Amnesty Hearings — Hammarsdale — 1998-08-12

MR WILLS: So yes, this in relation to this incident and in relation to the murder of Thulani Hlongwane and in relation to Khaba and Khanyile was the four incidents you discussed, have you ever been charged or investigated in relation to any of these incidents?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: No, I've never been investigated.  The police knew that I was responsible but they did not arrest me.

MR WILLS: How do you know that the police knew that you were responsible?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: I know because when we killed a person at night or maybe burn somebody's house the police will come to Zekele and he would tell them that I and my group had gone out and did this and they would not investigate the matter any further.  That is how I know.

SISI KHAMPEPE: May I interpose Mr Wills?  But in this case you've just testified that the police went ahead of you to report this incident to Nkethle.  How did they know that you were involved?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: The people from Unit 1 saw me, the neighbours, that's what Zekele told me.

SISI KHAMPEPE: And did they then go to the police station to lay a charge or advise the police about the incident?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: When the police arrived at the scene they made enquiries and the people told them what had happened as that was information that I was given by Nkethle.

MR WILLS: Now you refer to these policemen.  Who specifically are you talking about?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: The police that we worked directly with were Steenkamp and Warrant Officer van Vuuren as well as the Station Commander, Mr Smith.

MR WILLS: Okay, I want to turn now to the murder of UDF founder member Mashu Shando who you say was also the leader of HYCO, the Hammarsdale Youth Congress.  Can you tell the Members of the Committee and the community what you know of this incident?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: The late Mashu, him and Sgangi would go into schools and remove children from classes and they would say "education later, liberation first".  Whether you wanted to or not you would be removed from school and you would go on toyi-toying sessions and if you're an Inkatha member you would be killed.  They would break windows, the roofs at the schools, that is why Mashu was killed.

MR WILLS: Did anybody tell you to kill Mashu?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: Mr Zekele gave me a direct instruction that Mashu should be killed.

MR WILLS: Now can you tell us the circumstances surrounding Mashu's death?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: It was in the evening.  We left at about seven from Las Vegas, we went to my home - I did not find the boys at home.  I went to Bhani's home.  On arrival there I found my group there, they had been waiting for me.  We remained there for a while and later on we went to 2 South to Mashu's home.

MR WILLS: Now just before you proceed.  Unit 2 South, was this an IFP area or a UDF area?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: Unit 2 South is across the Main Road and it is a UDF area.

MR WILLS: Okay, continue?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: When we arrived at Mashu's house we found certain men an they were smoking dagga.  We enquired if Mashu was home and they said he was not home.  It transpired that when we entered the house Mashu had actually gone and hidden in the wardrobe.  We look for him, searched all over the house, even in the roofs.  The boys searched all over the place.  	Eventually we realised that he was indeed not home and then we started talking to the men that were in the house.  This was towards sunrise.  I told my boys that maybe we should go home and then they said that maybe he was just about to arrive because comrades used to come home around two, three in the morning because they knew that we would attack them at night.
	Indeed, we waited a while longer and as time went on Peng Wanda then said he wants to search again.  I don't know whether he went to the main bedroom first but eventually he found him in the wardrobe.  They did not have electricity at Mashu's home so they used candles.  So Peng shouted that Mashu is here in the wardrobe and he did want to come out of the wardrobe.  We thought that he had a knife but he didn't have anything in his hand.  We told the boys to stand behind me, it was myself, Bhani, Bheki Saniwe as well as Gita.  We wanted to stab him in the wardrobe.  I realised that this person had no knife.  
	Bhani dragged him and we dragged him towards another room they started stabbing him in the dining room.  After stabbing him we left the house with him, we stabbed him and put him in a sewerage.  We left him there, we put him in such a way that he was standing, leaning against the sewerage facing the road and when people passed by they thought that he was just standing there when indeed he was already dead.  That is how he was killed.

MR WILLS: Were you - Mr Hlongwane, were you arrested or prosecuted for this incident?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: With regards to this incident, Steenkamp, Van Vuuren, myself and Zekele Nkethle held a meeting at Zekele Nkethle's house and we decided that they would not arrest me because I had not been seen there and the only person who had been seen was Bhani and therefore it was decided that Bhani should be arrested.  He would be arrested so that people's emotions would cool down so that thereafter they could be released.  Bhani and Begi Nsani were the ones who were arrested and were released after a while.

MR WILLS: Yes, I take it that they weren't successfully prosecuted and imprisoned?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: No, they remained at the Webber Police Station and they were released on bail and thereafter their case disappeared.

MR WILLS: Now I want to turn to incident 20.6 - that's the revenge attack on UDF members Stembiso Nglovu's house where you say nobody was killed in this attack.  Can you briefly describe what happened there?  The attack on Stembiso Nglovu's house - where was his house?

ISRAEL HLONGWANE: At Stembiso Nglovu's it's nearby where - my home.  When I'm not mistaken you pass about six houses or five from Stembiso's home to my place or vice versa, it's Stembiso's home, Nglovu's home.  That is where all types of comrades, that is where all the gangs were sent by Archie, they would actually come and operate there.  That is where people would come out and do all sorts of things, that is Stembiso Nglovu's home.

MR WILLS: Okay, tell us what happened?