Amnesty Hearings — Richards Bay — 1998-04-14

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: As I have already explained that Prince Gideon Zulu had already issued out an instruction that we should follow the same strategy as was being used by the ANC, by attacking mobs, attack ordinary ANC followers, so that we could fight for support.
	We agreed even though in his absence and that we did with my group, that we were indeed going to do exactly as it was suggested.  I also remember the Gundani bus stop incident.
	What I would like to explain first is that this is not known publicly as the Gundani bus stop.  I have referred to it as Gundani bus stop in my affidavit because there was a joint where that was nearer the bus stop.  That is why I am referring to it as the Gundani bus stop, because it is near this shibeen.
	We knew that the ANC was going to hold a rally.  I cannot remember very well whether it was a rally or a conference but we had already gathered information to the effect that they were going to ride busses out of eSikhawini.  We verified the information and we learnt that they were going to come back home after that rally or conference.
	Usually when people were gathering to board busses, they would sing or chant slogans and sing songs.  We concluded that we would be able to spot the busses and we wanted to attack them on their way back in the evening.  We were hoping that they would delay so that they could come back when it was dark.
	I was not able to get everybody who would assist in the attack, but the ones that I managed to get hold of included Joyful Mthetwa and he too was a Caprivian, but he was based at Ntseleni that is where he resided.
	He was part of the attack, because I had already sent Zweli Dhlamini to explain to him that there is an operation in which I wanted him to participate.  I have also forgotten to say earlier on that Joyful Mthetwa is one of the people that, whose name was actually raised by Captain Langeni to the fact that I was going to work with him.
	I agreed to work with him, I didn't have a problem, I knew what kind of a person he was.
	We then waited for the busses to return and we identified a place where we could lay our ambush.  We saw one bus approaching as we were laying in wait for their approach.  
	There were three of us there, it was myself, Joyful Mthetwa, and Victor Buthelezi.  I would like to explain something about Victor Buthelezi so that the Commission can get to know him.  He was not a Caprivian, but he was a staunch IFP member.   He used to be the body guard of Bebebeyela who was a Mayor.
	He was a fully fledged Policeman based at the eSikhawini police station and then he was assigned to the body guard position to the Mayor.  He was a strong Inkatha member.
	As I have already indicated how we used to communicate with Bebebeyela, there was a time where we could use Victor as our driver in our operations, and that is how he got involved.
	At the Gundani attack, as I have pointed out, there were three of us and we lay flat on our stomach.  I remember I had a hand grenade and also I had an RG5 or something like that.  We also had rifles, all of us and we also had pistols, magazines and magazines which were loaded because we wanted to hit as many people in the bus as we could.
	When this bus approached, which bus we knew and thought was ferrying the people from the rally, and knowing that that was the ANC area, the bus came to a halt and we were laying just next to the bus stop, laying a detachment pattern, such as would be the case in an extended line.
	Each one of us had their own positions in readiness for firing, deciding as to whether we were going to hit the wheels from the front to the back and vice versa, and everybody would aim a particular position and those who were getting off the bus.  That is how we had planned our attack.
	We did exactly that and I still remember very well that I was the one who was supposed to pull of the hand grenade pin and throw it into the bus so that they could be confused, at which time we would start shooting.
	That we did.  When the bus grounded to a halt, I threw in the hand grenade, it exploded inside and we started shooting.  There was a lot of pandemonium in the bus, diesel started leaking, we continued shooting.
	I have no idea how many people died, I cannot be certain, but yes, we did that.  I remember that I was not arrested for that incident and I was not even prosecuted for that, and none among us were prosecuted or asked about the incident, but people, yes, were injured and some died, even though I don't know how many and who they were.
	I also remember that I reported to Captain Langeni that we had already killed the people and he was excited about that.

MR WILLS: Thank you Mr Mkhize.  I want to now turn to the incident, page 97 of the record, paragraph 47, that involves the attempted murder of Mr Welcome Mtimkhulu.  If you could detail to the Committee and members of the public what the circumstances were concerning this incident?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: As I have already explained that Mr Welcome Mtimkhulu was one of the people who were on the hit list because he was rubbing shoulders with the ANC, and there were rumours and suspicions.
	The local leadership had a way of gathering information, which way I do not know, and therefore I don't want to commit myself as to how they gathered the information.
	But certainly there was a way of gathering information, there were also things like BSI which we knew that they had files which they used to follow up ANC leaders.  I would not want to concentrate on that, because it doesn't involve me.
	What information was available at the disposal of the local IFP leadership, was that Mr Mtimkhulu had now become dangerous because he was now rubbing shoulders with people like Khumalo, discussing sensitive dockets as already explained.
	We are now in danger so that what covert operation we were involved in, could now be exposed to people and even our leaders run the risk of being arrested.  We were at war because of that, because we wanted to protect the organisation so that it doesn't end up in trouble, and we did not want to lose our fighting members, it would not be a good idea that these people be arrested.
	That is the reason why Mr Mtimkhulu had to be killed.  I also remember that on the day when he was to be killed, we took Bebebeyela's car, Bebebeyela being a Mayor, it was a Ford Meteor, white and small.  Victor Buthelezi who was his body guard, drove the car for us.
	Victor was in the car, myself, Romeo Mbambo and Joyful Mthetwa, Zweli Dhlamini was also in the car.  There is also another member who was present at the time of the attack, and that is Pios Ndlovu.  He was a Police at the eSikhawini station, also trained at Caprivi.
	On that day, he was there even though I did not like using him in the operations, because of his behaviour but I remember that day we fetched him at the hostel.  There were members from Caprivi who had been trained in the KwaZulu Police.

SISI KHAMPEPE: My question was when you restricted to the Caprivians, those Policemen who had been trained in Caprivi, in your area?  So I take it that Mr Mbanza and Sikanyeso were people who had been trained in Caprivi and were based at eSikhawini police station?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Yes.  There is one thing that I will also like to explain.  I explained earlier that I was not supposed to work, not only in the eSikhawini district but also in surrounding areas.
	eSikhawini as a district incorporated five police stations, Mandeni, Sundumbili, Dambanani, eSikhawini and Msani.  There is one other that I am forgetting, it is Mbongolwani.  It means I could work with people from either of this five stations.
	There were Caprivians in this other police stations, particularly in Mandeni there were Caprivians that I could work with, as a person who worked within the District Commandant and because we as the eSikhawini district were the Head of all these other police stations.