Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1998-11-10

MR VISSER: Mr Chairman, I believe that I am to address you today, Visser on record.  Perhaps with you leave, just before we start, a few matters of housekeeping importance.  Mr Chairman, we have foreshadowed that we will make available to you a list of incidents, politically related incidents which transpired in the Durban area, from approximately 1982 to 1993.
	We are attempting Mr Chairman, to procure photocopies thereof, although without success at the moment.  I am informed Mr Chairman, that there is a problem with the photocopy machine that is available to us here, but as soon as that becomes available Mr Chairman, we will certainly let you have that.  
	May we suggest Mr Chairman, that that Exhibit might be called Exhibit A, and its description will be a list of politically related incidents in Port Natal.  We might have one copy, pardon me for a moment.  We seem to have two here Mr Chairman, we have handed it to some of our learned friends.  May I ask through the Chair, whether our learned friend, Mr Ngubane has received a copy of this.  Have we given you a copy Mr Ngubane?

MR NGUBANE: No, not yet.

MR VISSER: Mr Chairman, with your indulgence, might we hand one to you and your Commissioners at this stage, and one to Mr Ngubane, and as soon as they are ready, we will let you have them.
	Two pages are still to be added to the front Mr Chair.  One will have the legend Exhibit A, and the heading Politically Related Incidents, and the second page that is still missing from that bundle which you have before you, is an index which I have prepared Mr Chairman, with a summary of the number of incidents.  That will be handed to you in due course.
	Mr Chairman, we also are going to refer straight away to certain other documents, which have already been reproduced.   The one is an affidavit by Mr Adrian Steven Rosslee, it is a handwritten affidavit Mr Chairman which I am informed, you have already before you.
	It looks like this Mr Chairman.  I think at this stage, there are two.  The one is one of Mr Hugo's clients, and the other is, two handwritten affidavits.

CHAIRPERSON: One of Ramatala and one ...

MR VISSER: Yes, and the other is the Rosslee one, the one I wish to refer to Mr Chairman.  Might that be marked Exhibit B then Mr Chairman.  Is yours not stapled together?

CHAIRPERSON: No.

MR VISSER: I have a stapler here Mr Chairman.  Mr Chairman, I am also informed that you have already been handed three psychiatric reports.  The first is by Russel E. Matthews.

CHAIRPERSON: Robertse?

MR VISSER: And Potgieter, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: We will make that one bundle?

MR VISSER: Yes Mr Chairman, I was going to suggest with respect, perhaps Matthews could be C1, Potgieter C2 and Robertse, C3, just taken at random Mr Chairman, for no particular reason in that order.  Well, any order will do, but I suggest that Matthews, Potgieter and Robertse Mr Chairman, simply because it is alphabetical.

CHAIRPERSON: Robertse will be C3.

MR VISSER: Matthews is C1.

CHAIRPERSON: Potgieter C2.

MR VISSER: C2, and Robertse C3, Mr Chairman.  Mr Chairman, and then with your leave, lastly, my learned friend, Mr Prior had kindly made available to us, an extract from the charge sheet of the Dudu Buthelezi case to which we will refer as the Ramlakan case, and that is a document which has the legend on the right hand top, Annexure G, and it says Acts Performed/Committed by Accused 7.

CHAIRPERSON: Accused 8.

MR VISSER: Oh, I see, I thought both of those Mr Chairman, can conveniently be grouped together as Exhibit D, unless there is a specific reason why my learned friend wishes to have them separated into two separate Exhibits.

CHAIRPERSON: I understand it is common cause that 7, is Mela?

MR VISSER: That is correct, that is how we were given to understand Mr Chairman.  In fact, 8 is the gentleman by the name of Pumeso Nxiweni.  Pumeso is in fact one of the deceased for whose death amnesty is sought in these proceedings.
	We will refer to him as Pumeso Mr Chairman, because it falls easier on the tongue than Nxiweni.
	Mr Chairman, the application before you this morning, is the application of Sergeant Adrian Steven Rosslee, who applies for amnesty for any unlawful act, omission or offence committed by him in respect of the abduction, the arrest, detention, assassination and the disposal of the body of one Sipho Stanley Bhila, on 22 February 1987 as well as for the unlawful possession of a firearm or firearms and ammunition utilised to assassinate Mr Bhila and for any other act, omission or offence in respect thereof, including any act, omission or offence perpetrated by him in regard to the above, after the event, including the cover up thereof.

CHAIRPERSON: Before you go on with anything, can I go back and suggest that we have been given Ramatala's affidavit.  It has been referred to, that we should call that Exhibit E.

MR VISSER: As it pleases you Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: And we have been given ...

MR VISSER: I must just make this one observation Mr Chairman, my Attorney has gone through this, it seems obscure what this is doing here.  I am not sure whether Mr Prior wants to use it and for what purpose, but I am just wondering whether we should burden the record until we find out whether this ...

CHAIRPERSON: We can leave that out, but let's get Ramatala in.

MR VISSER: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: There are so many papers.

MR VISSER: Yes, thank you Mr Chairman, that is in order.  If my learned friend, Mr Prior wants to refer to the record of the evidence, well then obviously that can be handed in at that stage.
	Mr Chairman, Mr Rosslee presents himself as a witness to be sworn in.

ADRIAN STEVEN ROSSLEE: (sworn states)

MR VISSER: Mr Chairman, the application you will find in the Bhila volume, called bundle 1 rather, at page 22 and following.  If I may first of all Mr Chairman, draw your attention yet again, as you have become accustomed to, to paragraph 7(a) and (b) for the information of the two members of your panel, who have not previously heard how this came about.
	Mr Chairman, to cut a very long story short, it came down to a misinterpretation on the reading of paragraph 7(a) and (b) and it is entirely not the fault of the applicants and you will recall Mr Chairman, that on many occasions we have applied for those two paragraphs to be amended as we do again today, for paragraph 7(a) to read National Party and for paragraph 7(b) to read supporter and that not applicable be struck out in both those subparagraphs, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: That amendment is made to the application.

MR VISSER: As it pleases you Mr Chairman.  Mr Rosslee, you are the applicant in this matter, and it concerns the death of Mr Bhila.  You have requested in your application, that the written submissions by the Foundation for Equality before the Law, which is presently and I might add Mr Chairman, for the first time fortunately, included in the papers before the Committee, in the Zandile bundles, volume 2, page 169, volume 2, pages 169 - 404.

CHAIRPERSON: I have assumed Mr Visser (indistinct)