Amnesty Hearings — Johannesburg — 1997-04-08

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: I proposed to him then that this particular Indian trade centre had to be attacked because I believed that at that stage the Muslim community in particular were the majority ANC supporters and he agreed with me that we go and attack that particular centre.

UNKNOWN: What did you do then, did you go and select a target?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, I did.  I told him that the ideal spot would be the Indian trade centre.

UNKNOWN: Did you know the business centre?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, I did.

UNKNOWN: In Bronkhorstspruit.

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: According to you, the next morning at three o'clock on the 18th of September 1993, you went to his house, is that correct?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: It is correct.

UNKNOWN: What then happened there?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: I went home quite quickly that evening and because of that I was not able to obtain the number plates as he had given me instructions, I then went to his house, he was already waiting for me.  We packed the bomb into the car and I had to hold it because it was unstable.
	We drove to the police barracks and removed two number plates from the police bus, we got into the car and drove to Bronkhorstspruit.

UNKNOWN: Did you help in constructing the bomb?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: What was your task?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Mr Harmse gave me the instruction to put
together the electrical component of the bomb.

UNKNOWN: Is that in terms of the training which he had previously given you?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: Upon arrival, on your arrival at Bronkhorstspruit what happened?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: We stopped just outside of Bronkhorstspruit and attached the number plates to the vehicle, we drove through Bronkhorstspruit.  We drove passed the business centre to see whether there were any people around, there were no people around so we drove passed and planted the bomb.

UNKNOWN: You may go on.

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Mr Harmse left the car ...

UNKNOWN: There will be an attempt to regulate the speed of testimony.  It appears that the witness is somewhat nervous, but we will slow down somewhat.

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: We parked in front of the shopping centre.  Mr Harmse got out of the car, we placed the bomb on the stoep, or the front verandah of the shopping centre.  I noticed that Mr Harmse was having trouble with the arming of the bomb.  I approached him again.  He told me to leave the bomb alone, but I then said to him that it would be of no use if we just left the bomb there without it detonating.
	After some additional difficulties we armed the bomb and left.

UNKNOWN: What did you do once you had returned to Cullinan?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: On our way back to Cullinan, we removed the number plates from the vehicle.  We were cleaning the number plates and then damaged one of the number plates, which we
threw out of the window.  We returned to the police barracks where the remaining number plate was attached to the police bus again.
	Mr Harmse left me at the police barracks and I went home from there.

UNKNOWN: You mentioned that you cleaned the number plates, was this to remove the finger prints?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, it was with a view to remove the finger prints.

UNKNOWN: The next day, on the Sunday, did you return to Mr Harmse's home?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, that is correct, I went to his house.

UNKNOWN: Mr Harmse has given testimony that on that Saturday he had been to a meeting at Mr Ford's home, you did not go along did you?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: No.

UNKNOWN: During the Sunday, did he have any conversation with you, that is Mr Harmse?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, he approached me and handed the BWB, Boer Resistance Movement wings, he congratulated me for our achievement on behalf of the Boer Resistance Movement and I was then handed the wings.

UNKNOWN: What was the purpose with regard to handing over the wings on that day?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: These wings imply that I was selected to be a full member of the Boer Republican Army.

UNKNOWN: Why then on the day immediately after the bombing?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: To become a member of the Boer Republican Army, you had to carry out a special order which would indicate your level of commitment.

UNKNOWN: It appears quite clearly from your testimony, that you acted under instructions from Mr Harmse, is that correct?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes.

UNKNOWN: In carrying out this instruction or these instructions, did you do this simply to please Mr Harmse or did you carry out the deed to promote the goals of the Boer Resistance Movement?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Having looked at the situation in South Africa and where things were going, I acted in this manner on behalf of the Boer Resistance Movement.

UNKNOWN: Was there any personal gain on your part from this act?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: No.

UNKNOWN: How did you feel when you realised that someone had died?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: I was shocked.  It was not my intention to go and kill someone and it touched me deeply, especially when I realised that I had killed an innocent person and that I have robbed a wife of her husband and the children of their father.

UNKNOWN: Mr Froneman, when one plants a bomb in a town in a business area, surely one must keep in mind that people might die?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: In any war people come in the cross fire and they do die.

UNKNOWN: During the court case you also pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and several other charges of possession of explosions and so forth.  You were also heard in the regional court, is that correct?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: That is correct.

UNKNOWN: What is the length of your sentence?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: 16 years, which was reduced to 9 years and this was on the 25th of April 1994, in which judgement was given.

UNKNOWN: So you've been in prison for three years, is that correct?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: That is correct.

UNKNOWN: During your court case a Dr Labuschagne, a criminologist brought testimony on your behalf, can you remember this?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, I can.

UNKNOWN: I note in that part of the court documents that is available on page 13, Dr Labuschagne mentions that you did not really have political insight, but now you are appearing before this Honourable Committee and you want to claim, or you want to express your feelings with regard to these two Organisations.  I want to hear from you, if this Doctor speaks of politics, would it not be true that you are not interested in the politics as practised by a government, but what you understand with the term of politics, it has to do with that which touches you personally, your ethnic community, your people, your religion and your language, is that what you understand under politics?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, that is what I understand under politics.

UNKNOWN: You are not however, interested in the broader politics?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: No.  As it says in one of the ... (tape ends)

UNKNOWN: ... remain our property, is that correct?

LEO HENDRIK FRONEMAN: Yes, that is how I understood it even though being at school.

UNKNOWN: On page 13 of your testimony the same Dr Labuschagne mentions and I will read to you from the 21st line "at all the meetings of the Boer Resistance Movement, where he was allowed, there was considerable war talk and talk of taking up arms and of the time having arrived. This kind of talk never gave him the impression that people were to be killed".

ADV DE JAGER: My apologies, you are referring to page 13 as typed at the top of the page, is that correct.  That would be paged at page 14 in the bundle?

UNKNOWN: That is correct, we have the documents, but our documents are not bound, so I must apologise that I referred to this in such a weak way, but this is the typed document and on page 13 thereof.