Amnesty Hearings — Johannesburg — UNKNOWN

JUDGE WILSON: Who was his driver?

MR NOFOMELA: I do not remember anything about him, but I heard later from Dirk Coetzee that his driver was there and he was more drunk than anyone else there.

JUDGE WILSON: ... your application once again
"The General's driver was also subdued by the so-called "knock-out drops" used in many of our missions".

MR NOFOMELA: I was told by Dirk Coetzee that it is possible that the General swopped glasses and the glass out of which he was supposed to have drunk was used by Lockwood or his
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driver, whoever, but he was the one that drank out of the glass that was spiked.

JUDGE WILSON: What is this knock-out drops that you use in many of your missions?

MR NOFOMELA: I never used them.  I heard from Dirk Coetzee.

JUDGE WILSON: ... used in many of our missions.  What do you mean by that?

MR NOFOMELA: I remember that they were done to Askaris as well, where they were given alcohol and you could see that they weren't all there, like Petrus Gwadi whose drink was spiked, and that is where I could see from the way he was behaving that something was thrown in his drink and we took him to hospital and the doctor confirmed that his drink had been spiked.

JUDGE WILSON: When was this?

MR NOFOMELA: In 1986 in Ladybrand.  We took him to the Ladybrand Hospital.

JUDGE WILSON: You used drugs and other things.

MR NOFOMELA: I am referring to these drops that are used to spike drinks.

SISI KHAMPEPE: ... to the knock-out drops for your missions, Mr Nofomela?

MR NOFOMELA: From what I heard from my commander, Dirk Coetzee at the time, he spoke about General Neethling at the time.  I do not know, I have never seen him.

SISI KHAMPEPE: What role were advised by Dirk Coetzee that you were going to play in the kidnapping of General prior to leaving for Swaziland?

MR NOFOMELA: I think just outside the border gate, I am not sure where we were, in the way he told me, where I was told.  The instruction I got from Dirk Coetzee was that I should go
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with him and that there was going to be another white man.  I thought it was going to be Deetlefs from Ermelo, because he was someone I had become accustomed to, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be him.  We went through the border gate, I think I was in front, and they came behind.  We were travelling in one car.  After we had been defeated by General my tackie slipped off my foot because he was biting me and trying to drag me in, he did not want me to go, and I said to Dirk Coetzee this guy is biting me and he said well bite him back and I bit him on his head and he left me and I hit him with my fists and I took my shoe and put it back on and got into the car, into the BMW that was outside and from there I ran to the car that was waiting in the street.  We got into the boot, Mr Coetzee and I, when we got to the border gate.  The person driving did not have any problem about the vehicle being searched.  We remained in the boot until we got through both border gates, until we got to Oshop(?) border gates and then he came and he opened up the boot for us to get out.

SISI KHAMPEPE: I will ask the question again, Mr Nofomela.  What role did Mr Coetzee state you were going to play when you were still in South Africa, prior to departing for Swaziland?  Were you advised on how you were going to kidnap Mr General?

MR NOFOMELA: He said that we were going to go in because this person was going to be drunk, so we were going to carry him out, I was going to assist him in carrying him.  And he made mention of his vehicle as well that I had to bring back. It was a Mazda which was parked outside.

SISI KHAMPEPE: And you were advised that after kidnapping him and extracting whatever information you needed from General
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you would then eliminate him.

MR NOFOMELA: I do not know about having had to kill him.

SISI KHAMPEPE: But that's what you say in your affidavit:"The intention of the mission was to kidnap this person, bring him to South Africa to interrogate him, concerning ANC dwellings and then to dispose of him afterwards".

MR NOFOMELA: It is possible, I cannot remember.

SISI KHAMPEPE: You are mistaken again in this instance.

MR NOFOMELA: It is possible that he said that he was going to be eliminated after interrogation after having been interrogated about ANC ...

JUDGE WILSON: Can I ask one more thing and then I hope I am finished.  I am reverting now to the assault on this man you say had a false passport.  You know the man I am talking about, Paris Mkize.  You told us that you were told that you had to testify in a court case brought against the police by this man, do you remember that?

MR NOFOMELA: I remember that.

JUDGE WILSON: And you duly went to the Supreme Court to testify there I think.

MR NOFOMELA: I was told by Stephen Banda that there is a message that I should go to the Supreme Court, that there was a civil case which had been instituted by this Mkize, and I went there and there was no one then I went back.

JUDGE WILSON: Which Supreme Court?

MR NOFOMELA: He said it was in Pretoria. I have forgotten now.

JUDGE WILSON: (Inaudible)

MR NOFOMELA: No, I cannot remember.

JUDGE WILSON: ... the case of Paris Mkize against the
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police that was to be heard in the Supreme Court Pretoria, is that what the case was about?

MR NOFOMELA: That is what Stephen Banda said to me.

JUDGE WILSON: Thank you.

MOKOTEDI MPSHE: No questions, Mr Chairman, thank you.

MR MARAIS: Mr Nofomela, did you know before the abduction of the PAC member from Swaziland in  1986 that you were going to receive a reward of R300 afterwards.

MR NOFOMELA: No, I did not know.

MR MARAIS: And did you comply with your instructions to abduct him because you expected a reward, or because you were complying with your duties?

MR NOFOMELA: I was merely doing my duty.  I was not expecting any extra remuneration.

MR MARAIS: In your application on page 2 you refer to a R1000 special bonus in respect of Mxenge(?) and a R300 bonus in respect of another incident which appears in paragraph 13.  That is the incident of the abduction of the PAC member, not September, is that correct?

MR NOFOMELA: Yes.

MR MARAIS: What was put to you by Mr Mpshe was from a newspaper article in which it was reported that you had said in your evidence at the Harms Commission that you received R500 for the September abduction.  Do you remember whether you gave this evidence at the Harms Commission or not?

MR NOFOMELA: I do not remember any such thing.

MR MARAIS: No further questions, Mr Chairman.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR MARAIS

CHAIRPERSON: What do we do tomorrow, Mr Mpshe?

MOKOTEDI MPSHE: Mr Chairman, that takes care of today's work.
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Tomorrow we will be dealing with the murder of Johannes Lawrence, matter No 16 on page 26, that is Nofomela's application, Japie Maponya, matter No 7 page 11 as well as the murder of Ace Moema, matter No 4 page 8.

CHAIRPERSON: The Committee will adjourn until 09:30 tomorrow morning.

MR MARAIS: Mr Chairman, sorry to interrupt.  May I just enquire whether Mr Chikalanga could be excused from any further attendance at these hearings as his oral evidence has been completed?

CHAIRPERSON: If he is excused, is there considerable difficulty in getting him when he is required, if he is required?

MR MARAIS: No, he is in Pretoria.  It is not difficult to get him.  But it would obviously take an hour or two to get him here, yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Mpshe, no difficulty in excusing Mr Chikalanga?

MOKOTEDI MPSHE: Mr Chairman, I have no difficulty with that.

CHAIRPERSON: Very well, in these circumstances, Mr Chikalanga is excused from attending these proceedings tomorrow.

MR MARAIS: Thank you, M Chairman.