Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 1997-03-25

MR MTHEMBU: Mr Chairman I will call Mr Magoda.

ADV DE JAGER: I don't know whether somebody is now leaving as a result of what I said.  If perhaps they could find out what happened to Mrs May, we will appreciate that too.

MR MTHEMBU: Mr Chair, with your permission and before this witness is sworn in, I have a request to make in order to curtail the proceedings, because the trend has already unfolded of what transpired on the 12th of February 1992.  If perhaps I could ask Mr Magoda if he confirms the story as related by the three previous applicants?

DANIEL MAGODA: (sworn states)

MR MTHEMBU: May I commence Mr Chairman.

MR MTHEMBU: Mr Magoda is it true that you have applied for amnesty?

DANIEL MAGODA: Yes that is true.

MR MTHEMBU: With respect to offences which you have been convicted for, namely murder and robbery?

DANIEL MAGODA: Yes that is correct.

MR MTHEMBU: To what term of imprisonment they sentenced you?

DANIEL MAGODA: I was sentenced to 22 years.

MR MTHEMBU: You have heard evidence or testimony has unfolded before this Committee that on the 12th of February 1992 you and Mr Leeuw, Nkgwedi and May you attacked a farm called Stormberg and Mr Fourie, the owner of that farm was killed and robbed, as well as Mrs May who was in the company of Mr Fourie.  Now in order to curtail the proceedings would you explain to the Committee exactly what role you played in the said attack?

DANIEL MAGODA: I would say briefly that my participation was firstly in training in June 1991 ...(intervention)

MR MTHEMBU: No Sir I want you to tell this Committee the role you played in the attack and robbery of Mr Fourie and Mrs May.

DANIEL MAGODA: The role that I played was that I was present during the time when we attacked them, where we attacked Mr Fourie and them, up to the stage where we killed him and we, comrade May and I took him and hid him behind the trees and were able to get into the car.  Leeuw and I, and also Nkgwedi and the White lady and went to the farm, went onto the farm.  That is where I also played a role in searching the property.  We were all searching the property and we took whatever would have been of assistance to us as APLA and our members.  And we also took the car.  When we took the car it was after having searched the scene and we had tied up the White lady, we found the firearms, the two firearms, they were three including ours.  We also took clothing and we took old coins.  Thereafter we left the White lady tied up, got into the car and went back to Botshabelo.  When we got to Botshabelo we, comrade Leeuw was driving and he, as our unit commander, said that these things were to be left in his care.  I got out in the road where I lived and went home.  I had a camera in my possession which I had found on the farm and a plastic bag with coins.
	On the Friday I was at my brother-in-law's place at Zeeneng and I encountered my wife there who was visiting her brother.  I had just arrived there, it was a matter of 
minutes before the police arrived and they had already taken Mr Leeuw into their custody as well as comrade Nkgwedi and comrade May.  We were then arrested and told to go back to my place where the police wanted to know from me where the camera and the coins were.  I then took them out because I didn't really hide them, and we were then arrested.  That is the role which I played.

MR MTHEMBU: What were you going to do with the camera and the plastic of coins that were found in your possession?

DANIEL MAGODA: Mr Leeuw, my commander, said that these things should remain in my possession because the camera would sell quite easily and that would contribute to the money which we had also found there and was also going to be received from the sale of the car.  I did not know where he was going to -where he intended to sell it at that stage and money was going to be sent to the organisation.

MR MTHEMBU: Sir could I take you back to the scene, other than ransacking the house of Mr Fourie did you do any other thing?

DANIEL MAGODA: Yes I dragged the corpse, that is basically what I did.

MR MTHEMBU: Where did you drag this corpse to?

DANIEL MAGODA: There were trees nearby where we had killed him, we dragged him out of the road and hid him behind the trees, comrade May and I did that.

MR MTHEMBU: Sir are you a member of the PAC and if so when did you join it?

DANIEL MAGODA: I joined in 1990 when the PAC was unbanned.

MR MTHEMBU: Were you also a member of its military wing?

DANIEL MAGODA: Yes I could say that because first I was a member before I joined the military wing.

JUDGE WILSON: He was a member of what before he joined the military wing?

MR MTHEMBU: He said he was a member of the PAC before he joined its military wing.

MR MTHEMBU: And when did you join this military wing?

DANIEL MAGODA: I became a member in 1991, June 1991.

MR MTHEMBU: Did you receive any training?

DANIEL MAGODA: Yes I received training from Mr Showa in June 1991 and also in November 1991.

MR MTHEMBU: What type of training was that?

DANIEL MAGODA: We were trained by Mr Showa in the use of firearms and also operating grenades.  He showed us how to operate them and also how to defend ourselves in case of attack.

MR MTHEMBU: Do you know of an APLA operation code named Great Storm?

DANIEL MAGODA: Yes there is such a thing.  Great Storm was an announcement made by Samelo Pama.  It was a call that farms should be attacked.

MR MTHEMBU: Now when you went to attack this particular farm did Mr Leeuw inform you why this particular farm had to be singled out and attacked?

DANIEL MAGODA: Yes.  I would say what his explanation was that the farm belonging to Mr Fourie, since he was a reservist he was also a commander of a certain group of farmers and he thought that that would be where the arms were stored.  That is what he told me.

MR MTHEMBU: Now the Committee has heard evidence that when you were arrested the police found the loot still inside the vehicle, but you have told this Committee that the camera and the plastic with coins were actually found in your
possession, could you clarify that issue for the Committee?

DANIEL MAGODA: The things that were in the car were clothing and also some other coins.  These are the things that were in the car.

MR MTHEMBU: Now what was your motive then in keeping the camera with you?

DANIEL MAGODA: When Mr Leeuw left the camera - because he was in command he left the camera saying that he was going to come back to take this as well as the coins so that this camera could be sold and the money could then be used to assist the organisation in the liberation movement, the liberation of the Africans.

JUDGE WILSON: How many plastic bags of coins did you have?

DANIEL MAGODA: I did not count them, but there were several.

JUDGE WILSON: Did you have all the plastic bags of coins?

DANIEL MAGODA: No I did not have them all.

JUDGE WILSON: Why not?

DANIEL MAGODA: The person in charge being our unit commander was the one in charge of us and I was merely following the instructions that he issued.

JUDGE WILSON: Yes but if he said you should be in charge of the coins and the cameras surely he meant you should take all the coins and look after them for him, not that the coins should be divided up?

DANIEL MAGODA: I do not know what his thoughts were and I didn't give it much thought beyond that.

ADV DE JAGER: Did he give some of the plastic bags with coins to the other comrades to keep with them?

DANIEL MAGODA: I did not see any other comrade being given a plastic of money.

MR MTHEMBU: Sir will you tell this Committee what is the
political objective that you sought?

DANIEL MAGODA: Our objective was to reclaim the land so that it could be given back to its original owners, the African people.