Special Hearings — Caprivi Hearings — 1997-08-11

MR MACADAM: 3A womanising?".  It was not easy to locate Sergeant Dlamini, because he had two houses in Esikhaweni that he owned.  One was in H1 next to the police station and he was with his wife, who was also a policewoman and there was one other house in J2 and he also had a wife there who was not a police and now he will be in different houses, so it wasn't so easy for us to locate his whereabouts, until one evening when Gcina came and we went to J1 where we undertook another operation and after we had done with that operation, we went to his house in J2.  That's where we killed him.  I do not know at this point whether the Commission wants me to elaborate as to how we killed him.

MR MACADAM: Not in very great detail, but if you could give us some idea of what actually happened there.

WITNESS:   We arrived there.  Gcina had a shotgun and shattered the outside globe and shot twice through a bedroom window and I was on the other side, next to the kitchen, where I kicked the door open and Gcina kicked the front door open and Sergeant Dlamini insulted us.  After a short while his wife went out with the child.  Because we knew Sergeant Dlamini that he was a police, we also knew that he was armed.  We waited for like an hour, roughly, waiting on the door until he convinced that we had left and we heard footsteps inside the house and we could not tell and detect which part of the house he was and Israel Hlongwane got inside with a gun, a ,357 Magnum and shot at him and gained exit from the kitchen side and he came to me and I asked him if he was sure that he died and Israel said he thinks he died, he thought he died and took the 9mm and went back inside and shot once more, to make sure he is dead and we therefore left the scene.

MR MACADAM: /Did

MR MACADAM: 3A Did you report back to anybody the fact that Sergeant Dlamini had been killed?

WITNESS:   We did report to Mrs Mbuyazi at the local level and Brigadier Mzimela, who demonstrated joy for a good job that was done and Mrs Mbuyazi told me that she had already reported to Ulundi.

MR MACADAM: Did you involve yourself at all in the investigation of Sergeant Dlamini's murder?

WITNESS:   At the time, no, but when I was arrested, after I was arrested, that is when I helped or assisted to help - to assist the investigation.

MR MACADAM: [Break in recording] ... we'll deal with that when you come to tell us how you were arrested or happened then.  The next aspect I want to deal with is do you know of anything that was done after Constable Danca of the KwaZulu Police was killed in a hand grenade attack in J1 section in Esikhaweni?

WITNESS:   Yes, I know.

MR MACADAM: Can you tell us briefly what happened there?

WITNESS:  After Constable Danca's death we had a meeting at the IFP offices in Empangeni.  Those who were present were R Mkhize, who was the representative of the IFP in that office and present was Gcina Mkhize, Jeffrey Mthethwa, Zweli Dlamini as well as myself, where we addressed the matter of revenge, the death of Constable Danca and the injury too that other police sustained, because they were being attacked on duty.  Jeffrey Mthethwa told us he won't be able to attend, because he had already previous engagements, but he will give us the ammunitions for AK47s.  Late that after I, together with Constable Mthethwa went to Joyful Mthethwa's house in Nseleni, where he gave us the AK47 ammunition that we brought with to Esikhaweni and we planned this operation in Esikhaweni at

MR MACADAM: /Mrs Mbuyazi.

MR MACADAM: 3A Mrs Mbuyazi.  Mrs Mbuyazi was present and Chief Mathaba and Gcina Mkhize was present and Israel Hlongwane, Zweli Dlamini and Siyabonga Mbuyazi, who was a son to Mrs Mbuyazi.  That night Gcina went to fetch a police van at the police station, which is ZP777 and we went to G1 to the block of flat which was occupied by the MK members who were killing the police in that area.  It was already planned that the community of that area, G1 community, was predominantly ANC and not showing any interest in helping the investigation to recover the people who killed the police, because the police would be shot during daylight, but no one will furnish information who were those who killed, now we undertook one thing that we will kill that area and teach them a lesson.  Indeed we were transported at night to that area and we started with that block of flat which was occupied by the Umkhonto weSiswe members and we attacked it and we found out that they were no longer occupying that flat, had left and we attacked that whole portion of G1.  We started from the beginning till to the end.  The 777 van kept driving around to make sure and to ensure that we are not being disturbed in any way.  Now that operation, the reason why we made it clear - we made that then clear, it was so to show the community that that was the retaliation by the KwaZulu Police for the killing of the police in that area.  So many people were injured in that operation, but after we had done, we went to Mrs Mbuyazi, we found Mrs Mbuyazi and Chief Mathaba waiting for us and they asked us as to what kind of weapons we used and guns and we told them that we used the normal guns and they said, the way they sounded, they sounded so unique and they were so happy and the mood was

MR MACADAM: /jubilant

MR MACADAM: 3A jubilant and they also assured us that they will report to Ulundi.  That was what happened that day.

MR MACADAM: You said many people were injured in that attack.  Do you know if anybody was killed?

WITNESS:   There was one that I heard who died and it was a lady, but the majority were admitted to Thokozana Clinic and NPA, Empangeni Hospital and sustained injuries.

MR MACADAM: If you could finally then deal with this aspect and namely the fact that eventually you were arrested for the murder of Sergeant Dlamini.  What happened there?

WITNESS:   If I am not mistaken, I don't remember if it was Monday, in the morning, in my house, Major Mchunu arrived with Major De Lange.

MR MACADAM: Major Mchunu, what position did he hold?

WITNESS:   Major Mchunu was the unit commander of the Special Investigation Unit in Esikhaweni and Major De Lange was the station commander in Esikhaweni.  They arrived in the morning in my house and asked me if I had some places to go to and I told them that no, I will just go to gym in the morning and that was it for the day and they asked to go and report to the police station after I was done with gym and indeed around ten or around nine I went to Esikhaweni Police Station to Major Mchunu's office and he told me that we should wait for Gcina Mkhize, because he had already sent a message to Gcina Mkhize, he wanted to see him as well and Gcina Mkhize arrived eventually and he told us, Major Mchunu that was, that Mzimela had asked him to talk to us with regard to the Goldstone Commission, that it phoned Esikhaweni to enquire why is it that we are not arrested as a result of the murder of Sergeant Dlamini and he told us that he was sent by Mzimela, that he should

MR MACADAM: /tell