Amnesty Hearings — Hammarsdale — 1998-08-13

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Chair, Mr Lethal came to me in a private car one evening.  He told me he had been looking for me for a long while.  When I enquired why, he said MZ Khumalo had informed him that his son had been attacked at Imbali at a house near WP Ndlovu's home.  Therefore he wanted people to go guard that house and, "because the only person that I trust, I thought I should I come approach you".  And he asked me where Siphiso Lethal is, and I told him he must be at his home, and we went to look for him.  This was on a Thursday, I think on the 28th of November.  We found Siphiso at his home and he packed his belongings, and we left.  When we arrived at Imbali it was at night, and Mr MZ's son was not at home and he had not left the key.  We were then forced to return back.  I and Mudla Induna returned and we left Siphiso Lethal at WP Ndlovu's home.
	At about 5am the following day Mudla Induna had come to pick me up, and we left, but before we went to Pietermaritzburg we went to the Durban office of the IFP and he make a call to MZ Khumalo and told him that he had found people to go guard his son.  After Durban we went to Pietermaritzburg and he left us there.

MR WILLS: Yes, I just want you to give a bit more detail in relation to the houses and where they were situated.  Can you tell us what the political affiliation of the persons were who resided in that area where those houses were situated?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: The house in which Mr Khumalo's resided was at a corner in Unit 2 near Mr WP Ndlovu's home, who is a member of Parliament.  In the area those were the only two houses that I regarded as Inkatha houses, the rest belonged to the comrades.

MR WILLS: Yes.  So your duty was then to guard Mr Khumalo's son, then it transpired that you killed Bongane.  Can you tell us how this occurred.

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: When we arrived at Pietermaritzburg a certain policeman by the surname of Nwabe was to be buried at the weekend.  This policeman was said to have been shot by comrades and his service pistol was stolen.  Mr ...(indistinct) Lethal had told us about this incident, and he warned us to be careful when we were there.
	One day when we were going to a hostel, it was myself, ME Ndlovu, a person who guarded Mr WP Ndlovu's house, Siphiso Lethal, and Mr Khumalo's son.  There were four of us.  We had an HMC and a shotgun.  Siphiso had a shotgun, ME Ndlovu had a HMC.  On our way to the hostel we encountered a crowd of people.  These people must have been comrades because IFP members do not use that road, we used it because we had guns.  And when they saw us they just started running away, and as they were doing so they said some things directed to us.

MR WILLS: What things did they say to you?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: They were actually insulting us, saying we were stooges, Gadga's stooges because they could see that we had guns, therefore we must be policemen.  And some used to see us standing at that house on the corner, therefore people used to see us, and they knew that we were guarding that house.  They then ran away.
	On our way from the hostel we met one of them, and on meeting him we recognised him as one of the people who had been in the crowd that had insulted us.  And ME Ndlovu just shot him on the leg.  I was carrying - or I removed the HMC from ME Ndlovu and I shot him four times on the head, and he died.

MR WILLS: Now is it not so that ...(intervention)

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: We had suspicions that he could be one of the people who had killed the policeman at Imbali.

MR WILLS: Yes, I just want to get clarity.  You say you went to the hostel with these four people, and then you returned.  As I understand, your evidence is, at the time you killed this person, Bongane, there were only two of you present, and that was you and ME Ndlovu.  The other persons that you were with before had already left your company and had nothing to do with this incident.  Is that correct?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: That is correct.

MR WILLS: Now you've indicated to the Committee and the members of the community that you were involved in politics and you've been in some human rights violations.  What have you got to say about that now?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Chair, I would like to give thanks for this opportunity.  Actually when I grew up I was not the same person that I am today.  I was made to be what I am.  What is important, the people should realise who was behind all of this.
	At that time my life was in danger because if I had defied instruction I might have also been killed.  What I request from the community of Mpumalanga and the family members from Ramsomi and Dombela families, I ask God to heal their wounds.  It was not my intention to kill them, but I know that it is difficult for them to forgive me.  I am doing all this so that when I die, if I die anytime from now, my soul should have peace so that my spirit doesn't wander around when I'm dead, but should find peace.  
	So those who lost their loved ones because of me, it is very difficult, there is not much I can say about this.  I myself did not gain anything from this.  My family is facing hardship.  I can only request that the community accept me.  I know that when I left Mpumalanga the violence had subsided.  We were used in all these areas by the leaders, political leaders who couldn't handle the situation in their own areas, they couldn't control the violence in their own areas so they used us.
CHAIRPERSON REQUESTS AUDIENCE TO CALM DOWN

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Therefore Chair I say to the people of Mpumalanga I was able to move around Mpumalanga because there was peace in this region at that time, but we would be taken from this place and be used in different areas where there was still violence, including Intchanga, Zululand and Ndwedwe.  Therefore there were some youths that were actually being taken, I was not the only one who did this.  I say to all the people who lost their relatives, I ask for forgiveness.  Thank you Chairperson.

MR WILLS: Thank you Mr Chairperson.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR WILLS

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mr Wills.  Mr Stewart do you have any questions to ask the witness?

MR STEWART: I do thank you Mr Chairperson.
	Mr Ndlovu do you know Mpumlani Mshengo?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes.

MR STEWART: And did he stay with you at Mrs Tule's house at the time that you were there?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes we did stay with her.

MR STEWART: And was this Mshengo involved at that time in violence?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: That is correct.

MR STEWART: You yourself have knowledge of  that?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes Chair.

MR STEWART: Now on the question of the death of Msomi you explained that you got instructions from someone called Jack, am I right?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: I did not say I received instruction from Jack.

CHAIRPERSON: I think he said that Jack came to him with a message from Mr Lethal, and conveyed a message, and then he went off with Jack Gomede and that message was later confirmed when he spoke with Mr Lethal, and then they both went off.

MR STEWART: Mr Chairperson if you'll just bear with me for a second.  You see I just want to try and confirm your - as I understand your evidence you said that initially you received this instruction from or through Jack Gomede, who said it was from Mudla Induna, is that correct?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: I said Jack came to me and said Mudla Induna required to see us.  And when we got there he said there was a task that we were supposed to carry out.  That is how I explained it.