Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 2000-06-14

CHAIRPERSON: We are continuing and we will now hear the application of Gqomfa, Kulman, Phila Dolo and Lerato Khotle and before I come to you Mr Mbandazayo, for the record I am Motata from the Transvaal Provincial Division, Gauteng and on my right is my brother, Judge de Jager, also from the Transvaal Provincial Division, Gauteng.  On my left I have Adv Sandi from East London, Eastern Cape.  Would the legal representatives put themselves on record?

MR MBANDAZAYO: Thank you Chairperson and Honourable Members of the Committee.  My name is Lungelo Mbandazayo.  I'm representing the applicant in this matter and I'm from Eastern Cape, East London, thank you.

MR COETZER: Thank you Mr Chairperson and Honourable Members of the Committee.  I represent the victims in this instance.  I'm Riaan Coetzer, from the firm Vermaak and Denis in Bloemfontein.

CHAIRPERSON: May you, Mr Coetzer, tell us the victims you are representing?

MR COETZER: It is Mr and Mrs Myburg who were the owners of the farm that was attacked.   As it pleases the Committee.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mr Coetzer.

JUDGE DE JAGER: Just to get clarity, Mr Coetzer, we heard of various farms that were attacked.  What farm or farms are we talking about here?

MR COETZER: Mr Chairperson and Members of the Committee, it is the farm in Lady Grey, the name of the farm is Wilgerspruit.  I apologise Mr Chairperson and Members of the Committee it seems as if it is the farm Fairview, Wilgerspruit and Moseley farm.

JUDGE DE JAGER: Your clients are sitting next to you, can they just confirm for you that those are the three farms that they were involved in?

MR COETZER: As it pleases the Committee.  I'll just get instructions from them.  Honourable Members, Wilgerspruit was there personal property.  The farm Fairview, a bakkie stood there that was burned.  It was however not their personal property.  If I can just address the Committee about the farm Moseley, I've got no instructions concerning that farm.  I can therefore not tell the Committee where this fits in into the picture.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mr Coetzer.  Do we have an appearance from the Amnesty Committee?

MS MTANGA: Chairperson, I'm Lulama Mtanga the Evidence Leader for the Amnesty Committee.  I just want to add on what my Learned Friend has just elaborated on.  According to our information, Wilgerspruit was owned by Mr Myburg and the farm Fairview was hired by Mr Fanie Schlebush, who's indicated as the second victim and he also owned the farm Moseley and in that farm, only a veld was burned, the property was not actually - the house was not actually burned and then in Fairview, a vehicle was burned and partially the house was also burned and both Fairview and Moseley were farms occupied by Mr Fanie Schlebush at that time.  He was notified and the last time we contacted him, he indicated that he would be coming, but he had doubts and then we never communicated with him again, but he received a notification from us.

ADV SANDI: Isn't this a chamber matter then?

MS MTANGA: Chairperson these farms were initially categorised as chamber matters, but on the insistence of Adv Paddy Prior that these were and advice from some of the Committee members, that because the intention could have been to kill these people, because they attacked these farms at night not knowing whether there were people or not and on that basis they said these would constitute attempted murder if they were to be charged criminally and hence the decision was taken that they must be heard.

CHAIRPERSON: Since we are here, we'll hear them.  Mr Mbandazayo, we see there are several applicant, four in all, would I be correct?

MR MBANDAZAYO: ...(indistinct)

CHAIRPERSON: It means the documents I have, there are four applicants.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Yes, Chairperson there are four applicants but only three will be because Phila Dolo will not be featuring in this application because he was not involved in the farm attacks, he was involved in the Ficksburg area and they have already been heard, his application.  What I think was somebody who was supposed to be here was Stephen Vusi Msidolo, who was involved with Gqomfa, but he has already been granted amnesty in chambers with regard to this matter.

CHAIRPERSON: So we're formally removing the application of Phila Dolo?

MR MBANDAZAYO: Yes, Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: And we shall do so.  The application of Mr Phila Dolo is removed from the roll for this hearing.  With which applicant are you going to start first?

MR MBANDAZAYO: I will start Chairperson with Humphrey Luyanda Gqomfa.

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Mbandazayo.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Thank you Chairperson,  I'll be just brief Chairperson.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Mr Gqomfa, is it correct that you were born in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: And you are also a father of a little girl between the ages 4 and 5 years?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: That is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Is it correct also that you passed standard nine at school and you never managed to complete matric?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Is it also correct that you joined the PAC through AZANYU in 1983?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: That is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Is it also correct that you joined APLA while in exile in Botswana during 1986?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: That is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: And also is it correct that you joined APLA because it was a liberation army and you were determined play a role in the liberation of the oppressed majority in the country?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Is it also correct that you did your military training in Tanzania, Uganda and Egypt?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Which included training in how to use arms and ammunition?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: That is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Is it also correct that you returned in South Africa in 1991 to Umtata in Transkei?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: And you became involved in the building of the political structures of APLA?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Now is it also correct that you have been involved in various operations of APLA, including the Heidelberg Tavern incident in Cape Town, in which you were Commander thereof?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Is it also correct that you were involved also in various ambushes in the area of Sterkspruit, Lady Grey area?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: Yes, that is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Now Mr Gqomfa, is it also correct that you were also involved in the farm attack in Lady Grey?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: That is correct.

MR MBANDAZAYO: Can you tell the Committee briefly about this attack, who ordered the attack and who commanded you and what was the purpose and why did you attack the farm?

HUMPHREY LUYANDA GQOMFA: We were staying in Sterkspruit, our overall Commander was Mphahlele, since he was a Director of Operations, we were a unit that was based there.  I think it was on the 18th of March, but I'm not sure about the date of this operation, but before this operation there was a township by the name of ...(indistinct) in Sterkspruit and what happened is, the whole week I was in Coville in this township and I would go to this farm to reconnoitre this farm to see what is happening,  there were cars and the people that are staying there and about who was staying in the main house.  On the day of the operation as there was an overall command, I was a Unit Commander - there was a Unit Commander by the name of Vusi Dolo.  We went to this farm because we knew that there was nobody that day and the workers were going to be in the places where they were staying, so we attacked that farm on that day and then we went back to the base after attacking the farm.