Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 1997-03-27

MPHITHIZELI NELSON NGO: I was based in Mamelodi.  While I was still on duty I received a message from Major Jordaan that I must report to Captain Loots at Compol Building in Pretoria.  I went there as directed.  When I arrived at Captain Loots he said to me I must go to Bloemfontein.  Then on arrival in Bloemfontein I must report to Colonel Coetzee.  The
following day I was in the company of Hendrik Bokaba.  We took a Ford Sierra car to Bloemfontein.  When I arrived in Bloemfontein he dropped me off at the City Branch offices here at Fountain Street in Bloemfontein.
	When I arrived there I met Colonel Coetzee to whom I reported.  As I was deliberating with him there were two officers who came in, Mr Erasmus and Mr Shaw.  Colonel Coetzee told me that I am here to carry out an operation.  He took out a photo written "P D Venter".  It was written with a marking pen.  I did observe that this photo was that of Mr P D Venter that I knew.  He stayed at Universitas.  And Mr Erasmus took me to his place when I was attacked by (...indistinct) students when I was still at school, I took refuge there.  He told me this is the person that we must deal with.  The reasons he gave me were that Mr P D Venter is not like before, he does not cooperate with him, he doesn't want to give information to the police.  He didn't report about the strikes that took place in 1989.  He did take two months salary that was given to them as he was the informer.  
	From there he ordered Adjutant Ramaswewu to take me to the police station in Botshabelo Barracks. That is where I stayed.  At that Barracks police station I slept there.  In the morning arrived Lieutenant Shaw and Adjutant Ramaswewu.  On their arrival they took me from Botshabelo, then we went to Mr Venter's place.  The aim of going to Mr Venter's place at Universitas was to observe the situation whether the operation that I was going to carry out would be suitable under such conditions that would prevail at that place.  After being satisfied of the conditions at Mr Venter's place we left.  Together we went to the Security Branch offices.  On our arrival there we stayed a while.  Before we left the police station they said we must go to Hamilton shooting range where Lieutenant Shaw explained to me how to carry out this operation concerning Mr Venter.  He explained to me that - he said to me I must shoot at Mr Venter, however, it must look as if he was robbed.  And he did tell me that I must take a firearm, the 7.65 type, which I will use.  Then he took my patrol Beretta, my pistol, then he gave me this 7.65 pistol that I was going to use for this operation.
	From there he gave me Old Mutual forms and gloves and two hangers.  The reason being he said to me I must go to Mr Venter and make as if I've got a problem concerning the forms to renovate the house when I arrived at Mr Venter's place so that he can allow me to get into the house and talk to him.  
	From there they took me back to Batho police station where I stayed until seven o'clock. At seven o'clock Adjutant Ramaswewu arrived in the company of Sergeant Mamume.  Then we all left to Mr Venter's place.  We parked just behind Mr Venter's house along the freeway, the N1 freeway.  Then I rounded behind the houses towards Mr Venter's street.  Then I knocked at Mr Venter's house.  Then he opened the door for me.  Afterwards I told him that I am here so that he can help me fill in these Old Mutual forms.  He invited me in and wanted to know what the problem was with these forms.  Afterwards we went together into the sitting room.  
	I took out the forms whilst talking to him.  As he was looking through the forms trying to get my problem I opened the briefcase and pulled out the firearm.  Whilst he was reading these forms I shot him on the forehead with this 
firearm.  As he fell down I took the watch from his wrist then went out the door and then I ran towards the car that was waiting for me along the highway where Sergeant Mamume and Adjutant Ramaswewu were waiting for me. 
	On arrival at them I told Adjutant Ramaswewu and Sergeant Mamume that I have shot Mr Venter and I have killed him.  Adjutant Ramaswewu said myself and Sergeant Mamume you must go back and remove Mr Venter's corpse from that place. We jumped the fence and went into the house through the back door, into Mr Venter's house.  Then we wrapped his corpse with the carpet where he fell.  From there we went out and I took a shovel, I took a spade and we handed the corpse to Adjutant Ramaswewu over the fence. 
	From there I drove this car. We drove this car on a gravel road to Kwaggafontein.  On arrival there we took the road that went to the Municipal land around there.  We stopped when we arrived at that place and myself and Adjutant and Sergeant Mamume, we took the corpse from the car.  We ditched it in a donga that was dug there in that Municipal area then we covered the corpse.  After covering it we drove back together with Adjutant Ramaswewu and Sergeant Mamume to Mr Venter's house.  On arrival Sergeant Mamume said we must take Mr Venter's car and park it at the Stolen Vehicles Unit.  We took the car with Adjutant Mamume and drove it to Botshabelo and we left behind Adjutant Ramaswewu here in Bloemfontein.  On arrival we parked the car amongst these stolen vehicles in Botshabelo.  From there we went to report at the Security Branch offices to Adjutant Banjani, and Adjutant Mamume said we have brought the car, it is outside.  Did he arrange as we have talked together about the car?  Then Adjutant Banjani agreed and said we can leave.  
	We took a Datsun made car, a 4X4, drove to S Section in Botshabelo to a certain house.  We found two people there.  It was Zachariah and Ben Ramarukane.  Then Adjutant Banjani introduced us to these people, they are his informers, they pass information to him, and they work for National Hospital.
	He ordered them to accompany us to Bloemfontein and assist us to confiscate some clothing of askaris who were going to work with us.  From there he told them that the rest they will get from us pertaining to the arrangements.  We took Adjutant Banjani to the offices in Botshabelo and left him there.  We left together with these two people.
	On arrival in Bloemfontein I told Sergeant Mamume that we are going to take out an operation in the afternoon, we must take Ramarukane and Getsi and leave them at my brother's place at one plot in this area. When we arrived at this plot we met Zachariah and John, my brother who was visiting him.  We told them that we are going to leave these people here, we will come for them in the afternoon.  
	We left them and I was in the company of Sergeant Mamume when we left, and then we went where we hid Mr Venter's corpse in this Municipal area.  We just wanted to see if the place was well covered.  We found the corpse not well covered and Sergeant Mamume said we must weed some grass and cover it so that it is not visible.
	From there we left for Rocklands location.  At Takolikwala where we were going to fetch Adjutant Ramaswewu at his place at Takolikwala in Rocklands location.  We took Adjutant Ramulahwana and we went to Stalsweg where Mr Coetzee stayed at Welgehof.  We found Mr Coetzee with 
Lieutenant Shaw and Adjutant Ramaswewu, not Ramulahwana, explained that we did carry out the operation.  As we sat there explaining about the operation we carried out Shaw recorded all he said, the report he was giving.  Major Coetzee said he was satisfied with what we did, however, he is not satisfied because what we were supposed to do was to remove all the evidence so that the act we did should be like housebreaking because it must not be known that it was a security policeman who did that.  Lieutenant Shaw and Adjutant Mamume we will do as directed. 
	As we left that place we took Adjutant Ramulahwana back to his place and we drove around the location.  We went to Kwaggafontein at 12 o'clock.  When we reached Kwaggafontein at 12 o'clock it was during the night, we met John and Ari and Getsi together with Ben.  From there we all left.  The reason for taking them with was, as I said, to Sergeant Mamume that we must take Ari so that he can assist us there.  We went to Mr Venter's grave.  On arrival we stopped and Sergeant Mamume was left behind with Ben and Getsi in the car.  Myself and John went to this place where we hid Mr Venter's corpse. The reason for Sergeant Mamume to stay behind was that these two people must not see what was taking place.  Then I asked Ari and John to get a spade, I asked them to start digging next to Mr Venter's grave.  After they have done that I said to them they must take Mr Venter's corpse and put it in that hole that we have just dug.  They asked me what's the corpse all about.  I said to them these are people who have been killed in accidents and things like that, and then we, the police officials, if the next of kin does not come and collect them we come and collect the corpses and bury them in this Municipal area and we have the right to do so.
	From there we left back to Mr Venter's place, together with these people who were accompanying us.  On arrival at Mr Venter's place we entered the house and I opened the gate so that the Sergeant Mamume should put the car in the garage, where we took the chairs where Mr Venter was sitting and put them in the car.  And then we took them to Botshabelo.  We left them at S Section where we found Ben.  We came back and took some more, the dressing table and a headboard at Mr Venter's place and some clothing.  Then we said he must take that clothing.  
	From there we went to Kwaggafontein where we collected Ari and John.  On arrival I took an FM radio and I gave it to John Ngo.  And Sergeant Mamume took the clothing and said Ari must take all this clothing.  Then he gave them both R50,00 notes, each one of them a R50,00 bank note.  And we all left and took the rest of the assets in the car to Botshabelo.
	When we arrived at Botshabelo we dropped all these assets at S Section in Botshabelo.  Sergeant Mamume opened the drawer and took the jewellery he found within this drawer.  I took one of the rings and he asked the others what they wanted.  They said they wanted the TV set and they wanted to use it at work.  He took it and gave it to them and he gave them both R50,00 bank notes.  Then we came back to Bloemfontein where Sergeant Mamume left me at the Batho police station where I can sleep and relax.
	The following day Sergeant Mamume and Sergeant Ramaswewu came to Batho police station.  Then we reported to Colonel Coetzee.  After reporting to Colonel Coetzee he said he was satisfied with the operation we carried out.  Then he gave me my 9mm Beretta pistol and said I must take the firearm that I used for the operation and give it to Adjutant Banjani at Botshabelo or give the numbers to Ben at S Section.  And he gave me R500,00 cash.  Then he gave me five days to go and relax.  
	I took one of my fiance who stayed at Rocklands and we went to Botshabelo at G55 at my sister's place.  The following day I took her back to Bloemfontein because she was to attend school.  After she left she came back in the company of policemen from Murder and Robbery Unit.  Mr Dion Pieterse, one of the policemen said to me he's arresting me for murder.  I was arrested and locked here at the Batha police station.  After they have talked they took me to Hamilton where I was arrested.  
	Then I attended the trial.  At this trial Lieutenant Shaw and Colonel Coetzee visited me.  They said to me I must not disclose anything concerning Mr Venter's murder.  They will do everything and look after my family.  I agreed to what they were saying to me.  
	After a time I notified Mr Coetzee that I have a problem, it seems as if this case won't go my way, and I intend escaping from jail.  He said he will arrange that a person be sent to me who will assist me.  They sent one policeman from the SAP who took me to Pelonomi Hospital. At this hospital he told me to escape and run away.  I did manage to do so.  After I had left Pelonomi Hospital's yard, on my way to the gate, there were some security policemen who knew that I was attending trial from Ramkurane(?).  They sent for someone to arrest me and they took me back to prison.  We went back to prison and on arrival the policemen explained that I tried to escape from hospital but however 
I was arrested.  From there the head of this prison said to me I will be charged at the police station.
	On arrival Mr Coetzee said to me he will arrange that I escape again.  He will tell head of the prisons that he has charged me, then I will be sent back to prison, so this record of attempted murder and this one of escaping from the hospital it still appears on my files at the hospital.  
	I stood trial and I did not disclose anything concerning the operation of the Security Branch.  I did not admit the guilt of what I did.  Then I was convicted and sentenced to the years that I did get at this trial.