Amnesty Hearings — Pinetown — 2000-02-15

MR PANDAY: Now ...(inaudible)
" As the courts would not have accepted the true version of the incident, I was forced to rely heavily on the aspect of witchcraft activities of the deceased and his alleged involvement in my brother's death."
Now what was the true version of the incident?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: The truth is that he was not killed merely for the reason that he practised witchcraft but for the reason that he was against the ANC, he was a member of the IFP and he did whatever he could to harass the ANC and stop the activities of the organisation.  He even forbade his children to attend ANC meetings or to involve themselves in our activities.

MR PANDAY: Now you said he forbade his children to join the ANC?  How old were his children at the time?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: I do not know their ages but they were not very young.  For instance Kenneth was about 16 and the two girls, Wanasi and Nandi were my age mates although I'm not certain of their correct age.

MR PANDAY: Now besides Mr Mkhize forbidding his children to join the ANC, him attacking comrades, what other ...(intervention)

JUDGE DE JAGER: Sorry, what was your age at that stage?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: I was 28 but I said I was 22 in court.

JUDGE DE JAGER: So you as a 20 year old man, a 28 year old man instructed a 16 year old boy to pour petrol on his father, is that correct?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Yes I did because that was an instruction that had been given to me, it was not just my instruction but it had been a decision that had been taken collectively and I would not have gone against that decision.

JUDGE DE JAGER: Who instructed you that the boy in particular should pour petrol on his father?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: It was the commander, Cyril Shezi.

JUDGE DE JAGER: So where did he give you that command?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: At the meeting where we discussed the elimination of the deceased.  He said it would be a good idea if the son who actually pours the petrol over his father so that we are not heavily implicated because the son would be more implicated than ourselves.

MR PANDAY: Mr Mafu, how did Kenneth come to be at these meetings?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: He was an ANC supporter at the time so he had to be at the meeting because it was not that he would be exempt from attending the meeting just because the subject of that meeting was his father.

MR PANDAY: Who else was at this meeting?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: It was comrades from the youth league.  I can mention a few but I cannot name all.  It was, I can mention Vusi Mafu, Tandiso Vesi, Cyril Shezi, Bongani Mdovela as well as Baba Mkhize, as well as Jabulani Mkhize.

MR PANDAY: Is it correct that at this meeting Kenneth told the organisation his father disapproved of him being a member?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: The deceased's children had once mentioned to us that their father disapproved of them joining the organisation but when we enquired as to the reasons for that we did not get any response that is why we also started to follow his movements closely.

CHAIRPERSON: But you knew this man, you've just been telling us, to be an IFP leader who attacked ANC people and you didn't know why he didn't want his children to join the ANC.  Are you being serious with us?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: The fact that I knew that he was an IFP member did not necessarily mean that he had to forbid his children from joining the ANC because even in my family my father is an IFP member or was an IFP member but he did not forbid me from joining the ANC because he was not at war with the ANC.

CHAIRPERSON: But you told us, my note is that you didn't give the true version in court when you said witchcraft, the true version was that he was IFP and that he opposed ANC activities and forbade his children from joining the ANC?  Do you remember telling us that?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Yes I do.

CHAIRPERSON: So this was a man who opposed ANC activities?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Yes he was opposed to ANC activities.

CHAIRPERSON: Well surely in that case he would be opposed to his children joining the ANC if he was opposed to their activities?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: As far as political affiliation is concerned everyone has a right to join a political organisation of their choice because even his children were not forced to join the ANC, we just talked with them and asked them to do so.  Therefore it was not right for him to forbid his children from joining an organisation of their choice and his refusal for them to join the ANC indicated that there was something not right about him.

MR PANDAY: Mr Mafu, who is Babalo Mkhize?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: He is a member of the deceased's family.

MR PANDAY: Was he an ANC member?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Yes that is correct.

MR PANDAY: Now tell me did Kenneth Mkhize attend all the meetings of the ANC?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: He would attend some and some he would not attend because you may sometimes not have the opportunity to attend a meeting, for instance if you are busy or if you are a student but he would attend meetings.

MR PANDAY: Is it correct that he had stopped attending for a period of two weeks at least?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: That is not correct because we had held a meeting the previous day and his father was killed on the following day and he was present at that meeting.

MR PANDAY: Now do you recall Kenneth Mkhize giving evidence in court?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Yes I do recall that, he was a State witness.

MR PANDAY: Now in his evidence he says on page 27, the bundle of documents, I'll read it to you.  This is what Kenneth tells to the court.  For about two weeks after he had ceased attending meetings for about two weeks he was approached by Babalo Mkhize and ...(indistinct) and asked why he stopped coming to the meetings.  Would that be correct?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: That question was put to him at that very same meeting that we held not that he was approached or fetched from his home.

MR PANDAY: So you deny that he was approached by Babalo Mkhize?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: I do not dispute that he questioned him.  What I do dispute is that he was approached somewhere.  That question was put to him at that very same meeting where his father's elimination was discussed.

MR PANDAY: What was Babalo Mkhize's role in the organisation?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: He was in the disciplinary committee.

MR PANDAY: And who did he take orders from?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: I was his senior.

MR PANDAY: Now Kenneth further tells the court that he told him that it was because his father did not approve on the sunday before the deceased was attacked Babalo told him that because his father had disapproved of his membership of the comrades he was going to be burnt?  Now isn't Kenneth's version quite different from what you say took place at this meeting?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Babalo did mention that in the meeting because the subject of Kenneth's father's death was being discussed.

MR PANDAY: Where was Cyril Shezi at the time?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: He was at the meeting.

JUDGE DE JAGER: Who was the chairperson of this meeting?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: It was Kangiso Uvisi.

CHAIRPERSON: Who, would you repeat that again please?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Kangiso Uvisi.

JUDGE DE JAGER: Wouldn't it be the custom that the commander or the leader of the ANC in that area would chair the meeting?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: Yes that person would be in charge of the meeting because even the people who chaired or the people who were in charge at that meeting had been instructed by him to do so.  So he is the person who had issued out instructions on who was to be responsible for what task.

MR PANDAY: Who issued the instruction as to who had to be responsible for what task?

MAFANDO JOKONIA MAFU: The commander Cyril Shezi.

MR PANDAY: Now why in particular did Shezi not chair this meeting?