Amnesty Hearings — Ermelo — 1998-07-29

MR PATEL: May it please you Mr Chairman, I beg leave to call Mr Shongwe.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Shongwe, which language would you prefer to use?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I will testify in Zulu.
PELELE L. SHONGWE: (sworn states)

MR PATEL: Mr Shongwe, where were you born?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I was born in Ermelo.

MR PATEL: And have you lived for most of your live in the Ermelo area?

PELELE L SHONGWE: Yes, that is correct.

MR PATEL: At the time that you committed the acts for which you claim amnesty, what was your occupation?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I was not employed.

MR PATEL: What is your occupation at present?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I am under the South African Defence Force.

MR PATEL: At the time that you committed the acts for which you claim amnesty, did you belong to any political organisation?

PELELE L SHONGWE: Could you repeat your question please?

MR PATEL: At the time that you committed the acts for which you are claiming amnesty, did you belong to any political organisation?

PELELE L SHONGWE: Yes, that is correct.  I was a member of the ANC.

MR PATEL: According to the schedule on page 21 of Volume 1, you are claiming amnesty for firstly the murder of Bongani Malinga.

PELELE L SHONGWE: Could you please repeat the reference.

MR PATEL: Page 21 on the right top corner there is a number, paragraph 6.6 and your name is there.

PELELE L SHONGWE: Yes, I can see that.

MR PATEL: You claim amnesty for firstly the murder of Bongani Malinga on 22 October 1993 and you also claim amnesty for the murder of Ernest Malele on 15 February 1993 and you claim amnesty for the attempted murder of an unknown black male on 15 February 1993.  You claim amnesty for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and finally for the theft of a firearm and ammunition.  Do you confirm that?

PELELE L SHONGWE: Yes, that is correct.  With regard to the murder of Ernest Malele as well as the other unknown black male, there is a mistake - that happened during 1994 and not 1993 as recorded.

CHAIRPERSON: Which one is this?

MR PATEL: Numbers 2 and 3.

CHAIRPERSON: 2 and 3?

MR PATEL: That is correct.  It ought to be 1994.  We have had evidence from previous applicants who have identified you as a member of a Self Defence Unit, do you confirm that?

PELELE L SHONGWE: Yes, that is correct.

MR PATEL: Let's examine each offence individually.  The first murder, that is of Bongani Malinga.  Who was he?  Did he belong to any political organisation?

PELELE L SHONGWE: Bongani Malinga was a member of the Black Cats as well as a member of the IFP.

MR PATEL: Was there any specific order from a higher command that he should be killed?

PELELE L SHONGWE: Yes, there was an instruction that we should form Self Defence Units and we should do everything in our power or in our discretion in order to arm ourselves and as the members of the Self Defence Unit, we knew the Black Cat members very well and Bongani was one of the people who played a very important role in killing SACP/COSATU and ANC members, as well as members of the community.
	The instruction that we got was for us to try and quell the violence, so it was up to us to look and see as to who was causing problems.  If he did not want to partake in the negotiations.

MR PATEL: Could you briefly describe how his murder took place?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I was from my place, that is where the Black Cats are staying, in the same area, at Extension.  As I was going out, I saw Bongani Malinga together with Bongi Mkhwanazi, they were from Bongi Mkhwanazi's place.  I ran to him and I shot him.
	I think it was about three houses that could be approximately ten metres away from me.  I shot him in the leg and he fell onto the ground.  I proceeded to him or towards him.  I think I shot him about three times in the ribs and when I was closer to him, I shot him at close range.  The firearm was loaded with 15 bullets and I ran off from the scene and I think I shot him about 11 times, because I was left with only four bullets.

MR PATEL: Yes.  Were you alone on that day or were you accompanied by anybody?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I was with Livingstone, but I left him in my yard or in the house when I went out, that is when I saw this person and I proceeded towards this person all by myself.

MR PATEL: Okay.   The murder of Ernest Malele and this unknown male on 15 February 1994, where did that take place?

PELELE L SHONGWE: That happened in White River, the main town is White River but the area is called Gogogeo.

MR PATEL: Do you know whether Ernest Malele and this unknown person belonged to any political organisation?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I think I have to explain briefly as to how I got to know this, or how I got hold of this information.  I don't know if I am permitted to do that.

MR PATEL: Yes, please do.

PELELE L SHONGWE: When I realised that my life was in danger in Ermelo, I fled to Nelspruit and I hid at a safe house, that is an ANC safe house.  As I was still there, Ernest Malele came, I was with a certain person named Pat but whose surname I do not remember.
	He said he was looking for his briefcase which contained documents of the National Party or his National Party documents, and we said that we did not know anything about the briefcase, and he asked me as to my identity and where I was coming from.
	Pat knew this guy very well and he said he was coming back and it was going to be very clear when he came back, as to where I was coming from.  When he went out, I asked Pat as to who these guys are and he said I should be very careful of them, because they were National Party people.
	At about seven or eight o'clock in the evening, I heard a knock at the door and when I opened the door, they showed themselves at the door.  I thought that probably they had come to either kill me or attack me and when they left, I had taken my gun earlier on and when I opened the door, they made gestures as if they were taking their guns from their holsters or from their waists.  That is when I started shooting.
	Ernest died on the spot, but the other one did not die on the spot.  When we searched them, we got some pangas from their bodies and I indicated that we should put them back into the car in which they arrived and we drove the car.
	Because I did not know the area, and there was a river somewhere, somehow, I was not able to go through or go passed it, we took the documents which were inside the car and we burnt the car.   I am the one who started burning the car.
	That is when the rain started and it actually extinguished the flames in which the car was engulfed.

CHAIRPERSON: So, what is the reason you killed Ernest and attempted to kill the other person?

PELELE L SHONGWE: It is because Pat had already told me that they were members of the National Party which I regarded as the enemy of the ANC and it was clear that they had come to kill me, so I killed them in self defence.
	They had pointed out at an earlier stage that they were going to sort me out when they came back.

MR PATEL: The illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and the theft of the firearm and the ammunition, could you just explain to the Committee how you came to be in possession of it?

PELELE L SHONGWE: I would like to explain the reason why I wanted to own a gun.  I was a member of the SDU and the instruction that had been issued was that we should arm ourselves in whichever way.  One day I came across a drunk Policeman and I robbed him of his gun with the sole aim that I should protect the organisations that fell within the ANC and the community at large.

CHAIRPERSON: Tell me, are you presently serving a sentence?

PELELE L SHONGWE: No.

MR PATEL: As a member of the ANC, how did you view members of the National Party, the IFP and the Black Cats?

PELELE L SHONGWE: At the time members of the Black Cats, the IFP and the National Party were perceived as the enemies of the ANC.