Amnesty Hearings — Welkom — 1998-11-19

MS VAN DER WALT: When you placed these explosive devices at the school, when would this be detonated, during the period that the children would be in school or in the evening or what was the position?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Chairperson, the bombs that we placed were for the purpose that it had to go off at night and the explosives were set for 3 o'clock at night.

MS VAN DER WALT: And the one at the shop?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: The same time, at three in the morning it would explode.

CHAIRPERSON: Why?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Not to cause any injury to people, it was more concerning the property of persons at that stage.

MS VAN DER WALT: And then you mention on page 51 at paragraph 20 that about a week after you placed the explosive device you went to the SABC tower in Zweizereineke, is that correct?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: What did you do there?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Chairperson, at that stage the media was also seen as the enemy of the AWB as to their support of the government of the day at that stage and to the ANC Alliance.

MS VAN DER WALT: And what did you want to do there?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: We wanted to damage one of those broadcasting towers so it would not work in that area.

MS VAN DER WALT: And did you do it then?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: We did it.

MS VAN DER WALT: And then what happened?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Chairperson, it did detonate but no damage was done to the tower.

MS VAN DER WALT: You went back twice, is that correct?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That's correct.

MS VAN DER WALT: And both times nothing happened?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: And during April '94, was that - you cannot recall the specific dates, is that correct?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: But this was before the election?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct.

MS VAN DER WALT: You placed another explosive device at Agriman at Ottosdal?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: Why did you place the explosive device there?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: The owner of the property was a BKA member and infiltrated the AWB and according to our information he would pass over intelligence to the Security Police who worked for the government.

MS VAN DER WALT: And then you mention a Mr Smit who owned this business and you say he was an ANC orientated person, he was favourable towards the ANC?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That's correct.

MS VAN DER WALT: Is this the one you speak of?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: And who accompanied you when you placed this explosive device?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Mr Piet Breytenbach.

MS VAN DER WALT: What happened there?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: The devices did detonate and damage was done to the building as well as some other buildings in the surrounding area.

MS VAN DER WALT: Was anybody killed or injured?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Nobody was killed or injured there, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: When did you place this explosive device, during the evening or during the day?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: This was at night and this one was also detonated at three in the morning.

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, Ms van der Walt, just before you proceed.
	Mr Strydom, you've spoken now about placing explosive devices at those two schools and at Kazee's Cash Store, at the tower etc., now was Mr Breytenbach with you on each of those occasions?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That's correct, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Just the two of you?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: Can I continue?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, certainly.

MS VAN DER WALT: On the 12th of April 1994 you once again placed explosive devices?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct.

MS VAN DER WALT: This was at the Sannieshof Liquor Store?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: And who accompanied you?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: It was Mr Breytenbach and Mr Piet Wessels, one of the other persons whom I had on one of my courses.

MS VAN DER WALT: Very well.  And you also went to a Doctor Breytenbach, a medical doctor?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct.

MS VAN DER WALT: You went to his consulting rooms and placed a bomb there?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: Why did you place the explosive devices at these two places?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Chairperson, the information that we had at that stage was a person whom we knew as Johnny Portuguese, everybody in the are knew him as such, and he was favourable towards the ANC because he donated money to the ANC as well as Doctor Breytenbach who was a supporter of the ANC, Mr Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: And did these explosions take  place?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Yes, Chairperson, both explosions took place.

MS VAN DER WALT: And was anybody killed or injured?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Once again nobody was killed or injured, Chairperson, this was also in the middle of the night, in the early morning.

MS VAN DER WALT: Why at that stage did you take Mr Wessels with you and all the other times you only had Mr Breytenbach accompanying you?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Chairperson, because at that stage we stayed at Mr Wessels' farm and we manufactured explosives there and because he completed the course he went with us at that stage.

MS VAN DER WALT: On page 52, paragraph 23 you mention that you stayed at Wessels' farm, this is at Groot Mariko, is that correct?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct.

MS VAN DER WALT: And you needed some more explosives, what did you do then?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Chairperson, I contacted General Etsebeth and told him that we needed some more explosives and a while after that I received a telephone call from an unknown person who gave me the delivery place of the explosives where we had to collect it.

MS VAN DER WALT: That's the manner how you went about acquiring explosives?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson, certain types of explosives which were not easily accessible.

MS VAN DER WALT: How did you get your hands on these explosives, were they handed to you, what was the position?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Chairperson, the telephone call that I received from an anonymous person afterwards was to tell me that I had to collect the explosives on a bridge on the De La Rey Road.  He told us what time we had to be there and found the explosives there at the bridge but I did not see who delivered it there.

MS VAN DER WALT: And where did you take the explosives to?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: We went back to Mr Piet Wessels' farm, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: I notice that in your application you say you went to the farm of Mr Piet Breytenbach's father and you buried the explosives there.

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: Yes, we went and buried it there but he had no knowledge of it.

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, Ms van der Walt.
	What sort of explosives were these, Mr Strydom, were they military explosives or the sort of explosives they use on mines, dynamite, what was it?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: It was more explosives that they used in the mines, Chairperson, Dyna Gel, Nitro Glycerine.  That is from fertilizer.

MS VAN DER WALT: And the charges?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: This was also received from the mines.

MS VAN DER WALT: So Mr Breytenbach's father had no knowledge of what was stored on his farm or what you were busy with?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson.

MS VAN DER WALT: Did you go about this secretively?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson, we did not want to involve many people.

MS VAN DER WALT: At the AWB head office you collected detonators?

DE WET JOHAN STRYDOM: That is correct, Chairperson, it was a meeting that we had there where I contacted Mr Cliffie Barnard and he gave me some explosives at head  quarters.