Amnesty Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — 1998-02-10

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: As I have mentioned, that we talked to Jones in 1993, he also mentioned that they will come to do the recognosce and it was clear that the PAC, especially the armed wing, APLA, haven't done anything in KwaZulu Natal, so there was a need to send people to come and do the reconnaissance so that the operation could be carried out.  I think that is the picture.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Now, it is well known that the PAC had a conference in December of 1993.  Did you attend that conference?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, I was present.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did any resolutions come out of that conference dealing with the armed struggle or the status of the armed struggle?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, there were such things.

NORMAN ARENDSE: What more or less was the resolution that was taken there at the conference?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: There was a debate about the armed struggle and it was agreed that the armed struggle should continue.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you personally hear anything about the armed struggle or the status of the armed struggle after that resolution was taken in 1993?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I found out after I was arrested, that the PAC will suspend the armed struggle.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Now, if you could just deal with the evening of the attack on the 14th.
	Can you explain to the Committee what role you played?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: My part in the operation after having conversed with Tanda, I was told that I would have to help with driving and also to help them in the hijacking of the car.
	I was also the driver when we went to look for this car.  I was driving Tanda to look around at the place and see if there were road blocks or not.  That is what I did and after the operation, I also tried to take the arms to go and hide them in the farms in Babana and my brother, I think that is what I did.

NORMAN ARENDSE: You mentioned in your application, Mr Chairman, which is on pages 15 to 19 of the record and Exhibit A, on page 16 Mr Chairman, under sub heading Nature and Particulars (iv), you mention in your application, I have been part of planning the attack that took place in Newcastle disco on 14 February 1994, which was conducted by APLA cadres where one person was killed and the other was injured.
	Can you just explain what you mean that you were part of the planning of the attack on the disco?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I was trying to say that after I came back from overseas, we had a meeting where everything was explained to me.  I was told I have to get a driver and that is the reason why I am saying I was involved, but that is what I was trying to say.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Still on page 16 Mr Chairman, under the sub heading State the political objective sought to be achieved, you wrote Mr Malevu, to dismantle the apartheid regime.  We were pressurising the whites so that they can tell the apartheid regime to concede to our political demands, do you recall writing that in your application?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I do remember even if I don't remember which of the applications, because I made a few applications.  I don't know which one is that one.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Now, the attack took place on the 14th of February 1994, just about two and a half months or so, approximately two months before the first democratic elections in this country which took place I think on the 27th of April 1994.
	The question is, here we were going to have our first, and we did have our first democratic elections which returned a majority black government.  Why did you still participate in this attack?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: What I knew was that the PAC was continuing with the armed struggle so I have to follow the resolution of the armed struggle.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you participate because you were ordered to do so?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Can you repeat the question for me?

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you participate in the attack, as you put it the planning of the attack and the role that you played in the attack, both before and after the attack, did you do that because you were ordered to do so?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Doing what, what did?

NORMAN ARENDSE: Were you ordered to play a role in the attack or did you do so voluntarily, did you just feel like doing it or were you told to do it?

CHAIRPERSON: I think we should disallow that question in the way that it is coming.

NORMAN ARENDSE: As you please Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Why did you take part in this thing?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I was a PAC member and I follow its rules and if part of the PAC decided to follow the armed struggle, I was supposed to help.  I couldn't oppose or refuse to help, because that will mean I am contradicting the rules and procedures of the PAC.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Thank you Mr Chairman.  You had brought arms back from Umtata and you hid it at your home, but then you left in January to go to Sweden and you returned in February.  Did you make these arms available to Tanda and Shiceka on your return from Sweden or were those arms made available before your return from Sweden?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: When I left, after realising that it is possible that they might come to look for the arms when I am not available, I made sure that I put them in a place where they would be able to reach them when they want to use them.

NORMAN ARENDSE: You did not convey your co-applicants to the Crazy Beat disco to carry out the attack, is that correct?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Please repeat your question?

NORMAN ARENDSE: You did not convey Tanda and Shiceka to the Crazy Beat disco to carry out the attack?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: That was done by Dube?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And he drove in a Cressida vehicle which was hijacked on the same night of the attack?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you play any role in hijacking this Cressida motor vehicle?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, I was there.

NORMAN ARENDSE: What role did you play?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I was the one who was driving the car for the people who were going to do the hijacking.

NORMAN ARENDSE: You had mentioned that some reconnaissance work was done by APLA operatives in the Newcastle area.  Do you know whether any targets were identified by these operatives?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, I remember.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Can you mention which targets were identified in the Newcastle area?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: If I remember well, at the end it was a restaurant, the Crazy Beat disco.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Were those the only two?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Those are the only two I can remember.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Do you know why the restaurant was not attacked instead of the Crazy Beat disco?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I only discovered later as to why it wasn't attacked.

NORMAN ARENDSE: What were you told, why was it not attacked?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I was told that when they arrived, there were many people outside the building and there were many African people around there, and it was clear that if they carried out the operation, some of the African people, two or three could be injured.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Do you know why the Crazy Beat disco was identified as a target?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: It was because it was mostly frequented by white people.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Did you at any stage see for yourself that the Crazy Beat disco is mostly frequented by white people?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, as a person who was staying in Newcastle, I used to pass the Crazy Beat so I knew, I saw that it was mostly white people who were frequenting the place.

NORMAN ARENDSE: When did you see the, your co-applicants Tanda and Shiceka, when did you see them again after the attack took place, was it that same night or was it the next day?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I saw Tanda the very same night of the attack.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Where did you see him?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: At home.