Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1997-07-08

MR NOFEMELA: Yes it's like that.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: And is it correct that at your trial evidence was led that those who accompaniedMiss Biehl in the motor car had said to you, and those who attacked her, thatyou were to desist because she was a comrade? I will give you the referencein a minute.

MR NOFEMELA: No I have never heard that.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: Very well. I refer to the judgment, page 42 of the bundle at line 30.

ADV DE JAGER: Mr Brink could you kindly repeat the page number?

CROSSBY MR BRINK: It's page 42 of the bundle which is page 3337 of the judgment and it appearsat the bottom near line 30.
	Now I want toread to you what the Judge said when giving judgment at your trial. I beg yourpardon it's line 24.
"EveronOrange was the last to leave the car. While he was still in the carhe asked a bystander on the left-hand side of the car what he shoulddo, and he was advised to get out of the car. He enquired of the sameperson what the crowd was going to do with the deceased and was toldthat the crowd was not interested in him, they wanted the "Settler",by which he understood the White person, namely, the deceased.
		Theother passengers spoke to the crowd and tried to explain to them thatthe deceased was not a Settler but was an American citizen and a comrade".
Do you remember thatevidence having been given at your trial?

MR NOFEMELA: Yes I do remember.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: And the people who tried to dissuade you from killing Amy Biehl were Black peoplewere they not?

MR NOFEMELA: I don't even know that there were people who asked us not to do that.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: Well then I won't burden the record but I refer the Committee to page 45 line2, page 46 line 28 where much the same sort of evidence was given.

CHAIRPERSON: Would you please just give us the reference again because my papers have notbeen paginated.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: Have they not Judge?

CHAIRPERSON: If you'll just give me the typed page number.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: The typed page number is 3340.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: Line 2 to line 10.

BERNARD MAKGABO NGOEPE: And Mr Brink you must just bear in mind please that the applicant, accordingto his affidavit, arrived at the scene only after the deceased was already outof the vehicle, and not at the time when these people were pleading with thecrowd before that stage. Well this is what the applicant is saying in paragraph4 or 5 of his affidavit.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: Yes, yes. But if I could just clarify this aspect in the light of the judgmentJudge.

CHAIRPERSON: You may do so.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: Starting at the bottom, the last paragraph at the bottom of page 3339 of thetyped judgment and page 44 of the bundle.
"TheMazda came to a standstill in the lane in which they had been travelling.She alighted from the car on the service station side. She saw peoplewho were throwing stones running towards the car. She spoke to themtelling them to leave the deceased alone as she was a student and acomrade, by which she meant that the deceased was a member of the sameorganisation as she was, namely the National Women's Coalition".
Were you there atthat stage?

MR NOFEMELA: When I arrived there I was in a bakkie with Peni. While they were pleading Iknow nothing about that.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: So is it your evidence here that you know absolutely nothing about any peopleasking Amy Biehl's attackers to desist?

MR NOFEMELA: Yes I have heard that in court that there were people asking for Amy Biehl notto be killed, but when I arrived there while the scene was still in motion Ididn't hear such a thing.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: How long have you been a member of PASO?

MR NOFEMELA: As from June 1990.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: How old were you at that stage, that is when you joined PASO?

MR NOFEMELA: I was 18 years old.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: You see what I am going to suggest to you Mr Nofemela that the attack and brutalmurder of Amy Biehl could not have been done with a political objective, itwas wanton brutality, like a pack of sharks smelling blood, isn't that the truth?

MR NOFEMELA: No that's not true, that's not true, we are not such things.

CROSSBY MR BRINK: Thank you Mr Chairman.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONSBY MR BRINK

CHAIRPERSON: Can you remember how long after this incident that you were arrested?

MR NOFEMELA: Yes I do remember.

CHAIRPERSON: Tell us when you were arrested.

MR NOFEMELA: I was arrested on the 26th of August.

CHAIRPERSON: You have also said that on that day, that's the 25th of August, you two werein "high spirits" as a result of hearing the speeches.

MR NOFEMELA: I can't hear your question clearly, can you repeat the date for me.

CHAIRPERSON: No I wasn't mentioning the date, I said that on your evidence you were in "highspirits" on that day, presumably as a result of hearing the speeches.

MR NOFEMELA: Yes, it's like that.

CHAIRPERSON: And the fact that you were in "high spirits" was responsible for your conductthat day, is that it?

MR NOFEMELA: Yes it's like that, even what we were told it's to ungovern the country.

CHAIRPERSON: Had you not been in similar "high spirits" on previous occasions?

MR NOFEMELA: I am sorry I can't hear the question clearly.

CHAIRPERSON: Have you not been in similar "high spirits" on previous occasions?

MR NOFEMELA: Are you saying before that day?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.

MR NOFEMELA: We were used to be that.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you kill many people on those occasion?

MR NOFEMELA: No we never did such a thing.

CHAIRPERSON: Well why on this day?

MR NOFEMELA: It's because she came to Guguletu during a very wrong moment.

CHAIRPERSON: What was wrong about the moment?

MR NOFEMELA: It's because students who were in PASO really wanted the land to go back tothe Africans and we were in very high emotions.

CHAIRPERSON: Well now my question was also were you in similar high spirits on previous occasionsand you said yes, this was not the first time, do you understand that?

MR NOFEMELA: Yes I understand.

CHAIRPERSON: And on those occasions when you were in high spirits did you kill people, Whitepeople?

MR NOFEMELA: No we never killed anyone before.

CHAIRPERSON: Well why on this occasion?

MR NOFEMELA: That day we were very much emotional and we find Amy in our locations.

JUDGE WILSON: Why were you so emotional?

MR NOFEMELA: It's because of what we heard in the launch that we were from.

JUDGE WILSON: Yes, but that took place at about one or two o'clock didn't it? Isn't that whenthe meeting was?

MR NOFEMELA: Yes Sir.

JUDGE WILSON: And you left the meeting, you walked down to the station, you caught trainsand this finally happened at five o'clock.

MR NOFEMELA: Yes Sir it's true.

JUDGE WILSON: What was it that kept you so emotional all afternoon?

MR NOFEMELA: As we were throwing stones at the truck on Vanguard Road we were shot thereby the policemen, White policemen.

JUDGE WILSON: Mmm, you ran away.

MR NOFEMELA: Yes we ran away and we split into two groups.

JUDGE WILSON: Mmm, you caught a train to Heideveld.

MR NOFEMELA: Yes Sir.

JUDGE WILSON: And then you got into a bakkie which was going in the direction where you stayed,you were going home.

MR NOFEMELA: Yes Sir.

JUDGE WILSON: But you happened, by chance on the way, to meet, to arrive where Amy Biehl was,to arrive at the Caltex garage, that's correct, when you were on the way home?

MR NOFEMELA: Yes Sir it's like that.

JUDGE WILSON: And you jumped out of the bakkie and chased after her and stabbed her. Threwstones at her first and then stabbed her.

MR NOFEMELA: Yes Sir.

JUDGE WILSON: That's your version. Why were you emotional, you were sitting in the bakkiegoing home? And yet you see this unfortunate girl running across the road, youjump out, chase her, throw stones at her and stab her, tell me why?

MR NOFEMELA: There was nothing that could cause us to cool down, we were still in very highemotions so we knew that we had another group that went the other way and wewere the one on this way.