Amnesty Hearings — Nelspruit — 1999-02-02

MR CLAASSEN: Mr Hadebe, if I could just return to the incident you mentioned on the 27th September, the preceding Sunday.  You said that an IFP Induna, Mr Mgababa Nyaki was killed and that there was a meeting held, what exactly happened at this particular meeting?
MR HADEBE
"The death of Mgababa makes us aware that we are being killed and we are getting finished and we should make some plans to also attack the ANC because they were intensively attacking us.  Then we decided to have a plan and we sat down and discussed as to how we were going to attack the ANC.
	At the time when we were discussing this, we sat as a committee and the chairperson was Thokozani Biela.  When discussing this plan to attack the ANC members, because it looked like they were already defeating us when we tried to fight with them head-on or we tried to follow them.  Therefore, we tried to find some other ways where we could find them in a group or in big numbers and attack them.
		Then we agreed that since we know that there are taxis that only carry Inkatha and we also know that there are taxis which carried the ANC members together with the buses, so we decided that maybe we should attack one of their buses so that we can send a message to them to show them that we are also brave and prepared to fight them.
		My involvement in that planning was the planning itself, that the bus should be bombed because if we have to shoot at it, firing at it might not be effective but we need something that is going to destroy everything, and we agreed on that point.
		Therefore, Thokozani Biela who was our chairperson selected two Indunas, saying that they will be responsible with selecting people who were going to carry out that plan, the plan to attack the ANC.   
		The Indunas went aside and discussed this issue amongst themselves.  These two Indunas was Zaccarehia Sipho Mhlongo.  The other one was Thandogwake Ndlovu.  When they came back they said we have people who are going to attack the ANC people.  We have already selected them.  When we leave this meeting we will go and inform them.  That was the final agreement.  And we dispersed.
		On Monday, the date on which the incident took place, I was coming from work and the other people who were not working were at the hostel.  Our chairperson, Thokozani Biela was working in the municipality in the township.  He was unable to go to work.  
		When I came back from work, I found that they were having a meeting.  We stayed there in the meeting until late in the afternoon.  And then those people who were selected to go and attack left us to go and wait for the bus.  The people who were elected were Alfred Boss Mazibuko and Nkosinathi Kanyle, together with Nkosinathi Emmanuel Ndletshe and Mzwaki Myaba.
...(intervention)

MR LAX: Sorry, sorry, can you just slow down a little bit.  Just repeat those names for us please?  Alfred Boss Mazibuko, Nkosinathi who?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: The name of the people who were supposed to attack the bus are as follows:  The first one is Alfred Boss Mazibuko, the second one is Nkosinathi Kanyle, the third on is Nkosinathi Emmanuel Ndletshe, the fourth one is Mzwaki Myaba.  Those are the people who attacked the bus.
	Coming to how they attacked the bus, I would say they went to hide next to the garage.  I don't remember the name of the garage next to the hostel or the filling station next to the ...(intervention)

ADV BOSMAN: Did you see this or did you hear about it, Mr Hadebe?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: I see this.  I'm still going to explain how I saw it or as to where I was standing.

ADV BOSMAN: Thank you.
MR HADEBE
"As they went there to wait for the bus next to the filling station, I was so disturbed in, spiritually disturbed because of the things that the ANC was doing to us and I was therefore driven by my own convictions to leave the meeting and went straight to the gate of the hostel.  So from that position I could see what was happening in the vicinity of the filling station.
			As the bus was coming and as it was reaching the garage, the filling station itself, they stood up, they attacked us.  They were standing in different positions.  I was looking at them at that particular moment.  
			As the bus was parallel to one of the blocks of the hostel and they were already up by that time, ready to attack it, I heard a terrible explosion and I ran there behind one of a small office in the hostel.  It was an office which was no longer in use.
			There was a soldier's car which was just at the gate of the hostel since there were police already staying the outside the hostel.  When these things were happening some of the police were just standing outside the hostel.  At the time of the explosion some of those police ran into their Casspir, some ran together with me to hide behind the office which I just explained before.
			I was so relieved that they did get the target.  After that I went out to see what was  happening.  At that time the bus has been derailed from the road and it was driving along the graveyard and it ended up joining another street in the township.  I think it's called Mpanza Street."

MR CLAASSEN: Mr Hadebe, if I may just return to this meeting the previous night.  You indicated that a decision was made, was an instruction given from anyone to commit this particular crime?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: Yes, someone did give instructions.

MR CLAASSEN: Were you given any instructions?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: I personally wasn't given any instructions to do anything, however it was our agreement at the table of the meeting, that things should be done.  In particular I'm here to ask amnesty in that in reference to the bus incident even if I personally did not with my own arm attack the bus.
	The people who says you did put a hand or you did attack the bus, I cannot dismiss that allegation or I agree with them because they did see me at the vicinity at the time the bus was attacked.  I was visible, I wasn't hiding.  
	And in this house, this present house where I am today and before these people who are inside listening to my evidence, and to the people who are victims of such attack, I would like them to know that today I'm talking the truth, the whole truth, the final truth.  Some people who were working with us know exactly who carried out the attack on the bus.  
	Even the ANC people, some of them know that it's not me who did attack the bus.  However, I tried to emphasise that I didn't hit or attack the bus, however I admit that I was involved in the planning of the attack on the bus.

MR CLAASSEN: Mr Hadebe, the meeting at which this attack was planned, the members present, was this in a party political context?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: Yes, those were members of our political organisation and they were a committee, they constituted a committee.  It wasn't a general meeting for all the people but it was a committee meeting.  Only the committee members would attend the meeting.

ADV BOSMAN: Can I just ask, what was your status at the meeting, were you a committee member, were you there in your capacity as chairman, what was your status at the meeting?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: As I said before I was a secretary, so I was writing down everything which was said.

ADV BOSMAN: Thank you.

MR CLAASSEN: Mr Hadebe, could you just briefly elaborate.  You were staying in the Ratanda Hostel inside the bigger township, what were the political sentiments inside the hostel?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: The hostel is not right inside the location or the township, the hostel is at the entrance when you enter the township when coming from town.  You have to pass the hostel before you reach the township.

MR CLAASSEN: Mr Hadebe, the people living in the hostel, which political party did they predominantly support?

MZOBONA LEONARD HADEBE: They were mostly IFP members, that's Inkatha Freedom Party.