Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 1998-01-22

MR DU PLESSIS: Thank you, Mr Chairman, only one or two questions.  Mr Mohape, you were charged with attempted murder is that right?

MR MOHAPE: Yes.

MR DU PLESSIS: And together with some of your fellow students at COSAS is that right?

MR MOHAPE: Correct.

MR DU PLESSIS: The attempted murder of who was that?

MR MOHAPE: Of Ngo.

MR DU PLESSIS: Of Ngo.  And did Ngo testify at that trial.

MR MOHAPE: Yes, he testified.

MR DU PLESSIS: And what was the result of the trial?

MR MOHAPE: I was acquitted.

MR DU PLESSIS: You were acquitted?

MR MOHAPE: Yes.

MR DU PLESSIS: Now can you remember Mr Mohape, if in the Judgement any finding was made in relation to Mr Ngo's testimony?

MR MOHAPE: I cannot recall.

MR DU PLESSIS: Can you remember if he was found a credible witness or not?

MR MOHAPE: I cannot recall that.  What happened is that I only remember the time when the Judge was giving and we were acquitted to that, to say the evidence led was not sufficient and then we were acquitted on those grounds I think.

MR DU PLESSIS: Alright, thank you.  May I just ask one last question?  Is there anybody else here who was involved in that trial who may be able to enlighten on this question if Mr Ngo's credibility, if there was a credibility finding in respect of Mr Ngo?

MR MOHAPE: No, I don't ...[intervention]

UNKNOWN: Even if there was, could we sort of rely on that?

MR DU PLESSIS: Yes, Mr Chairman, I will be able to address you in argument if I'm requested to argue later on, that that may be relevant under these circumstances and I will refer you to the relevant Law on that, that's the only reason why I want to establish that.   And then one last question.  When did you go to the Western Cape?

MR MOHAPE: I went to Western Cape in 1989.

MR DU PLESSIS: Alright thank you Mr Chairman, I have no further questions.

MR STANDER: I don't have any re-examination Mr Chairman.
NO RE-EXAMINATION BY MR STANDER

CHAIRPERSON: Perhaps you could help me with one thing Mr Mohape.  You were telling us ...[intervention]

ADV MEMANI: Mr Chair, I'm sorry, I don't know whether you forgot about me?

CHAIRPERSON: I took it you had none when counsel said he had no re-examination, he's sitting next to you.  I assumed that you had indicated to him you were not going to question.

ADV MEMANI: I am sorry my lord he spoke prematurely.

CHAIRPERSON: Very well, carry on.

ADV MEMANI: Thank you my lord.  Yesterday you told us about Ngo at the conference saying that the COSAS from the Eastern Cape wanted to bully him.

MR MOHAPE: Correct.

ADV MEMANI: Is it correct that in those circumstances Ngo was deliberately fermenting feelings of ...[indistinct] and originalism?
	And that he was doing that with the object of dividing the membership of COSAS?

MR MOHAPE: That was intended to.

ADV MEMANI: And that was an indicator that he was working
for the police?

MR MOHAPI: Yes you see, very quickly if I can explain this.  You see in our mind it was clear.  In many strategies of the security branch to ensure that there is disharmony within a student organisation, they will either ensure that some of their informers cause ethnicity where people are not going to see themselves as you know, comrades in one organisation but where they are going to see themselves as you know, Xhosas, Sothos and all that and that was one of their strategies, yes.

ADV MEMANI: Is it correct that this morning you told us that at the time when you were abducted and assaulted in the veld you already knew Ngo?

MR MOHAPE: Yes.

ADV MEMANI: Is it correct that it was dark?

MR MOHAPE: Yes.

ADV MEMANI: And the people that you - were attacking you were wearing balaclavas?

MR MOHAPE: Correct.

ADV MEMANI: And even if you had known someone before you would not be able to recognise him at that stage?

MR MOHAPE: Yes because most of the time when people were beating me I was closing my head, I was protecting my face.

ADV MEMANI: And it is for that reason that you are unable to identify Ngo at that stage?

MR MOHAPE: Exactly.

UNKNOWN: And you couldn't identify his voice either?  You don't know whether he was one of those screaming and shouting and swearing?

MR MOHAPE: Ja, because in that commotion honestly, I could not try to get anybody's voice, you know.

ADV MEMANI: You didn't suspect that Ngo was present, did you?

MR MOHAPE: Well, with the security branch operators I honestly did not perhaps either suspect or did not suspect that it was him.  In my mind I never perhaps thought that he was part of them.

ADV MEMANI: Now you believe that the evidence that was led in the case against Ngo was cooked?

MR MOHAPE: Yes.

ADV MEMANI: Because they brought a toy gun to court?

MR MOHAPE: Yes.

ADV MEMANI: Isn't it also correct that what you were charged with was a purely criminal case of attempted murder?

MR MOHAPE: Exactly.

ADV MEMANI: You'd normally not have expected Horn, Erasmus, Major Burn and other members of the security branch to have been present when you were being, when the matter was being investigated?

MR MOHAPE: No, I will also not expect them to be with witnesses, you know, those witnesses who were supposed to give evidence against me.  I will not expect them to see them going down with them, down the stairs to the lower part of the court.

ADV MEMANI: And that indicated clearly to you that security branch were influencing because of the case?

MR MOHAPE: Exactly.

ADV MEMANI: Did I understand your evidence correctly when I made my note, a note which said that they were also present when you were accompanied to make certain pointings out?

MR MOHAPE: Come again?

ADV MEMANI: Did I understand your evidence correctly when I made a note that they also accompanied you when you went to point certain things out?

MR MOHAPE: Where, where?

ADV MEMANI: May I take instructions, Chairperson.

MR MOHAPE: I think I get what you wanted to ask me, let me answer it.   Yes, at the time when I was at Bloemspruit after being arrested, there was Major Burn, Bester, Van Dyk.  They took me from Bloomspruit Police Station, took me to Batho Police Station and when they arrived there, there were a lot of security branch members.
	All of them they were there, waiting and there was a motorcade that went towards Lereko High School and that car - I don't know what was the purpose to take me to towards Lereko High School, but in my mind I understood, either they wanted to push me to point other students that they were looking for or in actual fact they were trying to say to students: "Here we have arrested him and here perhaps his pointing you out"  Because I know that has been one of their strategies and I was surprised when charged under criminal procedure then the security branch come in and be part of those investigations.

ADV MEMANI: Is it also correct that you were not given a fair opportunity to identify the policemen who were involved?

MR MOHAPE: No, deliberately so I was not given that, for the fact that I went with my lawyer to  ...[indistinct] and I was told that all security branch members they are under examination of some sort or whatever, so another parade will be organised.  And since that time, the investigating officer, Kruger, never called me to go into another parade to go and point whoever perhaps I could, I could then could have perhaps identified.

ADV MEMANI: And wasn't it an indicator that the police were not intent on prosecuting properly, that Mr Kruger took you to the scene after dark so that you should not be able to point out things properly.

ADV MEMANI: That was a deliberate ploy as I could look at it.

UNKNOWN: Didn't you say it was five o'clock in the afternoon?