Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

WITNESS:   I am just going to start afresh.  I was stationed at Elandskop in 1983 at Vulindlela, where I worked as from 1983 up to March 1990.  During that time that I was there I witnessed the beginnings of conflict between Inkatha, which started in 1987 up to 1990, and there I was transferred from Elandskop to Johannesburg.  I would like to divide this statement into two parts.  The first part I am going to speak about the conflict that took place before 1990.  That is the rise of David Thandabantu Ntombela.  And the second part of my statement I am going to speak about the events that took place that led to the Seven Days War.  When I give the background that led to the conflict that is before 1990.  When I first arrived at Elandskop in 1983 the area was relatively peaceful.  Politically almost everyone belonged to Inkatha, and there was absolutely no opposition.  However, during 1986 things began to change.  That was after the killing of the members of COSATU at a place called Mpophomeni.  There was some polarisation in the valley, especially amongst the youth.  The youth was more sympathetic towards the UDF and its ideologies, and they didn't want to align themselves with Inkatha.  This change was caused by several factors which others have outlined, that Inkatha was a very old political organisation which was reigning in an omnipotent manner, and that many people, especially the youths, were coming into the urban areas and they were getting westernised, and they felt that they could not identify themselves with the Inkatha group.  These changes were felt mainly in the Edendale area, as well as Imbali, but during 1987 these moved swiftly towards the valley at Elandskop.   Then in September 1987, that was around the time of the floods, the Inkatha Freedom Party tried to recruit a number of people in the area of Vulindlela.  We at the upper area heard of increasing disturbances further down the valley.  We were told that the youths were patrolling during the night, trying to collect and mobilise members of the community to be Comrades, and we heard that the schools were being closed, and that amongst older people, or older members of the community there was certain conflict with regard to the behaviour of the youths.  But up to the 9th of October 1987 we never heard anything about the violence or skirmishes that took place further down in Mpophomeni.  But on the 9th of October 1987 that is when Mrs Angelica Mkhize and her daughter, Petronella Zandile, as well as a young man named Sithembiso Khumalo, were killed in their home.  Those who carried out the murders were allegedly the induna from KwaNqane, that is David Ntombela, as well as five other men.  At this point I would like to just elaborate and speak about David Ntombela, because since he has been a central figure in the violence in KwaZulu Natal maybe for almost 10 years.  That is with regard to the Seven Days War he was a central figure in the violence.  Mr Ntombela originally came from Howick.  He went to Elandskop.  That is between the 1970s.  He was the secretary of Inkatha in the area of Emaswazini.  When his daughter got married to Chief Nsikayezwa Zondi, who was from Umphumuza, Ntombela was made an induna at the KwaNquane area.  Ntombela was one of a number of indunas, but with his forceful and aggressive personality he was a feared person amongst the community in Elandskop.  Then he started developing quite a number of subcultures that people should pay certain amounts if they were not members of the Inkatha group.  And at that time he was extorting money from the community, and rendering quite a number of reasons for extorting this money, and there were rumours that he was misusing or abusing the funds.  In November 1984 he shot and killed his brother in full view of members of the community as well as witnesses, but for reasons that are unclear to us he was never formally charged, nor convicted, and the community members in Umphumuza collected money and tried to report the matter, but to no avail.  Then in 1987 it became increasingly clear that Mr Ntombela was vehemently opposed to the UDF and its incursion into Elandskop.  Then in March of 1987 there were quite a lot of disturbances at KwaNqane School near his house.  He went there with a revolver.  He fired shots in the air.  Then in May 1987 he had become incensed with the drivers of the KwaZulu Bus Service because he said they were transported the Comrades into the area at night so that they could be scattered and they could divide the Inkatha into two groups.  He organised certain youths and he brought them to his home so that they could attack the buses of the KZT.  What followed thereafter was that a certain young person died in the incident.  Ntombela's name went down and plummeted, especially amongst the parents.  The parents were very angry with regard to the incident that took place.  But the most significant occurrence was in October 1987, when David Ntombela and his brother, as well as several other men, went to the home of Mandla and Mangethe Mkhize.  That was Zondi's Store next to Emaswazini.  They asked Mrs Angelica Mkhize where two members of the COSATU were, that is Mandla and Mangethe.  At that particular moment they were not at home, but these men searched the house, and David Ntombela was alleged to have taken out a gun and shot Mrs Mkhize, as well as her daughter, Petronella Zandile.  This emerged during the inquest which took place the following year.  That was in 1988, February.  And when they went out they came across Sithembiso Khumalo.  They also shot him.  This horrified the community, and it's very difficult now to remember that there was absolutely no violence before that time.  Ntombela, as well as another five men were arrested.  They appeared in court for just a short while and the inquest finding was that David Ntombela, as well as the five other men, were the ones who were answerable and were responsible for the death of Mrs Ntombela.  (Sic)  But this case never proceeded any further than that.  After this incident Ntombela disappeared.  It seemed as if the UDF had taken over the whole area of Elandskop.  In many cases most of the youth considered themselves Comrades, and even the adults, quite a number of them renounced their Inkatha memberships and they went on to join the UDF.  And Inkatha at that time was not popular, especially in the Vulindlela Valley.  It retreated.  There were rumours that the chiefs, as well as indunas, have fled for their lives.  This process would probably have continued but for a new actor in the drama.  In November 1987 Brigadier Jack Buchner was appointed as the Divisional Commissioner of the Security Police.  Buchner was a top security policeman in the Transvaal.  He had a vast experience in fighting the ANC, and especially turning former ANC operators into askaris.  Since he arrived in 'Maritzburg things began to change.  Brigadier Buchner rallied with Inkatha leadership, especially David Ntombela, Chief Shayabantu Zondi, as well as Chief Nsikayezwa Zondi and others.  A plan was formed to roll back the tide of the UDF and restore Inkatha hegemony.  As Buchner himself had said, "At the beginning of 1987 Inkatha was in dire straits, but we came in and restored a certain sense of law and order by February."  This was known as Operation Doom, and it was scheduled to begin in January 1988.  Quite by chance I drove into the middle of the first offensive, which took place on the 1st of January 1988.  The previous day, that is on the 31st of December 1987, a large crowd of UDF youths from Songonzima were arrested.  They were attending a funeral of one of their Comrades.  They were detained, if I am not mistaken, for 120.  They were taken by the police and brought to Pietermaritzburg Prison.  Then on the next day, that was the 1st of January 1988, Inkatha started launching a full scale attack on Songonzima, which was a Comrade stronghold.  That's where they removed quite a number of Comrades from the area.  I was involved quite by chance because I was supposed to have come to town to see the Comrades who had been arrested.  I went out of my car and I stopped the attackers and asked them that we should call the police.  Eventually after about 30 minutes the police arrived.  Mr Ntombela also arrived on the scene.  Mr Ntombela was very angry and he shouted at the police and told them that they were not supposed to be there.  Eventually some of the attackers were permitted to get into the Songonzima area together with the police.  That is where they started shooting and they injured a certain youth by the name of Makithiza Ndlovu.  The police took this young man and handed him to Inkatha members and the police disappeared out of sight.  The following morning the body of Makithiza Ndlovu was found nearby the road.  He had been stabbed on the chest repeatedly, and he was only 14 years old.  Thereafter there were continued outbreaks of violence almost on a daily basis.  People were called by the Inkatha group to attend certain prayer meetings even when it was the state of emergency and they were not supposed to do that.  The people were forced to attend those meetings, and whenever you did not attend a meeting your house would be burnt down.  The policemen were reported to have been present quite a number of times at these meetings.  I personally saw them on the 12th of January 1988 at Mafunze.  It was five young white policemen in a van, and they were photographing the event.  On the very same day, the 12th of January, David Ntombela was given authority to move into other chief's areas, and he wanted to kill down some Comrades.  And after this meeting some of the young Comrades were hunted down and they were actually killed at Mafunze area.  Then on the 16th of January a group of men under the leadership of David Ntombela allegedly attacked a KZT bus which was at Gibson's Gate.  The driver of that bus was Phineas Ndluli.  He turned his bus and went back to the KwaNqane area, and he was chased by two cars.  One of the cars overtook the bus and the driver was shot through the window.  Thereafter he lost control of the bus and the bus crashed into a ditch.  That's when he got killed.  It is said that four or five old ladies who were in the bus ran for their lives.  Just a few days thereafter another bus driver,