Amnesty Hearings — White River — 2000-05-04

MR SNYDERS: I resorted under someone's command.

MR SMIT: And who was your direct Commander?

MR SNYDERS: Commandant Douw Steyn from Nelspruit.

MR SMIT: Did you receive all your instructions from him?

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: If we may return to the various acts for which you apply for amnesty.  Firstly, if I may refer you back to page 13, Annexure A1 to 17, specifically A2, the charge against you there was that on or about the 16th of March at the Nelspruit High School, you had killed a Mr Sithole.  In your supplementary affidavit you mention that a bomb was planted at the Nelspruit High School and it would appear that Mr Sithole had died in this bomb explosion, is that correct?

MR SNYDERS: That is correct, yes.

MR SMIT: And a Ms Mashaba was apparently in his presence, and there you are charged with attempted murder with regard to her.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: Can you briefly sketch, the bomb at Nelspruit High School, by whom was it manufactured?  Let me ask you that first.

MR SNYDERS: It was manufactured by myself and my brother.

MR SMIT: And you also went and planted it there.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: That is stated in your supplementary affidavit, page 120, paragraph 8.3, is that correct?  Page 120, paragraph 8.3

MR SNYDERS: Yes, that is correct.

MR SMIT: Very well.  The instructions to plant this explosive device there, by whom was this instruction given?

MR SNYDERS: At that stage I received my instruction from Col Johan Broekman, who had taken up my position after Jan Kruger's arrest at TG.

MR SMIT: TG refers to Toekomsgesprek?

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.  And liaised directly with Commandant Douw Steyn.

MR SMIT: So he received his instructions from Commandant Douw Steyn and then conveyed the instructions through to you.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: When you planted this bomb, what was your aim with the planting of this bomb?  Why was it placed at the Nelspruit High School?

MR SNYDERS: The aim was that a certain Mr Kon Booyens was a member of the Afrikaner Broederbond and they expelled Mr Douw Steyn's son because they protested against a mixed high school, and it was my instruction to liven them up a bit.

MR SMIT: Was this action aimed against Kon Booyens himself, or for another purpose?

MR SNYDERS: It was never aimed at any lives, that was one of our instructions, to ensure that no-one was injured or killed and the times when the bombs had to explode had to be late at night and Mr Kon Booyens was not at his house that time.  We just wanted to scare him.

MR SMIT: And this reign of terror, if you wanted to cause some reign of terror, would it serve any purpose?

MR SNYDERS: Yes, Mr Kon Booyens was an outspoken person in the Education and it was ordered to prevent them from expelling any other scholars who were rightist in their attitude, and we thought that they would be afraid of taking any further steps against these scholars.

MR SMIT: And in scaring Mr Kon Booyens you mentioned that the National Party had to be threatened by these bombs, if I may put it as such, would that have had any impact on the National Party, who was the government of the day?

MR SNYDERS: Definitely, because the schools at that stage were targets in the political arena and Mr Kon Booyens was a highly recognised member of the National Party, and as I've said, he represented the Education  in the Afrikaner Broederbond and one could see that he was a prominent member.

MR SMIT: If we move over to page 31, these are the charges of sabotage and malicious damage to property.  On page 31 the charge against you was that the Magistrate's Court at Sabie was damaged, was this done by a bomb?

MR SNYDERS: Yes, it was.

MR SMIT: And this was on approximately the 20th of December 1991, is that correct?

MR SNYDERS: Yes, that is correct.

MR SMIT: Were you on that occasion present with your fellow applicants, Ras and Kruger?

MR SNYDERS: No.

MR SMIT: I see that they are charged along with you on this charge, but they were not with you.

MR SNYDERS: No.

MR SMIT: At the Magistrate's Court in Sabie.

MR SNYDERS: No.

MR SMIT: And then Annexure B2, deals with malicious damage to property, you say you weren't involved there?

MR SNYDERS: No.

MR SMIT: These bomb that were used at the Sabie Magistrate's Court, by whom were this manufactured?

MR SNYDERS: By all three of us.

MR SMIT: And then in your application there is reference to the Lowveld High School, which was bombed.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct, yes.

MR SMIT: Were you involved there by yourself?

MR SNYDERS: No, all three of us were there.

MR SMIT: All three of you.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: For which reason was this school attacked?

MR SNYDERS: Lowveld High would have been the first school to offer mixed activities and the confrontation was with regard to this and that is why Mr Douw Steyn and his sons were expelled from Nelspruit High, and we then had to damage the pavilions and the main buildings, so that the mixed inter-high could not take place because the persons would be too afraid to come to such a place.

MR SMIT: If I may refer you to page 7 of the documents, paragraph 21, you say Commandant Douw Steyn placed you under great pressure to blow up Lowveld High, because at that stage there were many bombs "geloop" in the Western Transvaal.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: When you say that he placed you under great pressure, what do you mean by that?

MR SNYDERS: We went through a time period where bombs had to go off at certain identified colleges and schools right throughout the country and he was the Commander of the whole Defence Group at that stage, and the bombs had already exploded in the Western Transvaal, where Nelspruit was seen as the leader organisation, and then Mr Steyn visited me in order to find out why we had not done the job which was given to us and that the school caused them great problems because it was an English inspired school, but we did not want to let anyone know the dates because we were afraid of any insurgencies or infiltrations.  "So ek het die opdrag van hom af gekry, en ons het self ons datum tyd beplan, wanneer ons sou in beweeg het."

MR SMIT: And certain summonses were issued with regard to damages to these State properties.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: The attorney's offices at Frankfort to which you referred, which had been attacked, what was the reason for this?

MNR SNYDERS: Die prokureur Claasen het teen sakemanne in vrede opgetree namens swartes wat by daai stadium by stakings betrokke was, en toe is my opdrag gewees om sy kantore af te brand, om hom tot niet te maak.

MR SMIT: Was he favourable inclined towards the National Party?

MR SNYDERS: Yes, he was.

MR SMIT: And the purpose then was - the purpose of burning his office was then in order to prevent him from assisting any persons.

MR SNYDERS: That is correct.

MR SMIT: May I return to the explosion at Nelspruit High.  There were charges laid against you, will you please tell me, the bomb at the high school, at what time was it supposed to detonate?  Why did someone die there?