Amnesty Hearings — Johannesburg — 1999-02-17

MR SIBEKO: The next applicant Mr Chairman, is Mr Sipho Albert Mkhonto.   His application appears on page 160 under application number AM7012/97.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Mkhonto, which language would you prefer to use?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Zulu.

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: (sworn states)

MR SIBEKO: Thank you Mr Chairman.  Sir, will I be correct to say that you are applying for amnesty for murder and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunitions?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is true.

MR SIBEKO: Were you a member of the Self Defence Unit, sir?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes.

MR SIBEKO: Which Section?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Radebe Section.

MR SIBEKO: Which township?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: That is in Katlehong.

MR SIBEKO: Who was your Commander?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: My Commander was that ...(indistinct)

MR SIBEKO: Mr Hlutwa?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is Mr Hlutwa.

MR SIBEKO: Were you also a member of the African National Congress?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is correct.

MR SIBEKO: The incidents that you are applying for, do you know when they occurred, the dates when they occurred?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: I can still remember the year, it was July 1993.

MR SIBEKO: Now what happened in that particular month, in July 1993?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: His house was burnt down.

MR SIBEKO: Who is the person that you murdered?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Absolom Shozi.

MR SIBEKO: Absolom Boy Shozi?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is correct.

MR SIBEKO: How did it happen sir?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: The decision was already taken that if we found him, he is supposed to be killed, because he was an IFP member.
	It happened one day when he was, the decision was taken in the community meeting, that wherever we find him, he was supposed to be killed.

CHAIRPERSON: Why was he to be killed?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: He was the leader of the IFP and they were harassing the community.  They were assaulting people and doing all the wrong things that were not supposed to be done in our community.
	He was a leader of that particular group of people.  I was from my home one day, when I left my home, I wanted to go towards the direction of the play grounds, I wanted to see what was happening there.  When I was still going there, I saw Tumo and Mobi.  They asked me, they wanted to know where I was going.  I told them that I was just going for a walk towards the direction of the play ground, they told me not to go to that direction because Mr Shozi was coming down from his home towards the play ground.
	When I looked further, I saw him and I knew that this was the person that we were told about.  We were told to kill.  I did not waste time, I went to Mr Masidane's place where the AK47 was.  The gentleman's surname is Masidane, I went to his place to fetch the AK47.
	I explained everything to him, and I told him that I want him to give me the firearm because Mr Shozi was around.  He gave me the firearm.  After giving me this firearm, I took it and I went up to Shozi's place.  When I appeared, Mr Shozi had taken a direction towards Kwasine Hostel.
	We decided to walk, to go via some short cuts.

MR SIBEKO: When you went to fetch this firearm, you were alone, is that correct?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, I was alone.

MR SIBEKO: And then when you got this firearm and looked for Mr Shozi, you say now, you are talking in terms of we.  Who else was there and how did, when exactly did you meet the second person or the third person?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: The other person that I met on the way was Mzambia.  I told him that Mr Shozi was around and he had taken a Kwasine Hostel direction.  I went there with him, to try and prevent him from going further.
	Ndamase came, and in that process, there were three of us now.  When he went down that street where we were waiting for him, I told Mzambia that I am not good in handling the firearm, I cannot handle the firearm, or use a firearm.  He took the firearm, he prepared it for me and he gave it back to me.
	He told me to shoot him.  I shot at him, for about three times, but I was not successful.  Ndamase told me that the only thing that is needed to kill, to injure this person, was the knives and the pangas before shooting him.  Ndamase rushed to fetch the panga and when the other people heard the gunshots went outside, they wanted to know what was happening.  
	When they came, they saw Mr Shozi.  They did not ask questions, they hit him, they stabbed him, they hacked him.  I was next to them.  After hacking and stabbing him, they instructed me to shoot him.
	I shot at him for about five times.  After that, I took the firearm back to the place where I found it before.

MR SIBEKO: Right.  You met Mzambia when you got the firearm, is that correct?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is correct.

MR SIBEKO: You went together with Mzambia and as you say, you went through your covers, until you waited for Mr Shozi somewhere?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is correct.

MR SIBEKO: Whilst waiting, the third person joined in, that is Ndamase?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, Mr Ndamase came through another short cut.

MR SIBEKO: When Mr Shozi appeared, you started firing at him, is that correct?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is correct.

MR SIBEKO: And you say you didn't miss him, in fact, at what distance, what was the distance between yourselves, that is yourself and Mr Shozi?

CHAIRPERSON: Did you miss him when you shot at him?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: No.   No, I did not miss him.  I was shooting at close range, because from the place where we were hiding, we could see him, but he couldn't see us.
	When he came closer, just at a distance of where I am right now and you Mr Chairman, I appeared and I started shooting.

MR SIBEKO: The shots that you fired, did not hit him, is that correct?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: No, the shots did not hit him.

MR SIBEKO: And then Ndamase said he should be, Mr Shozi should be stabbed first before he could be fired at, is that correct?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, that is correct.

MR SIBEKO: Ndamase started stabbing him and thereafter you fired shots?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, while Ndamase went to fetch the panga, and the other people heard the gunshot outside, and they had to go out and check what was happening, and the others came because they heard the gunshots, they came and they saw Mr Shozi and they knew that he was about to be killed.  During that process, he was stabbed and hacked.
	He started to bleed, because I had to wait for him to bleed and I shot at him.

MR SIBEKO: From there, after you fired your shots, you left?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, I went to place the firearm where it was before.

MR SIBEKO: Do you know what ultimately happened to him thereafter?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: No, I don't know what happened because I left the scene because I went to place the firearm somewhere.

MR SIBEKO: If you were to meet the survivors of Mr Shozi, would you make peace with them?

SIPHO ALBERT MKHONTO: Yes, if I can meet with those people, I will ask for forgiveness.  I will be very happy to get that opportunity, because what I did at the time, I was not doing it for my own benefit, I was doing it for the benefit of the community.  Because of the situation at the time, it was very tense, the situation was very tense, I was forced to do whatever, I wanted to free my community from all those things because if I did not do that, I was also going to die.
	I am asking for an apology, even if they can come here, I can ask for an apology.

MR SIBEKO: Thank you Mr Chairman, I've got no further questions for the applicant.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR SIBEKO

ADV STEENKAMP: No questions, thank you Mr Chairman.
NO CROSS-EXAMINATION BY ADV STEENKAMP

MR SIBANYONI: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Mr Mkhonto, do you know why he was supposed to bleed first before the bullets can strike him?