Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1998-11-25

MR SIPHO: As the Court pleases.  Could I perhaps also direct the Committee to page 183.1, up to 183.5 which is a letter written by Mr Mhlambo to the TRC which contains to a large extent the evidence that he will actually lead this morning.
	Mr Mhlambo, where did you live during 1991?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: At Nhlalagahle, a township in Greytown.

MR SIPHO: Were you born in that area?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes.

MR SIPHO: Did you belong to any political party at that time?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes.

MR SIPHO: Which political party was this?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: The ANC.

MR SIPHO: And for how long had you been associated with the ANC up to 1991?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Ever since I was born, I grew up the area being an ANC stronghold.

MR SIPHO: Okay, what were the majority of the residents of that area, which party did they belong to?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: They belonged to the ANC.

MR SIPHO: Okay, was there a compound in that vicinity known as the HLH compound?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, there was.

MR SIPHO: Who occupied the HLH compound?  Was it members of the ANC or was it members of other political parties?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Members of the IFP resided at that compound.

MR SIPHO: Was it common for people from the ANC and the IFP to mix with each other at the compound or at the township?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: No.

MR SIPHO: What was the relationship between peoples of these two different parties at that time?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: There were very poor relations between the two groups, because at that time, there was political conflict between this two which caused the death of members from these two groups.

MR SIPHO: I see.  Do you know the deceased in this case?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, I know him.

MR SIPHO: What was her name?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Thembi Victoria Mxquso Mthembu.

MR SIPHO: Okay, now it is common cause that the deceased died on the 28th of September 1991 when she was killed by certain people.  Are you aware of that?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, I do.

MR SIPHO: Were you involved in the death of the deceased?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, I was.

MR SIPHO: Now, I want you to tell us very carefully and in some detail, how it came about that you were involved in the death of the deceased on that day.
	Do you understand that?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes.  In the afternoon of that day I was with a friend, Tsogosani Mgadi and Siabonga Khumalo.

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, if you could just repeat those names, you were with who?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Tsogosani Mgadi and Siabonga Khumalo.  We went down Ghona Road and we saw Siphilo Khanyile.  He was assaulting a certain lady and I asked him why he was assaulting this lady.
	He said he has seen this woman at HLH compound which was an IFP stronghold.  Because we were aware of the political situation, we also started assaulting this woman.  She fled and ran into somebody's house.  We followed and we caught up with her, and we continued assaulting her.
	Somebody suggested that we should take her to our leader, Mr Msolo.  We agreed and therefore we took her to Mr Msolo.  When we arrived at his home ...

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, before you proceed Mr Mhlambo, you say that Mr Msolo was your leader.  What was his capacity in that area?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: He was the ANC Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: ANC Chairperson of Nhlalagahle area?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes.

MR LAX: Sorry, was he Chairperson of Nhlalagahle or was he Chairperson of the whole Greytown area?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: He was the Nhlalagahle Chairperson.

MR SIPHO: Did you in fact take her to his place?

MR LAX: Sorry, your microphone Mr Sipho.

MR SIPHO: Sorry, did you in fact take her to Mr Msolo's house?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, we did.  We took her to Mr Msolo's house and when I arrived there, Spelo explained to Mr Msolo that he had seen the deceased at HLH compound.
	It was at night.  After he finished explaining, the Chairperson said we should leave the deceased, and we would continue with her case the following day.
	When we left and we were about at the gate, Mr Msolo made a sign, he moved his hand across his neck and we wondered what he meant by that sign.
	Some people amongst us said they had heard him saying that the deceased should be killed because there had been numerous reports about her.

CHAIRPERSON: Do you know who said that?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: The people who said this was Spelo, Tutugo and Xolani Pungula.

CHAIRPERSON: Can you just repeat those names?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Spelo, Tutugo and Xolani Pungula.

MR LAX: Just before you go on, the Mr Msolo that you are referring to is the late Solomon Msolo, is that correct?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, that is correct.

MR SIPHO: Did you perhaps have any idea why this person should be killed or why it was that Mr Msolo suggested that he should be killed?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: What happened was, when we were assaulting the deceased, we asked her why in the face of this political conflict, she should be found at this compound and she explained that she had two membership cards, one belonging to the ANC and the other to the IFP.
	That is why she could move freely in that compound.   Some of our members are being killed, because she had sent their names, people who were prominent activists in the ANC, she had sent their names to the other camp so that they could be killed.
	Some were arrested by the police.

MR SIPHO: How do you know that she had sent these names?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: We got the assurance from herself and also when we were arrested for this crime, the police explained that the deceased was indeed the informer and she was the best informer, because she supplied them with all the information.

MR SIPHO: Okay.

MR SIBANYONI: I am sorry Mr Sipho, did she volunteer the information that she sent names or she admitted after she was confronted, about that information?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: When we were assaulting her, we continually asked her what she was doing at the compound and that is how she was compelled to tell us the truth.
	She even said herself that even if we were to kill her, it would be suitable for a person in her position, because had been responsible for the death of many of our comrades.

MR SIBANYONI: Thank you.

MR SIPHO: Did you yourself feel at that stage, that she should in fact be killed as well?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Because of the situation in the area, the youth in that township were being killed in such numbers that they were dying every day.
	In that way I also realised that indeed the deceased should be killed.

MR SIPHO: Did you think that her death might stop further killings in the area?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, I did think that.  Such that after her death, the violence in Nhlalagahle abated.  There is now peace in the area, ever since her death.

MR SIPHO: Would you say that this killing was in any way politically motivated?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: Yes, it did have political objectives.  As I have explained before, we had initially known the deceased as one of our members, but it later transpired that she communicated or was in contact with IFP members.  It also transpired later from the police that she was indeed an informer.  That is why I feel that our crime had political objectives.

MR SIPHO: Okay, do you think that this killing would still have taken place, had the government of the day at that stage, been the present government?

ALFRED MANDLA MHLAMBO: No, I don't think that her death would have happened  because we do not have discrimination on the basis of race or colour at the present time.
	We were also driven by the political situation at that time, which was apartheid.

MR SIPHO: How do you feel now about the fact that this person lost her life at that stage?