happened because at the time we were of the opinion that we had been shot at.

MS GABRIEL: Yes, and then what happened?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: We then reached that spot and I discovered my brother's body which was badly maimed.

MS GABRIEL: Now immediately after this you went into hospital to receive treatment?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: Yes, I did.

MS GABRIEL: And there was some evidence that people came to see you at the hospital.  Who were these people and what did they ask you and what did you tell them?  Could you tell us about that, while you were in hospital?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: After I had been admitted, a group of soldiers came to me and some of them were in police uniform and these policemen checked where I was being placed, they monitored the ward in which I was being placed.  I was guarded by a group of two policemen and I was always under police guard, under 24 hour guard.

MS GABRIEL: Right, who came to visit you in hospital?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I was woken up by a group of men.  Three white men.  They were in the company of some people I knew, Chief Bhengu, Felix Bhengu, as well as Mr Mbambo who was a teacher in our area.  I think his first name was Doda.

MS GABRIEL: Do you know the names of these white men?  Did they tell you what their names were?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: When they arrived they said they were attorneys who had been sent by Blessing, who were going to assist me any way they could.

MS GABRIEL: What did you discuss with them?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: The police who had been keeping watch over me were told to leave the room and then they started questioning me on what had happened, whether I knew that my brother was dead, such questions and from the way that they had introduced themselves and the presence of these other two people who were there, I explained everything as to what had happened to us.

MS GABRIEL: And you told them that Blessing had given you this bomb, did you tell them that?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: Yes, I did.

MS GABRIEL: Right.  What happened after that?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: They left thereafter.  I do not remember who else came to visit me.  When I was discharged, I was fetched at about 9 p.m.

MS GABRIEL: Sorry, let me just stop you there.  The men that came to visit you in the hospital, have you met any of these men since then?  Have you recognised any of them since then?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I did not meet any of them but I do remember the first person who gave testimony here yesterday, he came to me as an attorney and I was surprised when he revealed that he was a policeman.

MS GABRIEL: Are you saying that the first applicant that gave testimony here yesterday, was the person, was one of the people who came to visit you in the hospital?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: That's correct.

MS GABRIEL: Would that be Mr du Preez?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I think so.

MS GABRIEL: You're not certain?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: Well, they do look alike, but I think he is the one.

MS GABRIEL: Where did you go after you were released from hospital?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I was fetched in a yellow land rover.  It was driven by some old man.  I was driven for about 4 hours to   C R Swart and they would occasionally stop along the way, open the van and close it and this man was just drinking along the way.

MS GABRIEL: Right, and you got to C R Swart and what happened there?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I was registered and they took my money, the sum of R30-00 which they never returned.

MS GABRIEL: Yes, what else happened to you at C R Swart?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I spent the night in cell number 20.  I think on the following day I was interrogated.

MS GABRIEL: By whom?  Who interrogated you?  Can you remember?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: I was fetched by a black person from the cell and he handed me over to a white person who was in room number 15, but I do not remember his name, but he spoke in Zulu.

MS GABRIEL: What did they ask you?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: He questioned me on how we had sustained our injuries, which I told him and he asked me where I had been trained, when I'd gone to exile, with whom had I returned to South Africa and that was information I did not have because I didn't know what he was talking about.  He continued questioning me telling me that I should be truthful, because if I don't speak the truth things won't be okay, but he told me that he knew Mr Ninela.  He even said that Mr Ninela was no longer in South Africa but in Angola.

MS GABRIEL: Did you tell these people that you got the bomb from Ninela?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: This is information I had already given to them whilst I was in the hospital and I also said it again when he questioned me.

MS GABRIEL: Did they take statements from you while you were at C R Swart?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: Yes, there was a statement that was written. When they were interrogating me the first time, they did not believe my story, but the second time around when they questioned me, yes they did take the statement down.

MS GABRIEL: And what happened to you after this interrogation?

HUMPHREY SENZO BHENGU: Thereafter I was instructed to leave.  They took me home the following day and what used to happen was that the cell was never lit, you never knew the time of day.

CHAIRPERSON: How long were you in the cell at C R Swart before you were released?