Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1999-09-01

CHAIRPERSON: Good morning, we want to start the proceedings.  For the record, it is Wednesday the 1st of September 1999, it is a sitting of the Amnesty Committee at Durban.  It's presided over by myself, Denzil Potgieter, I'm assisted by Adv de Jager and Mr Sibanyoni.  We will be hearing the amnesty applications of Nicholas Johannes Vermeulen, the reference AM4358/96 and that of Almond Butana Nofomela, reference AM0064/96. 	Just for the record, I'm going to ask the legal representatives to place themselves on record.  We'll start with you, Mr Ramawele.

MR RAMAWELE: My name is R P A Ramawele, I'm appearing for Mr Nofomela.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Mr Ramawele.  Mr Cornelius?

MR CORNELIUS: Thank you, Mr Chairman, Wim Cornelius acting on behalf of N J Vermeulen, the fourth applicant.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.

MR HUGO: Thank you, Mr Chairman, it's Schalk Hugo, I'm acting for implicated parties, Mr E A de Kock and Simon Radebe.

MR SHEZI: Thank you, Mr Chairman, I'm Sibusiso Shezi, I'm appearing for the family of the victims.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Mr Shezi.  Ms Patel?

MS PATEL: Ramula Patel, Leader of Evidence, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, lady and gentlemen.  I believe that we will start off with the application of Mr Nofomela.

MR RAMAWELE: Correct, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Ramawele, do you want us to administer the oath to your client?

MR RAMAWELE: Yes, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Very well.

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, please sit down.  Yes, Mr Ramawele?

MR RAMAWELE: Thank you, Mr Chairman.
	Mr Nofomela, is it correct that you joined the South African Police Service in 1979?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, that is correct.

MR RAMAWELE: I actually now refer you to an application that you made for amnesty in respect of the Chesterville incident of June 1986.  Do you remember that?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, Chairperson.

MR RAMAWELE: Do you confirm the contents of your application that you made in respect of this incident?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, that is correct, Sir.

MR RAMAWELE: Now just briefly, after joining the SAP in 1979, when did you become attached to the Vlakplaas unit?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: I started December 1980, after leaving the college.

MR RAMAWELE: To come to this particular incident, I'm referring to the Chesterville incident, can you tell the hearing how did it come about that you would go to Durban, relating to this incident?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: If I remember well, at the time I was Mr de Kock's driver.  I came with him from Vlakplaas to C R Swart Police Station.  I found the other group from Vlakplaas there at CR Swart Police Station.  They were based next to a place called Unit at CR Swart.  I met them there from Vlakplaas with Mr de Kock.

MR RAMAWELE: And Sir, when you arrived in Durban, already there were other members of Vlakplaas, who had already arrived in Durban before you came to Durban?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, that is correct, Chairperson.

MR RAMAWELE: Did you know what those members of Vlakplaas were doing, those who came before you?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: I don't know everything about them, but I was just speculating that normally when they are in Durban they normally go to the bus stops and the taxi ranks, they visit places like the stations, the townships, looking for the people whom they used to call terrorists.

MR RAMAWELE: And as you say you then went to Durban with Maj de Kock?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: That is true, Chairperson.

MR RAMAWELE: And were you travelling in a car?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, we were travelling in a car, Chairperson.

MR RAMAWELE: Upon your arrival in Durban, what happened further?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: I don't know after how many days, but there was a talk going around as we were in the Dog Unit, our base, that was Mr de Kock's utterances telling the people who were there, the people who were appointed to go to Chesterville, he was telling them to infiltrate the UDF members, they should go there and pretend as if they were ANC members.

MR RAMAWELE: And these were the members of Vlakplaas who were instructed to go and infiltrate the UDF?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, that is correct, Chairperson.

MR RAMAWELE: Did they go to infiltrate the UDF?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, they did that.

MR RAMAWELE: Were you there when they made the infiltration?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: I was not present, de Kock told me and Geoffrey Bosigo not to go there with those people because he had a job for us.

MR RAMAWELE: Now did the members come back from - did the Vlakplaas members who went to infiltrate the UDF, come back from Chesterville?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, they came back.

MR RAMAWELE: Do you know whether they made any report to any person?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Chairperson, I did not hear anything, but it was a hearsay from some of them that the infiltration was successful.

MR RAMAWELE: And after hearing that, what transpired?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: After that there was a day or night, if I remember well, whereby they were supposed to go back there again.  That is when Mr de Kock told me specifically, myself and Geoff, that he did not wish us to be there because the people would be shot at during the incident.  They people who were being infiltrated, they were going to be shot at on that particular night.

MR RAMAWELE: And so he said that you were not supposed to be part of the group that went to do the shooting?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, Chairperson.

MR RAMAWELE: What were you supposed to do?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: He told me to transport the people who were going to do the infiltration, but I should just wait under the bridge, the bridge that was there.

MR RAMAWELE: So did you then transport some members to Chesterville?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: That is correct, Chairperson.

MR RAMAWELE: Up to where did you go to - or let me put it this way, where eventually did you go?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: We went to Chesterville, but as a person who was transporting those people with Geoffrey Bosigo and other white men that I cannot remember and the other black police, black people.  We waited under the bridge that was leading to Chesterville, on that particular night.

MR RAMAWELE: You waited at that bridge, and what happened to the members whom you were transporting?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Of my memory serves me well, they left for the place, the people whom we were transporting, they went to the people that they had met with before and after that we heard gunshots.

MR RAMAWELE: Can you just tell the hearing, before the members left for Chesterville, were there any firearms which were issued to the members, or were they unarmed?  The members from Vlakplaas who went to Chesterville.

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: They were armed, they were given firearms from the Dog Unit.  That is the base that we were in.  Nortje and the other white people gave them in my presence, they gave them firearms.

MR RAMAWELE: What type of firearms were issued to them?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: I saw the AK47 rifles and some pistols, they looked like the service pistols.  I do not remember anything else, but I'm sure that I saw the AK47 rifle.

MR RAMAWELE: And you said earlier that after having waited at the bridge you heard a shooting.  After hearing the shooting, what happened?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: After the shooting, one of the white people told us to start the cars and the others came and they got into the cars and we left.

MR RAMAWELE: Do you remember who that white person was who said you must drive away?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: I do not remember well, I'm not sure whether it was Mr Nortje or de Kock.

MR RAMAWELE: So you then drove back to - is it to CR Swart?  Is that to CR Swart Police Station?

BUTANA ALMOND NOFOMELA: Yes, that is correct, Chairperson.