Amnesty Hearings — Hammarsdale — 1998-08-11

MR HEWITT: Tell us why, you could easily have shot her in the back of the head or in the back without making her turn around couldn't you, with a weapon of that nature at two and a half feet, do you agree?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, I do agree.

MR HEWITT: You couldn't miss killing her with her back towards you at two and half feet with that weapon ...[intervention]

CHAIRPERSON: Paces.

MR HEWITT: Two and a half paces, correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is correct.

MR HEWITT: Would you please tell this Committee why you wanted that lady to turn around so that she could see that she was about to be murdered?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: There is no major reason why I did this but I did not want to sneak upon her but to kill her when she was aware.

MR HEWITT: Well by stamping your feet, and I'm going to read to you from your affidavit, you say you caught up with her
"And I stepped my foot harder on the last staircase to attract her attention"
Do you stand by that affidavit as being correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes.

MR HEWITT: So you specifically did something so that her attention would be drawn to you, the killer, correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: The reason was not for her to see me.  It was still dark, she would not have identified me but the reason was that I did not want to shoot her from behind.

MR HEWITT: Why did you want to attract her attention before you killed her?  Please answer that question.

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is my policy, I don't want to shoot a person from behind.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Khumalo, you were prepared to shoot and unarmed, unknowing woman who was on her way to work, from a close range with an automatic firearm.  Why then - you say you had a policy not to shoot her in the back, you didn't have a policy not shoot harmless or at that time a harmless women.  Was it a question of bravery or something like that, why have that policy not to shoot her in the back if you are prepared to shoot her in any event?  And also on the same point, you were prepared to drive around in a motorcar and shoot at pedestrians at random, so this specific policy to draw her attention so you don't shoot her in the back?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Let me start by saying that I had never just shot at anyone, the people I attacked were my political opponents.  In this case I wanted her to see that she was being killed so that she could also feel the pain because at the time I believed that because she was responsible for the supply of guns and materials to the comrades who were attacking us, if I were to shoot her from behind she would have died unawares.

MR HEWITT: May I continue Mr Chairman?

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry Mr Hewitt, yes certainly.

MR HEWITT: Right, so what you're telling us Mr Khumalo is that had you come up behind her, two and a half paces from her and shot her in the back of the head she would have been killed instantly and she would have known nothing, she wouldn't have had a moments fear before her death because she wouldn't know it was coming, it would have been swift and she wouldn't have known anything about it and therefore she would have experienced no fear beforehand, isn't that what you are telling us?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, that is correct.

MR HEWITT: But you decided that you wanted this lady to actually look into the eyes of her killer and you wanted her to experience fear in her last moments before you snuffed out her life, isn't that correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is correct.

MR HEWITT: And therefore you wished to torture her momentarily before she died, by seeing the fear and the terror on her face before you pulled the trigger, isn't that right?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, I did want her to fear and for her to realise that she was dying.

MR HEWITT: And you call yourself an impartial soldier who does a professional hit?  I want to put it to you that you actually enjoy killing, what do you say to that?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: I disagree with that.  I did not kill anybody for the sake of the fact that I enjoy killing, anybody that I killed was because I believed that that person was a threat, a political threat to my organisation, the IFP.  I did not kill for the sake of enjoying killing.  If that was the case I would have killed more people.

MR HEWITT: Do you agree with me that it was a kind of torture just before she was shot, to make her turn around and look at her killer and know she was going to be dead shortly, wasn't that a kind of torture first?  Do you agree?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, I do agree.

MR HEWITT: And there were no other witnesses around to that killing were there?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, as far as I know the only other person who was there is Musa.

MR HEWITT: Yes.  So there were no other UDF people around that would have seen the horror or the fear on Mrs Xhaba's face before she died, correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is correct.

MR HEWITT: Only you and she knew that horror and that fear and that torture that she went through moments before she was killed?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: I don't know what a person experiences before they die, so I would not agree if you say that I knew what she was going through, but ...[intervention]

MR HEWITT: But you just told us Mr Khumalo, that you specifically wanted to attract her attention so she would turn around and she would know that fear before she was killed, didn't you just tell us that?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, I did.

MR HEWITT: So you were actually enjoying the cruelty of it, apart from just killing a political opponent, is that right?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: You are actually now differentiating this which I do not do.  I was killing her for political reasons.  I was indeed happy that I had killed her.

MR HEWITT: But if you'd shot her in the back of the head when she didn't know it was coming, you would have removed a UDF opponent anyway wouldn't you?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is so.

MR HEWITT: So what extra was achieved by her having this terror and fear and you seeing it just before she dies?  What did you achieve by that?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: For her to know that she was dying.

MR HEWITT: In other words, to suffer even more just before death, a form of torture, correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Even I had shot her from the back there wouldn't have been a difference, I would have achieved the same objectives.

MR HEWITT: Yes.  I now want to turn to the kwaMakutha incident.  You remember you told us that before proceeding with other people to the scene where the kwaMakutha massacre took place, there was a gathering of all those who were to participate in the attack, at a certain open space in a trench at Ulundi, do you remember that?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, I do.

MR HEWITT: And you explained to us this morning that at that open space where the trench is a briefing was given on the target area, correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is correct.

MR HEWITT: And that shooting practice actually, some target shooting also took place, involving the people that eventually participated in this massacre, correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is correct.

MR HEWITT: Did you say this morning that Mashubane was present at that target practice and briefing in this open area at Ulundi?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes, I did.

MR HEWITT: Mashubane is the praise name for Mr MZ Khumalo, is that correct?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: That is correct.

MR HEWITT: Now, I gather then that with you saying he was there, you actually saw him there?

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: Yes.

MR HEWITT: Now you ...[intervention]

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, just before you proceed.
	Are you related to Mr MZ Khumalo?  I notice you have the same surname.

BHEKISISA ALEX KHUMALO: No, we just have the same surnames.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Sorry, Mr Hewitt.

MR HEWITT: Now you gave evidence at the trial as a State Witness in the case of Peter Msani and various other accused, correct?