Amnesty Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — 1997-02-10

UNKNOWN: Yes, that is correct, he was also my brother.  They were born by the same mother with Bongo Nkosi.

MR WILLS: In respect of the death of Gerard Mzimela, what information did you receive as to the identities of the persons responsible for his death?

UNKNOWN: As I have already explained, he had seen an Inkatha meeting that was convened and he also saw Alfred Muntu Mhlongo.  He is the one who told him that he was from the meeting and that a resolution had been taken that because he had taken certain comrades to the hall to speak with Chris Hani and Harry Gwala he was busy mobilising the people to be aligned with the ANC so he should be killed.
4A - 11.2

CHAIRPERSON: /...
MR WILLS	152	MR MZIMELA

CHAIRPERSON: I thought the question was who was he killed by?

UNKNOWN: The people who killed him were a group, but amongst them was Mr Mkhononodaka Gumede and Mike Mhlongo, Mako Hlomba Gumede who stays at Mgwelizani.  He had come to kill people in that place.

MR WILLS: This meeting that you referred to, at whose home was this meeting held?

UNKNOWN: The meeting was held at Mr Gumede's place who was a councillor in that place, that is the Chief's place.

ADV DE JAGER: Could you kindly clear up, I am not sure.  Was the deceased in this application amongst the members who attacked his brother?

MR WILLS: Yes ... (inaudible) ... heard the evidence that the deceased, this Ndudaga Gumede was named by the witness in this regard.  I am seeking to clarify the issue of where the initial meeting took place, and I think that will throw further light on this issue.   Mr Mzimela, you must listen to the questions carefully and just answer the questions.  I want to know the name of the person whose home the meeting that you referred to was held at.

UNKNOWN: It was at Mr Ndudaga Gumede, the deceased.

MR WILLS: ... the person in respect of which this application is made.

UNKNOWN: That is correct.

MR WILLS: I want you to tell the honourable Committee exactly what you did on the 29th of the 2nd 1992 concerning the death of Mr Gumede.

UNKNOWN: As I have already explained, that on the 22nd, one of my brothers, Gerard Mzimela, died.  Then it was a weekend after the 29th, we were preparing for his funeral, and Saturday morning we took the bus and went to town to
4A - 11.2	prepare/...
MR WILLS	153	MR MZIMELA
prepare for the funeral.  It was myself, my late brother, Sibani Mzimela, Mandlagayiso Mzimela also late, Philemon Dodo Mzimela also late, and we boarded a bus.  At Mr Gumede's place, as I have already mentioned, that it was close to the road.  The bus stopped at the busstop.  We saw him at his place.  Philemon used to call him Uncle, because they were distantly related, and he said there is the Uncle and he was giving us problems.  So we saw that he was there in his house.  I had a gun with me and it was my gun.  Sibani, my younger brother, also had a gun we had borrowed from another policeman who worked for the Murder and Robbery Squad.  We decided that he was very troublesome, and we decided this was the opportunity for us to get him and we got off at the next stop, that is Sibani and myself, and the other two went to town to try and get some things to prepare for the funeral. 
	We proceeded to his house and we had 9mm guns Parabellum.  When we got into the yard we found his wife who was bending down and washing dishes and when she saw us she ran away because she saw the guns.  And I heard the toilet flushing and we proceeded to the toilet.  We found that he was taking a bath.  I stood at the door and I shot him.  The finished the first magazine and put the second one and I also shot him.  And when Sibani tried to shoot his gun locked and got jammed and I took the gun away from him and I continued to shoot him.  We picked up the empty or spent cartridges and we  ran away.  We went back to Umaqikani(?).

MR WILLS: Is it correct that you were the only person who was responsible for firing the shots which killed

UNKNOWN: That is true, because Sibani did not shoot.  When he tried to shoot his gun jammed and I took it and
4A - 11.2	continued/...
MR WILLS	154	MR MZIMELA
continued to shoot.

MR WILLS: The only two persons involved in the attack were yourself and Sibani, although Sibani didn't shoot at the time.

UNKNOWN: That is true.

MR WILLS: Did you shoot anybody else at the kraal that day?

UNKNOWN: Unfortunately no.

MR WILLS: (Inaudible)

UNKNOWN: No, not other persons.

MR WILLS: Can you explain to the Committee why you actually killed this individual?

UNKNOWN: As I have related what happened in that area, we were not in good terms, the ANC and the Inkatha.  Inkatha didn't want the ANC in that area.  As I've told you that Mr Gumede was the Chief's councillor in that area.  He was together with the Booi Mzimela Kampaqele.  All these people were involved in the killings of the comrades.

MR WILLS: I just want you to give the Committee a few details as regards your involvement with the ANC.  When did you first join the ANC?

UNKNOWN: As I have explained, that when all the liberal organisations were unbanned, that's when we started being active.  We joined the ANC.  From 1990 to 1992 we had an organisation committee and we launched our branch officially.  There I was a general secretary on the Ongoye Branch, ANC Youth League.

MR WILLS: Did you have any meetings during 1990 as ANC members concerning the violence in your area?

UNKNOWN: Yes, we did, even though there were few because we were few, other people were dead, that's when we got united.  We used to hold these meetings in bushes or
4A - 11.2	forests/...
MR WILLS	155	MR MZIMELA
forests.

MR WILLS: You have testified to the effect that there was a lot of violence going on in your area and that this violence was politically related.  What steps did you decide to take at these meetings as regards this violence?

UNKNOWN: (CHANGE OVER TO TAPE 4B) ... because we realised that the police were not caring a damn about it because most of the incidents we used to know who were involved and we were telling the police and the police were ignoring those things.  Myself, I used to take care on that part because I was trained under the SNDF.

MR WILLS: Turning to your family ... former Chief in that area, is that correct?

UNKNOWN: That's correct.   My father was Lindelishele Mzimela.

MR WILLS: Is it not a tradition that the first born son of the first wife becomes Chief?

UNKNOWN: It is like that.

MR WILLS: Is it also true that Bongo Nkosi Panana Mzimela was in fact the traditional heir to your father?

UNKNOWN: It was supposed to be like that.

MR WILLS: Can you tell the Court why he didn't succeed?

UNKNOWN: As I have already explained, that they decided to kill Bongo Nkosi because he was aligned to the ANC and they decided that it was going to be a mistake if he takes over.  And the Chief who was there was very sick and he was in Nqgwelizani Hospital and then he told his Indunas who must take over, so he told them it must be Booi.  They knew that this was going to cause conflict because Bongo Nkosi was still alive, that's when they decided to kill him.

CHAIRPERSON: What is Booi's surname?
4B - 11.2

UNKNOWN: /...
MR WILLS	156	MR MZIMELA

UNKNOWN: Which Booi?  Booi Mzimela.

CHAIRPERSON: Is it Booi Mzimela?

UNKNOWN: Booi Mzimela.

MR WILLS: Which political party is Booi Mzimela aligned to?

UNKNOWN: Inkatha.

MR WILLS: And why do you think he was nominated by your father to succeed him?

UNKNOWN: I think it is because the late KwaZulu Government believed that every Chief should be Inkatha that's why then they chose Booi Mzimela my brother, because he was an Inkatha, that's when they decided that Bongo Nkosi wasn't going to be a right Chief because he was an ANC.

MR WILLS: Thank you, Mr Chairperson and hon members.  I have no further evidence in chief at this stage.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR WILLS