Amnesty Hearings — Richards Bay — 1998-04-14

MR WILLS: And is it not so in your evidence in mitigation of sentence that the events you described in that evidence was substantially the same as the evidence you have given before this Committee in this amnesty application in relation to the same incidents?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: What I am saying here today is what I said in mitigation of sentence.  I also spoke to the TRC, the Committee for the violation of human rights in exactly the same fashion as I am doing today.  I think I am speaking here for the third time as I am seeking amnesty.

SISI KHAMPEPE: Mr Wills, are you going to give this incident?

MR WILLS: I am.

SISI KHAMPEPE: Can I just ask for clarity?  I didn't know whether this was addressed, I was at one stage not catching up with the translation.  Did Mr Mkhize say that Mr Membula was a member of the ANC?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Yes, Membula that I was fighting at Gundani's house was an ANC member as I explained.   He said it clearly that I thought that I didn't know the sort of danger I was to them, that made it clear to me that he was an ANC member.

SISI KHAMPEPE: Thank you Mr Wills, you may proceed.

MR WILLS: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Mr Mkhize, are you okay to continue this afternoon?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Yes.

MR WILLS: I want to turn now to page 116 of the record, your paragraph 85 and deal with the murder of Sergeant Khumalo.

CHAIRPERSON: Page 44 of your affidavit, paragraph 85.  Have you found it Mr Mkhize, it is page 116, page 44, paragraph 85.

MR WILLS: You have got it there Mr Mkhize?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Yes.

MR WILLS: You have indicated earlier that Sergeant Khumalo was suspected to be an ANC sympathiser and that his name was included in this so-called hit list at a meeting that was held earlier at the Klangelani Hall and that his name in fact was included by Brigadier Mzimela, do you recall that?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Yes, that is so.

MR WILLS: You also indicate in your statement here, that his name was also discussed at a meeting between yourself and Mr Luthuli, Mr M.Z. Khumalo and Major Langeni and Romeo at Ulundi, where you indicate that Major Langeni gave you an instruction to kill him, is that correct?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Yes, that is so.

MR WILLS: Now you initially had a problem with this instruction, is that not so?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Yes, we did have a problem, myself and Romeo.

MR WILLS: Can you tell me what that was?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: The problem was that we were short to be given instruction to kill Sergeant Khumalo because of the way he was friendly towards us.
	Because of the nature of the Policemen, we knew him to be and he had never expressed any signs or any indication that he could be on the ANC side.  
	What really troubled me or concerned me about killing him, is because I knew him to work at Ulundi, working very closely with the IFP leadership.  I was therefore surprised or confused as to how he had come to identified as a target.
	I knew him to be a person who used to work very closely and was quite trustworthy.  He was a body guard to the political leaders, that was a position of trustworthiness, so I was confused as to what was really going on.
	I thought maybe this order was maybe related to his being removed from Ulundi to eSikhawini.  But we had a problem with killing him and we voiced this out to the leadership.  We told them about our problem.

MR WILLS: Did the fact that you had a problem with this instruction, mean that you were not prepared to carry out this instruction?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: No, that is not what I am saying because we didn't have information on the motive for him being killed so that we could assess whether killing him was necessary.
	We had to do it when we were given the instruction because as I have explained before, you could not refuse a command.  It was just something that you would not do.
	You would either maybe raise a point that you were failing, but not that you wouldn't do it.  But eventually it emerged that why he was being killed, we realised that he had to be killed because eventually we confirmed information about him.  I will explain this.
	Romeo was in the Detective Unit and they would parade in the mornings.  He was called by Captain Masinga, who was the Head of their Unit and Masinga asked him to brief him on what is happening and Romeo enquired about what.
	The Captain said that he had heard about a lot of things and the Captain told him that he had heard from Sergeant Khumalo from a telephone call from Sergeant Khumalo that he should expect the arrest of some big fish.  That members of hit squads would be arrested.
	He as well, Masinga, also had a hit squad in his unit.  Masinga was then surprised about this, because he didn't know of the existence of this hit squad. 
	Eventually Captain Masinga revealed that Romeo was implicated in this hit squad.  Captain Khumalo had told him that Romeo was involved in a hit squad within the Detective Unit.
	He was happy - and Khumalo was happy that big fish would be arrested.  He identified this big fish as Romeo and others.   Romeo then came to me and told me about this matter.

MR WILLS: Thank you Mr Mkhize for explaining that, can you let the Committee and the members of the public know how it came to be that Sergeant Khumalo was killed?

BRIAN QUNA MKHIZE: Romeo and myself went to Mrs Mbuyasi and we indicated to her that it is said that Romeo is now going to be arrested and thereafter the three of us went to Klangelani Hall.  Mrs Mbuyasi's telephone could not make calls, it could only receive and we went to the offices at Klangelani and a telephone call was made to Ulundi.
	Myself, I still remember that I was held up in one of the offices called to the phone by Mrs Mbuyasi, saying here is Captain Langeni on the phone, calling from Ulundi.
	I took the phone and Captain indicated that what he has been saying has been confirmed, reference to Sergeant Khumalo and he indicated that the sun should not go down with him still alive.
	That is what led to the death of Sergeant Khumalo.

MR WILLS: Can you explain how the actual murder took place?