Amnesty Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — 1997-02-10

ANSWER: Directly after the, I was deployed to the Riot Squad in Pietermaritzburg although I had requested working at the station in Newcastle, I was deployed at Unit 8 at the time of my arrest in 1988, on 8 March.   I was sentenced in 1992 on 28 February and if I should be freed I would join my father in his business.   The factors that surrounded me at the time of this, when I was a child I read a book named "Die Grensvegter", which was about a man fighting at the border.   The daily news coverage by the media covered ANC offences.   I myself after matric wanted to fight terrorism and wanted a career in the police, although I wanted to be a priest when I was a child.    At the police college and the training which I received there, the ANC was, I was informed about the ANC as a terrorist organisation and the enemy of our country.   I was also educated as to their weapons and their agenda as to the UDF affiliate.   Another factor which affected me was Major Deon Terblanche, former Chief of the Riot Squad, his death.   He was more than that, he was a father-figure in my life since my father and I did not get along too well.   My father was a Nationalist and he did not have the same standards as Terblanche as far as our politics and the kind of work we did from day to day.   The impression which I got from Major Deon was that he would act as my father if there was any assault charge against me.   My own father would have questioned my activities.   There were also regular visits by Inkatha chiefs and leaders at the Riot Squad with Major Deon and Danie Meyer.   The
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meetings were very friendly and also comfortable.   My first impressions were that we could be comfortable with the Inkatha but not the ANC.   In my first week at the Riot Squad when I started working there I was already involved in a shooting incident.   This information I already made available to the Truth Commission with regard to this specific incident in 1996.   People fired at us and we were instructed to fire back, that was my first combat, we knew that the ANC and the UDF wanted to shoot at us.  Deon Terblanche was murdered by an ANC police officer in 1985, he was shot on the freeway in Durban on his way to Durban.   When I heard this news I was devastated.   My police father was murdered cold-bloodedly by a permanent police member, Ngcobo.   Ngcobo was identified as an ANC member at the Unit and he was removed from patrol work and had to do duty at our garage.   The intention was to keep an eye on him.  Shortly thereafter he asked Major Deon for a lift and he shot him then.   I sobbed bitterly there and also at his grave.   I started drinking and my indoctrination of the ANC was at breaking point, but not just myself, the whole Unit had lost a father and we were all deployed(?).   At the Riot Squad there were special constables who worked there.   All these special constables were Inkatha supporters and card-carrying members.   There was not one ANC special constable on duty.   A good policeman at the Unit was identified by the amount of hours of hard work he had put in and definitely you had to be anti-ANC in a very strong manner, otherwise you would also be removed from ANC patrol duties, the same as Ray Ngcobo.   In my line of duty it was normal procedure to search ANC houses and people and also detain people for questioning.   Thereafter, people would be
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assaulted and gross human rights violations committed on them.   At the Unit it was normal procedure to take firearms from ANC members and give them to the Inkatha or sell them to the Inkatha.   I did not start the system I was taught as such by the older policemen and I myself taught this to my juniors.   Now I would like to concentrate on the events of the murder of Mr Jama in February 1991.   I and my passengers in my vehicle had to monitor a march of the ANC of approximately 2 000 members.   When we, when the ANC members arrived at the meeting my group of special constables were dancing in a circle with their firearms and shouting slogans such as "viva Inkatha".   The ANC spokesperson approached me and asked me to please contain my members because they were inflicting the ANC members.   I did that.   The afternoon at 16:00 the meeting dispersed.  The group was escorted out of the IFP area so that they did not attack anyone.   After approximately a five minute drive we got to a rail crossing near Dambuza where a group of approximately, we encountered a group of approximately
10 men.   Some of them were dressed in T-shirts of the ANC.  Mr Erasmus stopped the vehicle and Mr Jama, who was later identified to us, quickly put his hand in the back of his pants when he saw us.   He appeared very suspicious to us and that is when Mr F S Erasmus stopped, everyone got out and searched the group.   Mr Jama refused to be searched.  Mr Erasmus slapped him.   Some of the special constables held him so that he could be searched.   I decided to load Jama in the back of the vehicle with the special constables for further questioning, although Mr Madlala mentioned a certain aspect which I will mention later.   Mr Erasmus then continued and myself and Mr Madlala encountered a pocketbook
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on Mr Jama.   He had made certain entries in there, inter alia that he was involved in terrorism acts where he had attacked Inkatha members and had attacked their places of residence and burned them.   Thereafter we started assaulting Jama..

BERNARD MAKGABO NGOEPE: I think you may have to slow down a bit, we're very much interested in the details of that particular day.   Are you able to speak a little bit slower than you are doing?

CHAIRPERSON: Otherwise you will have to put questions to the witness so that he can give specific answers.   This is going to be impossible for him just to read out his statement.

MR BANADE: Mr Harrington could I ask you to please read it sentence for sentence, according to Judge Mall's pen please and if you see that it seems as if he has finished that sentence, you can proceed to the next sentence.

ANSWER: Certainly sir.

MR BANADE: He is reading out a specifically prepared statement that's right Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Could that not be made available?

MR BANADE: Mr Chairman, as far as I can remember it is written in blue but we can probably try and make photostat copies.

CHAIRPERSON: Because if we can hand in copies of that statement it would save a great deal of time, we could ask specific questions to him to highlight whatever he may have said in his statement.

MR BANADE: Mr Chairman both Messrs Harrington and Erasmus have prepared such submissions in their own handwriting, I would like to request a short adjournment so that we can
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arrange for photostat copies to be made, if it should please you.

CHAIRPERSON: I think we'd better do the best we can, let him talk...(end side a)...and I think in all fairness to all the members of the Committee it would be better if we did have both his statement and all the other witnesses that you propose calling if they have statements.

MR BANADE: Could I then please request a five minute adjournment Mr Chairman?

CHAIRPERSON: We will give you an adjournment, we will adjourn for a short while.
COMMISSION ADJOURNS - ON RESUMPTION

CHAIRPERSON: I see a document before me, is this the statement of your client?

MR BANADE: Mr Chairman it is a copy and if you could see on the first page it's marked "Harrington" and contains everything he has said up until now and he will now proceed if you so please from page 6 onwards, in the middle, line 15 of page 6.   Mr Harrington could I then ask you to proceed, thank you to the panel.
MR HARRINGTON'S READING OF STATEMENT CONTINUES