Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1998-04-21

MR WILLS: Now, Mr Hewit was asking you questions relating to your frequent or the fact that you spent so much time with Mrs Mbuaze.  Can you explain as to why, or some of the reasons as to why you spent so much time with Mrs Mbuaze?

MR MBAMBO: Firstly, it was because I was a hit squad member.  Secondly, because I resided near her home in J2.  Thirdly, Mrs Mbuaze could not travel along to Empangeni and to the city, therefore if she wanted to go to town to pay her accounts and do her groceries, I would accompany her.
	Other than that we also attended meetings together or sometimes I would drive her to Ulundi and fetch her from there or I would take her to Chief Nzuza's place or to Chief Machaba's place at Injuni.

MR WILLS: From your evidence it's clear that at least some of the time you spent with Mrs Mbuaze was to protect her, is that correct?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, that is so.

MR WILLS: Is it not so that one of the specific instructions given to Mr Hlongwane was to be stationed at Bebe Biela's house for the specific purpose of guarding him?

MR MBAMBO: That's correct.

MR WILLS: And I take it that these two people would be happy with that arrangement?  I mean Mrs Mbuaze and Mr Biela?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, that's correct.

MR WILLS: Now the other thing is that Mrs Mbuaze lived in J2 Section, is that correct?

MR MBAMBO: That's correct.

MR WILLS: This was the one area in eSikhawini which was IFP controlled?

MR MBAMBO: That's correct.

MR WILLS: Now Mr Hewit also cross-examined you at reasonable length surrounding the issue of the meeting between Umvuyana and your information that he'd met with Mr Buthelezi in Ulundi, do you recall that?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, I do.

MR WILLS: And he indicated that all the information that you got from Umvuyana you related to hearsay from what he referred to as being: "a dead person", is that correct?

MR MBAMBO: That is correct.

MR WILLS: I want to know - you make two allegations in your affidavit and in your viva voce evidence that I just want you to confirm, the one is, was it a fact that Umvuayna was given this permission, this position as Branch Commander of the firearms unit, and that can be established, in fact that's not hearsay?

MR MBAMBO: That's correct.

MR WILLS: And was it also a fact that he was issued this powder blue, I think you said, 4 x 4 vehicle?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, that's correct.  It had a picture of a bull's horn on the sides of the doors.

MR WILLS: You actually saw this, this isn't just what you heard from somebody else?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, I saw it.

MR WILLS: Now, I want to turn to the issue of Nati Gumede and if the Court will, sorry, if the Committee will bear with me, I want to refer again to that volume that - I think it's the 3rd volume, if we could just for ...[intervention]

CHAIRPERSON: Just call it the documents.

MR WILLS: Thank you, the documents bundle, to page 37 and I want to - I don't think we have a spare copy, but I'm going to read something which I want you to confirm and listen to it carefully, whether or not this happened in the Court.  And I'm reading from Judge van der Reijden's sentence, and it refers to the issue of you getting the car and the evidence concerning his assessment of what you got the car for, okay.  And I quote
"Mr Myuza the driver of Prince Gideon Zulu confirmed in his testimony on the merits and before the accused were convicted, that he had placed accused number two in possession of a KwaZulu Opel Monza.  At that stage of the trial, the existence of the eSikhawini hit squad had not yet been proved nor the fact that the three accused were members of the hit squad.  In our Judgement on the merits we remarked on Mr Myuza's pathetic and woeful tale in which he described how accused number two got possession of the KwaZulu Government vehicle.  At one stage during his evidence the Court interjected and expressed the view that his story was a fairy tale.
			At a later stage when it became apparent that he had been involved in the falsification of that particular vehicle's log book to cover the period of plus or minus 5 days that accused number two had the car, the Court remarked that his tale was an attempt at covering up for reasons unknown at that stage.  However it is not clear why he told this Court"
...[intervention]
CHAIRPERSON
"VK]], it is now clear"

MR WILLS: Sorry, thank you.
"However, it is now clear why he told this Court the unbelievably complicated and totally improbable story in his attempt to explain how and why accused number two got possession of the Opel Monza.  He could never concede that he had received orders from persons in authority to give accused, to give the car to accused number two"
To continue:
"In the absence of any evidence from Prince Gideon Zulu, accused number two's version that the killing of Nati Gumede was sanctioned by Prince Gideon Zulu and others and that he was given an official KwaZulu vehicle to enable him and his fellow hit squad members to travel to Durban to kill Nati Gumede, stands uncontroverted.
		Dalaxolo Luthuli, the witness called by the State conceded under cross-examination that he cannot dispute that Nati Gumede's killing was sanctioned by Prince Gideon Zulu for the reasons advanced by the accused numbers one and two"
Do you recall that as being a correct reflection of the Judge's sentence?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, I do.

MR WILLS: Is it true in fact that this is what happened?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, that is correct.

MR WILLS: So the Judge's finding in this regard was an accurate, an accurate assessment, he had uncovered what actually happened?

MR MBAMBO: Yes, that's correct.

MR WILLS: Thank you.  Now in answer to a certain question put to you by the Evidence Leader, Advocate Mpshe, I'm not sure if you understood the question clearly and I just want to clarify it.  He asked you - and I can't remember the details of his question, about why you got involved in these killings and you said that it was for the sole reason or you conceded that it was for the sole reason of your hatred for the ANC.  Was that what you wanted this Committee to understand?

MR MBAMBO: No.

MR WILLS: Can you just briefly explain what were your reasons?

MR MBAMBO: What I was trying to explain was that I did this for the reason that I wanted to carry out the objectives of the IFP and I did this as a member of the hit squad instructed by the IFP leadership.  I was trying to show that - I do not want to deny that I did hate the ANC from the time that I grew up until I became a KwaZulu policeman, but throughout my fighting with the UDF when we were still fighting using stones, I had never killed a UDF or ANC person until such time that I became involved in the hit squad's structure, working under the instruction of the IFP leadership and the KwaZulu Police.
	That was the only time when I started killing people but I was not just killing them from personal hatred but from instruction from the IFP leadership.  That is what I was trying to explain.

MR WILLS: Yes, thank you Members of the Committee, Mr Chairperson, that concludes my questioning.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR WILLS

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mr Wills.  Mr Moloi, do you have any questions to put to the witness?

MR MOLOI: Thank you Mr Chairperson, I would just like to clear one issue.
	Mr Mbambo, correct me if I'm wrong, my understanding of a criminal investigation is that it's not easy to simply put aside and discard of a murder docket, am I correct?

MR MBAMBO: That's correct.

MR MOLOI: And I also understand that it's going to be more difficult if we talk of multiple murder.

MR MBAMBO: That's correct.

MR MOLOI: You have mentioned here a number of instances where multiple murders were committed and you and the members of your squad were not charged.

MR MBAMBO: That is true.