Amnesty Hearings — Palm Ridge — 1998-11-25

MR MOPEDI: Mr Chairman, I would propose that the other matter which was stood down should be heard, and at the same time I will request to be excused.

CHAIRPERSON: Is that the matter of Feni?  Mr Sibeko, will you deal with that one?

MR SIBEKO: Yes, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Alright.  Will Mr Feni come up.

ADV STEENKAMP: Mr Chairman, his application appears on page 113 in the same bundle.

CHAIRPERSON: Are your full names Michael Feni?

MICHAEL FENI: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Sibeko?

MR SIBEKO: Thank you, Mr Chairman.
	Mr Feni, do you confirm that you are applying for amnesty in this matter, is that correct?

MICHAEL FENI: That is correct.

MR SIBEKO: Do you confirm that you apply for amnesty because of your role in the SDU at Lusaka-A?

MICHAEL FENI: That is correct.

MR SIBEKO: When did you join the unit?

MICHAEL FENI: In 1993.

MR SIBEKO: Who was your commander at the time?

MICHAEL FENI: It was Mosa.

MR SIBEKO: Do you have specific incidences wherein you were involved as a member of the SDU under Mosa's command?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes.

MR SIBEKO: Would you tell us about them?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, I can tell you.  The first one was in Ngaki when people were taken out of their houses.  Some of them were killed.  I then decided to take part in this because our people were being killed and their houses were being taken away from them.  That is why I decided to be involved.

MR SIBEKO: Those people who were killed and moved out of their houses, who were killing them and who was busy killing them?

MICHAEL FENI: They were killed by the IFP.

MR SIBEKO: How do you know that they were killed by IFP members?

MICHAEL FENI: Because they had red bands to show that they were members of the IFP.

MR SIBEKO: Now you indicated that as a result of those attacks or the two incidents that you have just referred to, you decided to join the unit, were you at any stage or did you at any stage carry any weapon whatsoever to that effect?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, I did carry a weapon, an AK47.

MR SIBEKO: Now let us start again from the incident that occurred at - the very same incident that you are talking about, what happened after you found out that people were killed and they were moved out of their houses, what did you do?

MICHAEL FENI: What happened is we were forced to attack them because they were killing people.

MR SIBEKO: Now will I be understanding you correctly that you also fired shots towards the same people that you are referring to?

MICHAEL FENI: Can you please repeat your question.

MR SIBEKO: You say the IFP members killed people at Ngaki, moved people of Ngaki out of their homes.  Now you joined the unit, as part of the unit did you fire any shots towards members of the IFP, the said members of the IFP?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, we shot at them.

MR SIBEKO: Mr Feni, the question is, did you, not you in a large number of people but you yourself  personally.

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, I shot.

MR SIBEKO: Are you in a position to say whether you killed or injured anybody out of that attack?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, there were people who died.

MR SIBEKO: How do you know that, Sir?

MICHAEL FENI: It is because I was not shooting, I was not facing on the ground, I was facing at the people.

MR SIBEKO: Is there any other incident that you would want to tell us about, except the one that you have referred to?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, the incident at Buthelezi when there was a helicopter flying in that area, the Stability Unit.  They were burning people's houses in Buthelezi.  They were burning houses and that was a very painful thing.  In that incident I also used that AK47.

MR SIBEKO: Now you say - in fact, in what you're saying you don't mention who those people who were accompanied sort of by the ISU as you say, who were those people who were busy burning people's houses and, who were those people?

MICHAEL FENI: The people who were burning people's houses had red bands.  They were members of the IFP.

MR SIBEKO: The very same question again, are you in a position to state whether you killed or injured anybody in that attack?

MICHAEL FENI: There is no doubt that I might have killed a person, I did kill on that particular day.

MR SIBEKO: What eventually happened to the weapon that you were using, that is the AK47?

MICHAEL FENI: The AK47 was taken by the Stability Unit, by the police.  They arrested my wife, they took my wife with them.

MR SIBEKO: At that time were you aware that - in fact, was it before the campaign wherein people were supposed to hand their weapons over to whoever, who organised that campaign?

MICHAEL FENI: It was before that campaign.

MR SIBEKO: Thank you, Mr Chairman, no further questions.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR MOPEDI

CHAIRPERSON: Advocate Steenkamp?

ADV STEENKAMP: Thank you, Mr Chairman, I have no questions.  Thank you, Sir.
NO QUESTIONS BY ADV STEENKAMP

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Feni, in these two incidents that you've referred to at Mgaki and at Buthelezi, these attackers were burning houses.  Now what did you do there, did you shoot at those people that were burning the houses, with our AK47?

MICHAEL FENI: We shot at the people who were burning the houses.

CHAIRPERSON: Were these the only two incidents that you were involved in?

MICHAEL FENI: Those are the two that I still remember.

ADV SANDI: Sorry, Chair.
	What does that mean, Mr Feni, does this mean to say that those were the only incidents that you were involved in or is it to say that there may be other incidents in which you were involved but you cannot remember them?

MICHAEL FENI: I don't remember other incidents.  It doesn't mean that these are the only two.

CHAIRPERSON: Now when about did these two take place?

MICHAEL FENI: If I'm not mistaken it was in 1993 and in 1994.

CHAIRPERSON: This Buthelezi, the one where the helicopter was involved, which one was that, '93 or '94?

MICHAEL FENI: I am not sure.  I do not remember when exactly it happened.

CHAIRPERSON: Are you not sure whether it was in 1993 or in 1994?

MICHAEL FENI: I'm not sure.

CHAIRPERSON: So both these incidents that you refer to were in the 1993/1994 period, you're not sure?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, that is correct, I'm not sure about the dates.  I was also arrested so I couldn't keep on the dates and the years.  I was arrested concerning the AK47.

CHAIRPERSON: In which year were you arrested?

MICHAEL FENI: 1994, maybe in February.

CHAIRPERSON: And what happened to that case?

MICHAEL FENI: The Stability Unit members did not attend the Court and I was then released after six months.

CHAIRPERSON: So they withdrew the charges against  you?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, they withdrew them.

CHAIRPERSON: So are you also asking for amnesty for having had this AK47 unlawfully in your possession?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, that is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: This AK47, have you only used it in connection with your activities as a member of the    SDU?

MICHAEL FENI: I was using it only as a member of the SDU.

CHAIRPERSON: You have - or let me ask you, have you ever been involved in the Committee of Seven?

MICHAEL FENI: Yes, I do know about the Committee of Seven.

CHAIRPERSON: Were you involved in any of their activities?

MICHAEL FENI: I was always with them all the time.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you help them to do anything like collect money or anything like that?

MICHAEL FENI: I don't remember collecting money.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you help them with anything in particular?

MICHAEL FENI: I don't remember clearly except that we would meet in the meetings of the Committee of Seven as a person who was unemployed.

CHAIRPERSON: Would you just be attending the meetings as a member of the community?

MICHAEL FENI: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: And otherwise you spent a lot of time with some of the members of the committee?

MICHAEL FENI: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Mr Sibeko?

MR SIBEKO: Only one aspect, Mr Chairman.
	Mr Feni, were you an elected member of the Committee of Seven?