Special Hearings — Mandela United Football Club Hearings — UNKNOWN

MR RICHARD: Now, before I proceed to Ikaneng.  Is it not true that the truth about what happened was that you received a report from Ms Falati, you abducted the four individuals, serious assaults happened which got out of control.  The Crisis Committee was then asking for the youths and because Stompie Seipei was so badly beaten, it was decided between you, Sonwabo, Guybon and Mrs Mandela to kill Stompie Seipei so as to cover up what had happened?

JERRY RICHARDSON: Yes, that is true.

MR RICHARD: And then the further events took place and that is the Crisis Committee was successful in applying sufficient pressure to obtain the release of the others, but there were still problems.  And that was that certain individuals might actually reveal the truth?

JERRY RICHARDSON: Yes, that is true.

MR RICHARD: And I know the Commission is very, very short of time, so when we proceed to Lerothodi Ikaneng, was it not true that he was one of such individuals who was in danger of revealing what was happening and what was going on?

DR BORAINE: Just before the witness answers, Mr Richard are you able to give any idea of how long you are going to be?

MR RICHARD: If I must proceed through the Ikaneng transaction in the same detail as the witness has wanted to describe it, it will be a long time.  I am trying to summarise it and I am doing something which I should not do and putting the most leading questions of the lot.

DR BORAINE: I understand that entirely, but you do appreciate that we have a lot of other work to do.

MR RICHARD: That is why Chairperson, that I at this stage is going to put the Ikaneng part of the story in this manner.

DR BORAINE: Thank you.

MR RICHARD: Mr Richardson, you were present when Lerothodi Ikaneng gave evidence, is that not correct?

JERRY RICHARDSON: I don't know whether I can ask the Chairperson for permission to summarise, because I wanted to point out that Mommy did not kill Stompie, she did not stab Stompie.  I killed Stompie in accordance with Mrs -Mandela's instructions.       Now we are hopping around all over the place.  I want to be able to summarise this matter and now we are passing on to another issue, without me having finished whatever I wanted to say about Stompie.
 I want Mommy to take the stand.  Now, I can see that Mommy is being defended.  Mommy did not stab Stompie.  According to this book, it is alleged that Mommy stabbed thrice.

DR BORAINE: Can I just interrupt you for a moment.  Mr Richardson, I have listened very carefully to you and you have told your story very well.
 Your story has been told as to what happened and that you have told us, this Commission, that you killed Stompie, so there is no doubt in our minds.  You have been very helpful, you have told the story.  We would like to move on because there is other information that we would like to hear from you.  Could we move on please.  Mr Richard?

MR RICHARD: Thank you Chairperson.  Now, I will restate the question.  You were present yesterday when Mr Ikaneng gave evidence, is that not correct?

JERRY RICHARDSON: Yes, I was.

MR RICHARD: For the sake of time, may it not be said that what he said corresponds in substance, not in detail, with what you wish to say?

JERRY RICHARDSON: Yes, I was listening to Ikaneng.  I am not going to answer any questions with regard to Ikaneng.  If you want to ask me a question, direct it to me.

MR RICHARD: The question is, at the end of the day, is it not correct that you and certain individuals took Mr Ikaneng to a certain place and there an attempt was made on his life?

JERRY RICHARDSON: That is true.

MR RICHARD: Now, the events that led to the taking of Mr Ikaneng to that particular place, we don't need to cover them in detail, they were described yesterday and that the only thing that we need to do today, is to concentrate on what happened once you had him where you wanted to take him.

JERRY RICHARDSON: We were training at Diepkloof extension, I was training the Football Club members together with others.  And some of them were injured and I just wanted to see whether they had recovered from their injuries.
 I got a message from Zinzi that she wanted to see me and it was quite urgent.  The person came to me he said his name was Buick.  I went to Zinzi at Diepkloof extension and Zinzi told me that Lerothodi had been injured at the supermarket and she gave me money to go and see what was happening.
 I was still in the tracksuit that I was wearing earlier on.  I took Kenny, Pelo, Thabiso, Isaac - there were five of us.  We boarded a taxi to Orlando West and ran towards the supermarket, but we couldn't find Lerothodi there.  I told them to wait for me and I ran towards a short street which had a passage.
 I was looking for Lerothodi and I proceeded to Muzimuhle when I couldn't get him at his place.  We discovered him next to the railway station at Muzimuhle station.

MR RICHARD: From that place, is it not correct that he was grabbed, two of you held him by the hands, two by the legs and you took him down to the ground?

JERRY RICHARDSON: Yes, that is correct.  We grabbed Lerothodi and took him with.  Lerothodi knows me very well, but he did not know the rest of the group.  He asked me to leave him so that he can walk all on his own.  I told him that Mommy wanted to see him.
 And I could see that he was scared.  We went into a certain house at Muzimuhle, that is Lerothodi's girlfriend's place.  I spoke to Moses and said he should look out so that he can confirm that nobody was following us.
 I went back into the house, took Lerothodi.  I used his other name, soccer name, Master, and Lerothodi was asking me as to why we were taking the route that we took.  He asked me please, don't kill me.  And Isaac had the pair of garden shears.  Lerothodi managed to escape and we chased him and got hold of him.  Isaac was having this pair of shears.
 We started assaulting Lerothodi.  We took him just underneath the bridge, next to the railway station.  We were not going to the Stompie spot.  We grabbed him.
 I instructed Pelo to hold one hand and each and every one of them had a part to grab and get hold of.  They threw him down to the ground.  And they tried to stab him, but I said they weren't doing a professional job.  
 I took the pair of garden shears.  I stabbed Lerothodi on the neck and when I pulled the pair of garden shears, I could see Lerothodi gasping for breath and blood was coming out of his mouth.  I realised that he wasn't yet dead.
 We took him and threw him into a shallow grave.  I gave Pelo and Thabiso some money and instructed them to go to Diepkloof.  Kenny and myself took the opposite direction.

MR RICHARD: Is it correct that you got disturbed by the coming of a police vehicle and you left the scene?

JERRY RICHARDSON: That is true.

MR RICHARD: And you went back to the house and there you met Mrs Mandela and Ms Zinzi Mandela and you made a report.  What was that?

JERRY RICHARDSON: I told Mommy that I had killed Lerothodi.  Mommy embraced me and said my boy, my boy.

MR RICHARD: You have outlined in brief and in some detail, depending on which incident we were speaking of, that you did some of the most horrendous and horrific acts that a person could imagine doing, is that not correct?

JERRY RICHARDSON: That is very true.  I don't know where to start expressing myself.  But I will try to be very brief and say it would have been better for me to have died because I wouldn't be sitting here, talking all this that I am saying.  It should be a different story that the punishment that Richardson got, was commensurate with the crime that he committed.
 Because I believe that the person who lost the most, is Stompie's mother.  There isn't much that I can say.  I was convicted at the High court and there wasn't a single person and that is why I say when days are dark, friends are few.   I was taken to Ben Schoeman.