Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1997-10-28

NORMAN ARENDSE: Mr Chairman, it remains for me to deal with the application of Mr Mabala, should I start now or should in the morning?

CHAIRPERSON: Let's start now please.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Mr Chairman, again written statements have been made available, I will read that into the record and also - I will read it into the record and ask Mr Mabala to confirm and also ask him a few more questions around some of the aspects raised in the written statement.

CHAIRPERSON: Certainly.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Mr Mabala?

CHAIRPERSON: Swear him in?

ADV SANDI: Mr Mabala, stand up to take the oath.

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: (sworn states)

NORMAN ARENDSE: Mr Mabala, you say in your statement which is unsigned
"I the undersigned Zola Prince Mabala, do hereby make oath and say that I'm an applicant in this matter, I'm 28 years old and was born in East London. I am unmarried. I passed standard 7 at school and I joined the PAC in 1987 through AZANYO.  I joined APLA in 1990 while in Tanzania.  I received military training in Tanzania and Uganda, I returned to South African in 1992.
I was involved in four APLA operations before the Heidelberg Tavern incident.  The first one was in Boipatong in Gauteng, the second one was in Heilbron in the Free State and then lastly the Nyanga East army base and Lingelethu West police station attacks.  At all times the targets to be hit were only made known to me as a unit member on the day of the attack.  
The affidavit of Gqomfa has been read to me and I confirm it's contents insofar as it relates to me.  In regard to the Heidelberg Tavern attack, I was supposed to throw a hand grenade but I did not do so.  At the time I did not think it 
wise to do so because I would almost certainly have killed my comrades as they were retreating from the attack on the tavern.
I was however  part of the unit which attacked the tavern and which caused the death of four people, I therefore take responsibility for what happened.  I deeply regret causing the loss of life and causing grief to the families of the victims involved, I am sorry and I ask for their forgiveness.  I believe however in the cause that I was fighting through APLA because at time the country was still being governed by a White minority.
This White minority had taken the land of the African people by force and in my view and in the view of APLA as I understood it, we were to take the land back by force.  I carried out the instructions of APLA to attack the Heidelberg Tavern and other targets, I did not question these instructions. I respectfully submit that my application complies with the requirements of the Act and that I have made full and proper disclosure to this Committee of my involvement in the Heidelberg Tavern incident.  I respectfully request that my application for 
amnesty be granted.
Can you confirm that what's been read to you is - accords with your instructions?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: Correct Sir.

NORMAN ARENDSE: I will then just proceed to ask you a few questions which arise from your statement.

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: You can proceed.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Thank you.  Can you remember in which year it was that you passed standard seven or did you pass standard 7 immediately before you joined AZANYO?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: It was December 1989.

NORMAN ARENDSE: That you left school?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: Yes.

NORMAN ARENDSE: How did you end up in Tanzania?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: When I passed standard seven I left for Lesotho, I was going to join the liberation organisation APLA.  I then went to Tanzania, that's where my training started.

NORMAN ARENDSE: What did you receive military training in?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: In Tanzania?

NORMAN ARENDSE: Yes.

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: That's where I was trained as a soldier, in Tanzania.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Well, which aspects of the military did you receive
training in - on how to use guns, how to shoot them, on what ammunition is and so on or did you also receive other kinds of training?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: I was trained in the basic course military discipline, also to use ammunition to kill, that is what I learnt there.

NORMAN ARENDSE: By the time - you said in your statement you returned to South Africa in 1992, was your military training complete by that stage?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: I'd finished at the time.

NORMAN ARENDSE: And your return, was it - did you return voluntarily or were you instructed to return to South Africa?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: The time had come for me to come back, that is why I came back.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Now, if we could just come to the Heidelberg Tavern incident - I don't know Mr Chairman, should I deal with the other incidents in which Mr Mabala was involved - Boipatong, Heilbron and the other two or should I leave that to the Committee to ...[intervention]

CHAIRPERSON: My feeling in the matter is that those will have to be canvassed on another occasion.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Thank you Mr Chairman.

JUDGE WILSON: Well, if you can simply tell us so that we don't
waste time, has he asked for amnesty in respect of them?

NORMAN ARENDSE: Can I ask Mr Mabala?
	Mr Mabala, the Boipatong incident, the Heilbron incident and also the other two, Nyanga East and Lingelethu West police station, did you apply for amnesty in respect of those incidents?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: All the operations in Johannesburg, I've asked for amnesty.  The Nyanga incident, army base and the Heidelberg also I've asked for amnesty.

NORMAN ARENDSE: I see on page 30 Mr Chairman, of the record which is the first page of Mr Mabala's amnesty application -  Mr Mabala, on page 30 at paragraph 9(a) at the bottom you refer to Heidelberg, Heilbron and Vanderbijlpark, do you see that?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: I've mentioned in all these operations, Hillbrow, army base, Vanderbijlpark, Heidelberg Tavern as I was filling the application forms - I don't know why they're not before you.  This is not my only application for amnesty, I made others as well - I think twice, I filled in these application forms twice.

NORMAN ARENDSE: This particular ...[intervention]

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: I mentioned all these incidents when I made the applications, I don't know why they are not here in this form.

JUDGE WILSON: We ought to look for them because the form I've got - I don't know what yours is like Mr Arendse, the next page is
completely blank and so is the - he gives no reasons or any of the other requirements.  There must be - it seems to me there must be another form somewhere which ...[intervention]

NORMAN ARENDSE: I was going to ask Mr Mabala to tell the - as the Chairman pointed out Mr Mabala, the - page 31 if you turn to it, is blank and then there's some detail on page 32 and then there's a signature at the bottom left of page 32.  Do you see that?  Did you - the question is, did you complete - did you fill in this form, is this in your handwriting or is it someone else's handwriting?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: It's not my handwriting, somebody filled in the form for me -  comrade Plathele filled in this form.

NORMAN ARENDSE: You also mentioned that there's some other form which you filled in, did you fill it in yourself or was it also filled in by someone else and if so who was that person?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: An attorney from the legal aid from Free State that the party - members of the party in the Free State had sent, this was done before the cut-off date.  I went and filled in these forms and I divulged all.

NORMAN ARENDSE: Is it your evidence that more detail - certainly a lot more than what's not in this application, is more detail provided in that application form?

ZOLA PRINCE MABALA: Perhaps it is so because after I applied before the cut
off date, there was confirmation that my application form has been received.  I was given a letter or a paper - a confirmation that my application has been received by the Commission.  This letter was brought by this attorney that had helped me fill the forms in.