Amnesty Hearings — Ermelo — 1998-09-14

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: Bhobholina.  The death of Sabata was caused by Bhobholina.  We were not around.  However, a telephone call was received and it was from Noah and he took us to the place and we arrived only to find that he has been killed or attacked.  After that I was supposed to investigate the cause of his death.  I was told that he went out with his friend Bhobholina to Wesselton where he was attacked, I mean the Inkatha member.  I took the report as it is to Noah and reported it as I have stated, and Noah instructed me to search, hunt and kill Bhobholina.  I hunted him day and night.  I couldn't find him.  I took a report to Noah.  Noah was very frustrated and he said he better call Daluxolo at Ulundi because seeing as though I don't know my work, and why can't I shoot Bhobholina's mother if I'm able to find the mother, because if I shoot the mother Bhobholina will come back for the funeral.  Therefore we can shoot him at the funeral.  I would say it was myself, China, Makunga.  Makunga is a surname, another man who was working at the Ermelo Mine, Mtunzi, Obed, Jomo and another one which I remembered later it's Bafana Khumalo.  We went to the house. When we arrived at the place I positioned them, some at the windows, some by the door.  Jomo was holding a litre which was half filled with petrol with a string which therefore it was a petrol bomb.  There was a bigger house which was Bhobholina's mother's house.  That's the house where I went to investigate to look for him.  I couldn't find him and China was armed with an M26 handgrenade.  I got into the house alone.  The others were surrounding the house so that if Bhobholina come out through the windows they could kill him.  I searched the whole house.  I didn't find him.  I went back to the kitchen to see if he's not there.  I asked the mother and therefore that we shall go to the kitchen to see if Bhobholina is not there, and at the kitchen I shot her on her chest and that's how she was killed.  And before we left the place I instructed China to remove the pin of the handgrenade and throw it into the house and thereafter I went back to Noah and gave him the report.  He was so happy about the report and he said we must wait for the night vigil.  Unfortunately since Sabata was dead, there were so many police around because Sabata was a Black Cat member.  Therefore there were so many police on that particular day, we couldn't enter to the Bhobholina night vigil and we couldn't kill him.  That's where I end.

MR WILLS: Now, you haven't mentioned anything in your affidavit about the fact that China threw this handgrenade.  Can you tell the Committee why this is?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: I can try and explain before the Committee.  It might look as if in some instances I'm adding something.  I'm not really adding.  This application were done earlier and the things that I'm relating to are things which happened later and things which I was charged for.  For example, I haven't mentioned some of the police because I when I was writing this I had to go back to the prison and after I have completed the papers I was sitting in prison, I found that there were some differences in my papers because I remembered some of the things.  Therefore I wrote some of them aside to remember when I give you this.

MR WILLS: I want to now turn to the attack on the Thembisa scholars which you describe in paragraph fifty seven (57) and fifty eight (58) of your affidavit.  Have you got those paragraphs available?  Paragraph fifty seven (57) and paragraph fifty eight (58).

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: Yes, I understand.

MR WILLS: Can you tell us about that incident, the attack on the Thembisa scholars?  Sorry, just before you do that.  Mr Chairperson, members of the Committee, I just thought that I'd add that this attack on Bhobholina's mother occurred on the thirtieth (30th) of the seventh (7th) 1991, and that is gleaned from the indictment in this matter.  Okay.

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: The death of the school children ... (intervention)

MR WILLS: Sorry, did I say September?  Thirtieth (30th) of July 1991.  30/7/91.  Okay, just concentrate on the attack on the Thembisa scholars at paragraph fifty seven (57).

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: The children were killed because Noah instructed me to kill them because they didn't accept the Black Cats children to school in the same place.  The children refused.  I can now remember.  At the time the school children from Thembisa refused to accept the Black Cats children as school kids, and therefore we had a campaign with China to kill the children, the school children from Thembisa School, and we got instruction from Noah to do that.  And we meet some of the young boys, and China explained that these were from the Thembisa School.

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, just before you proceed, Mr Hlongwane.  Thembisa School, was it a junior school, or a junior secondary school, or a senior secondary school?  Do you know?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: If I'm not making a mistake, it was an HP.

CHAIRPERSON: What's an HP?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: An HP starts from standard three - start from standard one to standard five.

UNKNOWN: Mr Hlongwane, is the name of the school Thembisa or is Thembisa a location?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: The name of the school is Thembisa and it's also in the Thembisa area.

UNKNOWN: And is Thembisa area here in Ermelo?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: Yes, Miss Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, continue please.

MR WILLS: Can you tell us how this incident occurred please?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: It occurred because, as I've stated, they refused to accept the Black Cats children as scholars.

MR WILLS: Yes, Mr Hlongwane, you've told us that.  Please listen to my questions.  I'm wanting you to tell us what you did, not why you did it, what you did.  How you killed these people.  Give us details of the actual incident.

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: We met two young boys.  When we met them China said these two boys were from the Thembisa School.  They've too got a nine short, referring to them.  We then shot at them.

MR WILLS: Now, who were you with that night?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: With China.

MR WILLS: So, there were just the two of you?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: Yes.

MR WILLS: Do you know if these boys - how many people you hit or were injured or killed?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: I shot two.

MR WILLS: And do you know if they died?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: Noah confirmed that they died.

MR WILLS: And do you know the names of these people?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: No, I don't.

MR WILLS: Have you ever been charged in respect of this incident?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: No.

MR WILLS: Okay.  You turn in paragraph fifty eight (58) to an incident where you say
"One night during 1990 I was with Mdu and my girlfriend ..."
Where you again shot scholars.  Now, we know from the indictment that this was an incident which occurred on the same night as you killed December, is that correct?

ISRAEL NYONI HLONGWANE: Yes, it is correct.

MR WILLS: Now, for the record, Mr Chairperson, members of the Committee, this incident actually occurred, according to the indictment, on the seventh (7th) of October 1991, and the same refers to the next incident which is on paragraph fifty nine (59).  Can you tell us what happened in respect of the three persons who you shot at in this regard?