Amnesty Hearings — Boksburg — 1998-06-22

MS VAN DER WALT: Did you know if there were any other commando's that gathered together except for those in Ventersdorp?

JAN B DE WET: Yes Chairperson, as I remember correctly, there were seven areas in the Western Transvaal and there were between 200 and 400 families gathered at specific places.

MS VAN DER WALT: Did you know which instructions those commando's had?

JAN B DE WET: I did not know which instructions were given to them Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: The women and children, they went to your farm in Ottosdal?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: Where did the men go?

JAN B DE WET: After the women and the children and the people from Ventersdorp, after they arrived there - I am talking about the Ystergarde, we were called together and Johan Smit and Abe Fourie told us that we would move from there to another place.  I knew where this place was, but some of the other people did not know that we were go to the game farm.
	From there, after we sorted out the vehicles, we left some of the vehicles for the women and we took vehicles for ourselves and from there, we went to Ventersdorp.

MS VAN DER WALT: Can we just determine a day Mr De Wet, because there are sometimes problems with dates.  When did you go to the game farm?

JAN B DE WET: It was Friday, the 22nd.

MS VAN DER WALT: That is the Friday before the election?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct, the 22nd.

MS VAN DER WALT: At the game farm, did you have any obligations or tasks?

JAN B DE WET: We arrived there quite late the Friday evening, it was more early morning Saturday.  Most of us went to bed.  There were some people who did guard duties, they were already there.
	The next morning Johan Smit and Abe Fourie called us together and we were told that the purpose why we were there, was to protect this area, to do patrols and to do guard duties.

MS VAN DER WALT: The Saturday night, that is the 23rd, there was a meeting held for some of the members there at the game farm?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: Were you involve?

JAN B DE WET: I was involved at the meeting.  Commandant Dupie was there as well as Jannie Kruger, who was a Lieutenant in the Garde.  He stood at a chalk board, a black board, and there were certain sketches on this board.
	The purpose of this meeting was to go and steal vehicles.  We were told about where the garages are where the vehicles were and we were told to do certain things.  Jannie and Dupie told us about the area, the environment, we didn't know it well.
	Jannie Kruger came from Klerksdorp and the area in Klerksdorp where the vehicles were, he explained this to us, this area.

MS VAN DER WALT: What were you supposed to do with these vehicles?

JAN B DE WET: These vehicles would be used for the struggle which was laying ahead.

MS VAN DER WALT: Did you go and steal vehicles?

JAN B DE WET: We were on our way there, but along the way some of the vehicles we were driving in, came problems and in the end the vehicle theft expedition did not succeed.

MS VAN DER WALT: The Sunday, the 24th of April, where were you then?

JAN B DE WET: Sunday the 24th, I was still on the game farm.  I did guard duty.

MS VAN DER WALT: According to your application, Koper Myburgh arrived there?

JAN B DE WET: That was the Sunday evening, let's say late afternoon to the evening, he arrived there.  There was another meeting.  It was Gen Prinsloo, Brigadier Leon van der Merwe, Johan Smit, Abe Fourie and Commandant Dupie.
	Our usual members who were there, were not allowed in this meeting.  Later the evening, after the meeting finished, I was called into this meeting and Nico Prinsloo asked me if I would go with Koper Myburgh to Koesterfontein on the farm, to go with him to his farm, to go and pick up certain items there and I said that was fine, I will do that.

MS VAN DER WALT: Yes?

JAN B DE WET: I went with Koper Myburgh, we went to his father's farm.  There I saw Clifton Barnard, Ettiene le Roux, Johan Vlok, who is also an applicant here, and Koekemoer.
	They were busy in a little building.  There was a gas bottle on the table and around the gas bottle, they were busy sticking together explosives.

MS VAN DER WALT: Did you know what they were busy doing?

JAN B DE WET: I immediately realised at that stage, that it is them who caused the bomb explosion in Johannesburg.  We did not talk about it though, because at that stage I did not know what to say to them.
	I received duty to do certain things at Koesterfontein.

MS VAN DER WALT: Then you already knew that the bomb exploded in Johannesburg?

JAN B DE WET: Yes.

MS VAN DER WALT: And what were you supposed to go and pick up there?

JAN B DE WET: When we arrived at the farm, there were a lot of pipe bombs which were wrapped in canvass, which was in the little room, and Koper Myburgh asked me to place this into the vehicle.
	I put a little bit of canvass in the boot of my car, and I placed the pipe bombs on top of that, as well as a 25 litre can of milk, which his mother gave us.

MS VAN DER WALT: Where did you take these pipe bombs?

JAN B DE WET: It was taken to the game farm.

MS VAN DER WALT: There was a meeting according to the evidence in front of this Committee, on the Sunday evening, on the game farm.  Where you present then?

JAN B DE WET: I was not present at the meeting, but later Major Johan Smit called us together.

MS VAN DER WALT: Yes?

JAN B DE WET: When Major Smit called us together, we went outside and Koper Myburgh, outside now, demonstrated a short pipe bomb to us, how it worked.

CHAIRPERSON: How did he demonstrate it?

JAN B DE WET: Sorry?

CHAIRPERSON: How did he demonstrate it?

JAN B DE WET: He took it out, he told them what it was, a pipe bomb and he told them how to ignite it and then once you have ignited it, you've got three minutes to get away from this pipe bomb, otherwise you will kill yourself.

MS VAN DER WALT: That evening, were you tasked to do certain duties?

JAN B DE WET: When I got back from Koesterfontein, I went to General Prinsloo because Clifton Barnard, when I was on the farm, he asked me to go and hear from Prinsloo what happened about the vehicles he would have supplied us with.
	On Koesterfontein I told Barnard that the vehicle expedition was not successful, so I don't think he would get vehicles at that stage.  But I still conveyed the instruction that I received, still went to Prinsloo to ask him if there is a vehicle and if there wasn't a vehicle available, I would make mine available.

MS VAN DER WALT: Did you know why he needed a vehicle?

JAN B DE WET: At that stage I didn't know why the vehicle was needed.  Then I went to Nico Prinsloo on the game farm and I told him what Barnard asked me to ask him.
	He said, you know there aren't any vehicles and I said well, I will make my vehicle available, considering that you need one that you can put a trailer onto, but on one condition.  He asked me what the condition was and I said I want to be the driver of my car.

MS VAN DER WALT: So you were specifically asked to find a vehicle where you can hook something onto?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct.

MS VAN DER WALT: And then what happened?

JAN B DE WET: General Prinsloo then asked me if I would make my vehicle available the next morning, and I said yes, I would do that.
	Outside where the pipe bomb demonstrations took place, little groups were called out.  First they wanted drivers with vehicles which would have been available for the missions and people were told that two people will go with that vehicle, two people would go with that vehicle.  They also asked me if I would make my vehicle available, that was Commandant Dupie and Koper that asked me this, Koper Myburgh.
	I said that I have already had another duty to perform.  I cannot give them my vehicle for the pipe bomb mission.