Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1999-10-07

MR RICHARD: Early evening on the 16th of June, 14th of June, is near as anything to mid Winter.  At what time did it get dark?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Maybe about seven or so.  It was like dusk, just getting to dark.

MR RICHARD: I don't have an almanac with me at this ...

CHAIRPERSON: It's probably, I know where I live which isn't too far off the longitude of Durban, in mid-winter it's getting dark about half past 5, you're battling with light.

MR RICHARD: So you'd agree with ...(intervention)

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Sorry, I think I must just correct myself, I'm a bit confused now.  I think it was much later than that.  Dusk had already settled so it would have been much later.

MR RICHARD: So let's go back again.  You left Wentworth.  Was it dark?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: It was dark already yes.

MR RICHARD: Was it long after dark?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Yes, I would say it was quite a few minutes after dark.  I was confusing the dusk with some other time, I'm sorry.

MR RICHARD: Then you drove into Durban and you stopped outside the house and home complex.  How long were you stopped there?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: A few minutes, maybe two minutes.

MR RICHARD: So what time about was that?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: No, I don't know.

MR RICHARD: Was it - if it got dark at half past five to six, quarter past six, was it hours after dark, or shortly after dark?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: I'm sure it was much later than us having left, than the times you mention, so what time we left House and Home, staying there for just a few, two minutes of so, I think it would have been quite late into the evening already.  I don't know if I answered your question.

MR RICHARD: No, my time periods came from your statement, early evening.

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Yes, no I corrected it.  I'm probably confused it with some other time.

MR RICHARD: I accept that.  It's a long time ago.  Now, once you left House and Home, did you go anywhere else, or did you drive directly to the Marine Parade?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Yes, we drove directly to the beach front, the Marine Parade area.

MR RICHARD: And what did you do there?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Well, just following Robert's instructions to drive along the Marine Parade, at that time we had Matthew with us as well.  Well, I can't remember how we were driving, or where we were driving, but I do remember driving on the Marine Parade and then we drove back to town because we had left the Cortina there, so we had gone back to House and Home.

MR RICHARD: So, all three of you drove down to the Marine Parade.  Now what was the traffic like on the Marine Parade, was it quiet or busy?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: I don't remember.  Probably the normal Saturday evening.

MR RICHARD: Well Durban, a normal Saturday evening, it depends on what time of the year you are.  Normal in December is crowded.  Normal in September I suppose is less crowded.

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: I didn't pay attention, so I can't give you an accurate answer there.

MR RICHARD: Now on that first trip to the beach front, where did you drive to?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: On the first trip to the beach front?

MR RICHARD: Yes.

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: No we didn't stop anywhere, we just went onto the Marine Parade and came back into town.

MR RICHARD: Well to get onto the beach front you had to join up with the Marine Parade.  Where did you join up with the Marine Parade?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: No, I don't remember what route we took.  It could have been straight down West Street and straight onto the Marine Parade, that road that leads right down to the Marine Parade.

MR RICHARD: Now once on the Marine Parade, did you drive from one end of the beach front to the other?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: I don't know up to what point did we drive.  I mean I should know, but I can't remember.

MR RICHARD: Now did you spend a long time driving along the beach front?  Did you stop anywhere while driving?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: No, we didn't stop anywhere.

MR RICHARD: So, you drove along the beach front.  Do you remember what part of the beach front you drove down?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: I know we drove on the Marine Parade itself, what do you call that road?  Yes, I think it's called the Marine Parade, that road directly facing the beach and the hotels on the opposite side.

MR RICHARD: What I'm trying to ascertain is whereabouts on that road you drove.  Did you drive down on the South Beach side, or the North Beach side?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: All I can remember that it was on that part of the beach where most of those hotels were, that I can remember.

JUDGE PILLAY: ...(indistinct) subsequently you know where the car bomb was placed.  Did you drive in that vicinity?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Well, I don't know if we passed that hotel, but I know we passed most of the hotels, so probably we did pass that one.

CHAIRPERSON: So you went that way rather than past Addington Hospital?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Oh I see what you mean.  Yes definitely in the direction of those hotels, towards the Why Not then.

MR RICHARD: So you would have drive past the Parade Hotel, is that correct?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Most probably, yes.

MR RICHARD: Now, you drove back to where the blue Cortina was?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Yes.

MR RICHARD: Now, once you got to the blue Cortina, what happened?   There were three of you in the car, what happened?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Okay.  Once we got back there, the two of them just jumped back into the Cortina and Robert said, "Follow me", so I followed them.  Then we drove the two cars to a place in Pine Street, I don't know what route we took, but we got there to Pine Street and then Matthew stayed in that Cortina and Robert came into my car after that.

MR RICHARD: And then what did Robert say to you or instruct you to do?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: He asked me to drive back to the beach front, back to the Marine Parade.

MR RICHARD: And ...(intervention)

CHAIRPERSON: Just for record purposes, I think Pine Street is a street that runs parallel with West Street, is it, I think it might be the next to West Street.

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Yes, we would have had to turn and go back into West Street.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.  No I just wanted to put that on.

MR RICHARD: So from the Pine Street stop, you drove back to the beach front.  Did Robert, sorry, did Mr McBride tell you where to drive on the beach front?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: I just drove until he wanted me to stop somewhere or whatever he wanted, then when we got to the Parade Hotel, he did ask me to stop the car there.

MR RICHARD: On which side of the road were you, on the left or the right?  Which way were you going, better still?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: We were driving down towards, like maybe the snake park if I can put it like that, so we would be on the left-hand side of the road?

MR RICHARD: So you were driving from Addington side to the snake park side, which is in a northerly manner.  Now you said, when you got to the Parade Hotel, what were you told to do?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: What he asked me to do was, there was a parking space that he saw there on the corner, so to speak and he asked me to drive the Mazda into that corner, ag, into that space.

MR RICHARD: Now did you observe anything about what was going on at the Parade Hotel?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Actually it was very quiet, if I can recall.  It was very quiet in terms of, I didn't see any people at that time.  I did notice that corner bar, whatever it's called, that it had tinted glass, but I couldn't see anybody in there.  There was no one walking in and out of the hotel.  It actually was just quiet, I would say.

MR RICHARD: You didn't hear music, people going in and out?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: No, my windows were all closed, so I didn't hear music.

MR RICHARD: Now was parking a problem in that area, or not?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: How do you mean a problem?

MR RICHARD: Was the traffic busy, was it easy to find parking?

ZAHRAH NARKEDIEN: Well I wasn't the one looking for parking, so...