Amnesty Hearings — Johannesburg — 1998-11-02

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Mbandazayo?

MR MBANDAZAYO: Thank you, Mr Chairperson.  Mr Chairperson, I don't know at this stage, I'm subject to the Committee as we were waiting for the other applicant.  I've managed to talk to him telephonically.  He said earlier on that he was on his way.

CHAIRPERSON: Should we stand this matter down to be called later in the day?  I see there is somebody approaching you, Mr Mbandazayo?  I don't know if you want to have a quick word?

MR MBANDAZAYO: Yes, Mr Chairperson, if I can be given a short adjournment and if I cannot fit him immediately after this one so that we can complete this matter?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, we'll take a short adjournment for Mr Mbandazayo to find out what the situation is relating to Mr Sapele's co-applicant.  If you could just let us know as soon as possible.  We'll take a short adjournment now.
COMMITTEE ADJOURNS
ON RESUMPTION

MR MBANDAZAYO: Thank you, Mr Chairperson.  Just for the record, Mr Chairperson, we have managed to get Mr Masilela but Chairperson for the record I wanted to put it for record purposes, Mr Masilela is withdrawing his application for amnesty.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Mr Mbandazayo.

MR MBANDAZAYO: And Mr Chairperson, what is going to happen is that he is going to give evidence on behalf of the first applicant, George Sapele, in relation to the incident of escaping and inasfar as his role regarding Mr Sapele.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, thank you.  So he is withdrawing the application in relation to this incident, the escape?

MR MBANDAZAYO: Yes, Mr Chairperson, he has applied for two incidents.  Yes, he's withdrawing his application in regard to all those applications.

CHAIRPERSON: Oh, with regard to all of them?

MR MBANDAZAYO: Yes, Mr Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Masilela, do you wish to take the oath or do you wish to make an affirmation of the truth?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: (affirms and states)

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Mbandazayo?

MR MBANDAZAYO: Thank you, Mr Chairperson.
	Mr Masilela, is it correct that you were a former member of APLA?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: That is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: And during 1990 you were in prison in Krugersdorp as a result of your activities as a member of APLA?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: That is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Mr Masilela, Mr Sapele testified before this Committee that he met you in Krugersdorp Prison in January 1990, and you recruited him to PAC, in fact to join APLA outside the country to undergo training.  Can you tell the Committee in your own words what    happened?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: When I was in Krugersdorp Prison I met several people who were arrested, what you would call criminal offences and I kept discussing APLA activities with them and informing them about what APLA was doing, indicating to them what the principles of APLA and what it is that we were fighting for.
	I indicated to them that they had to rid themselves of their patterns of thinking, they should come together with us so that we could work hand-in-hand to return the country to its rightful owners.
	I then also spoke among others, to Sapele who showed interest so that this ultimately led to us planning as to how we were going to escape from prison.  And there were also other members of the "Airforce" who were interested.  We discussed and planned our escape from prison.  Yes, indeed others were successful in fleeing but myself and Sapele were unfortunately arrested ...[end of tape]

MR MBANDAZAYO: Mr Sapele participated in escaping from prison because you recruited him and also at your instance?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: Yes, that is correct, he took the decision to flee from prison because I had spoken to him about APLA, briefing him and indicating to him that I am not prepared to serve the sentence because the sentence was passed on me by the then South African Government and my intention was to flee from the prison and go back to Zimbabwe.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Can you tell the Committee - he also told the Committee that as a result of your escape, one prison warder was killed and also that a certain amount of money was robbed in the reception, also at your instance, can you tell the Committee, enlighten the Committee as to what happened during the, how the prison warder died and also how the money was robbed in the reception.

BOROWSKY MASILELA: The warder had opened the gates for visitors.  Our plan was to apprehend the police, rob him of the keys so that we could gain access to the outside.  It so happened that when we were apprehending him he was fighting back and ended up being beaten.
	It was only after we were arrested that we learnt that he had died.  It was not our intention to kill him.  You can also see from the Court records that it was discovered that the warder could not be said to have been killed by a particular person, but he just happened to die during the process.
	It was not necessarily our plan to rob them of the money at the reception but if it so happened that the money was available, we would obviously lay our hands on it so that it could be of use to us during our travel.  That's how it happened.

MR MBANDAZAYO: And also you confirmed that the taking of the money from, the robbing of the money from - I use that word, at the reception, was also at your instance?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: Yes, I did say that if we get to the reception area and we realise that there is money we should take the money to make use of it for travelling because our plans were that, we had planned that some people should come and abduct us from the prison but those plans had failed, that is why we had to get hold of the money.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Thank you, Mr Chairperson, that is all at this stage.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR MBANDAZAYO

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Mr Mbandazayo.  Mr Mpshe, do you have any questions to ask the witness?

MOKOTEDI MPSHE: Mr Chair, I don't have questions, thank you.
NO QUESTIONS BY ADV MPSHE

CHAIRPERSON: Advocate Bosman, do you have any questions to ask the witness?

ADV BOSMAN: At what stage did you talk about the money for the first time, Mr Masilela?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: It was on the very same day that we fled.

ADV BOSMAN: Was this before you reached the reception?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: That is correct.

ADV BOSMAN: Did you instruct any particular person to take the money?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: I instructed George because he was the one person with whom I was to flee.  He is the one who showed enthusiasm in fleeing.

ADV BOSMAN: If you say he was the one that showed enthusiasm to flee'd, do you mean the one who was eager to get out of prison or do you mean more than that?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: As I have indicated before, he was enthusiastic about joining APLA.

ADV BOSMAN: And the other people, why did they  escape?  Were they not enthusiastic in joining APLA?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: I had already conscientised a large number of them about the PAC and APLA.  Yes, it is true, some of them were fleeing for their own personal reasons but George was one person who stood out among them.

ADV BOSMAN: Had you briefed him fully about APLA before the escape?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: Yes, I had briefed him broadly that we were instructed to form APLA cells in South Africa.

ADV BOSMAN: Did you brief him fully on what APLA stood for?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: Yes, I did.

ADV BOSMAN: The money that was taken, was any of the money ever handed to you?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: No.

ADV BOSMAN: Why not, Mr Masilela, you were the commander, you had instructed him to take the money, certainly not for himself?

BOROWSKY MASILELA: It should be remembered that when we escaped from prison we did not on arriving outside the prison relax, we instead struggled to try and evade being re-arrested and surely there was no time for me to say at that moment that they should give me the money there and then.

ADV BOSMAN: Thank you, Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Advocate Motata, do you have any questions to ask the witness?