Amnesty Hearings — Pinetown — 1998-10-20

MR LAX: Okay, thank you.  Please proceed.
MR GWAMANDA
"He removed us, he picked us from my home.  He waited a bit and he told me that he had come to pick me up and the boys.  I got dressed.  My children know that he did arrive at my home, even my wife was present and I told her not to make tea because we were in a hurry.  It was in the afternoon.  We got into the car and left.  I had this 9mm pistol and the AK47, the same one that I had carried to the meeting.  We drove off.
	As we drove past Majlebe we met Terrace Mhlongo in his red van and parked near us and he told us about a sugar-cane that was supposed to be harvested.  When he left we also drove off and we went up towards Somkomo.  
	As we approached it that's when Mr Mfayela pointed out a house, a nice house, a beautiful white house and he said: 'There is that dog who transports comrades.  He should be killed and he doesn't listen and today, Gwamanda, you should attack this dog'.  And I said: 'I hear you'.  I realised that I had been fetched to kill this person.  I realised that if I opposed what he was saying I would also be killed but of course he was working in collaboration with the police.  
	We went up Somkomo.  There is an area, a steep area up from the taxi owner's house and there is also a shop nearby.  He stopped there and he said: 'After killing this dog you should attack all the area around here and you should use his kombi because the people of Somkomo knew the kombi so they would not suspect anything'.  He said we should attack the Somkomo area because there was this bad spirit amongst them, the people in the area, because they were ANC supporters.  
	We then went back to his house.  On arrival there he sprinkled us with the Ntelezi traditional medicine ..."
...[intervention]

CHAIRPERSON: Who sprinkled you with that medicine?

BOY VUSIMUZI GWAMANDA: I'm going to explain.  We met Simo but the person who sprinkled us with the Ntelezi was his younger son, whose name I've forgotten.  I can identify him.
"As we were returning to his house we met Simo going to Mr Mfayela's house and he said he should go to sleep.  That was a common term used in the Ndwedwe area.
	People from Ndwedwe know that if somebody comes to you and asks you why you are not asleep, those people are Mfayela's gang and they are out to kill.  I know that the people from Ndwedwe are afraid of speaking out but the community knows that these people would ask you: 'Why are you not asleep'.  The people who left the Somkomo are were shot at and they know about this.  
	We went into the house and Simo, Mr Mfayela's son had a plastic packet similar to that one and he was carrying it like that, it was full of ammunition and he put it on the coffee table.  There was also an R1 and two AK47 guns and a 9mm, the one that I had with and another one.  
	I would like to explain about these boys.  The 9mm that was used to kill the boys which I referred to is still in my possession.  I did not return it, it is still with Mdu.  The police will be able to find it.  The 9mm that was used in shooting the boys.  The one that was used to kill the taxi owner is with Mr Mfayela but I know that he will not produce it now because he is now a member of parliament and nothing will ever be done to him. ..."
...[intervention]

CHAIRPERSON: We will now take a short tea adjournment for 20 minutes, I see it's 11 o'clock.  We will resume in 20 minutes.
COMMITTEE ADJOURNS
ON RESUMPTION

BOY VUSIMUZI GWAMANDA: (s.u.o.)

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Gwamanda.

MR MCHUNU: Thank you, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: You were saying you had your own - you were talking about the 9mm guns and you said that a different one was used, Mr Mfayela's one, at the tea adjournment.