Human Rights Violation Hearings — Port Elizabeth — UNKNOWN

TRUTH AND RECONCILLIATION COMMISSION HEARINGS,: PORT ELIZABETH
PRESIDING OFFICIALS
DAY 2 - 22 MAY 1996
Archbishop Desmond Tutu - Chairperson for the first couple of hours, after which he left the hearings
Dr Alex Boraine - Chairperson for mid-morning onwards
Reverend Bongani Finca
Ms Yasmin Sooka
Dr Mapule Ramashala
Mr Ntsiki Sandi
Ms Tiny Maya
Reverend Mcebisi Xundu
Ms Pumla Gobodo
 
Rev B FINCA: We remember Sipho Edward Siziba, Buyo Kanto Ndleleni, Sandile Joseph Mntshaca.  May they rest in peace Lord, give them eternal light.
Dr A BORAINE: Let us pray.
God of all nations and of all people.  We in this country have been blind.  Give us eyes to see.  We have been deaf to the cries of pain and of anger.  Give us ears to hear.  We have lied and we have covered up.  Illuminate our country with your light so that we can walk therein.  Grant us your wisdom, your peace and your justice, so that we can together hand in hand walk in a land which is united.  Amen.
Will you be seated please?  Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON: Order please.
Dr A BORAINE: I want to extend a very warm word of welcome to all who have gathered here for the second day of the session of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and in particular I want to welcome the witnesses and members of their families and their friends.  As a Commission we are greatly encouraged and enheartened by the number of people who gathered here and are already gathering here today in large number.  There are many people whose names we would like to mention in particular, but to do so would take too long.  So people sitting behind me and behind the Commission, to the right and in front and above and all around, you are all very special and very welcome.  
There is one name I would like to mention and that is the Chairperson of the Western Region District Council of the province of the Eastern Cape, Mr Sandi, who is I think sitting behind me, but I cannot see him.  He is nevertheless very welcome indeed.  I would like to introduce to your the panel that is with us today.  
We have been joined by Dr Mapule Ramashala who is from Cape Town and who is a Commissioner.  He is a member of the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee and we are very pleased to see her with us today.  
You do not need much reminding of a Dumisa Ntsebeza who was with us yesterday and is a Commissioner and heads up the Investigative Unit.  Yasmin Sooka is the Deputy-Chairperson of the Human Rights Violations Committee, a Commissioner and she is from Gauteng.  The Reverend, Bongani Finca is the man who is in charge of the Eastern Cape for the Commission and is a Commissioner.  Sitting next to him is Ms Tiny Maya and she is a Committee member of the Human Rights and Violations Committee from the Eastern Cape.  Sitting next to her finally is Cannon Xundu who is a Committee member of the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee.  They will serve as the Commission during its hearings today.  
I want to apologize for the absence of the Chairperson of the Commission, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, he has asked me to please convey his sincere apologies.  He had to leave last night because of heavy commitments in Cape Town today and tomorrow before we all go on to Johannesburg for the Human Rights Committee on Friday.  I want to, by way of opening, quote something which was said very recently by President Nelson Mandela.  You will know that the Commission was appointed by the President.  In a recent speech he said this:
"The feeling of freedom that infuses every South African heart at last liberated from the yolk of oppression underlines the fact that we have all in one way of another being victim to the system of apartheid."
He continued:
"In no activity is this more lucidly captured than in the heart rendering evidence being led at the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission".
The President continues:
"It is only natural that all of us should feel a collective sense of shame for the evils that as compatriots, we have inflicted upon one another.  But even in the few days of these hearings we can all attest to the cleansing power of the truth.  It is to this that this Commission is committed.  We are committed to the truth so that we can all be free.  We are committed to the truth that we can all become reconciled one to another.  There is a very long road ahead.  We are only just starting."
Today is a very auspicious day as people come from this part of the world and tell their own stories.  
Once again as a Commission we want to say how pleased we are that so many have decided to come forward and it our hope that in many many times in the future the perpetrators, the people who have caused the hurt will also find the courage to come before this Commission.  Before I hand over to my colleague, the Deputy-Chairperson of the Human Rights Violations Committee, I want to say a very special word of welcome to Major General Bantu Holomisa, Deputy-Minister in the government of President Mandela.  Most of the time in all our hearings we have listened to victims and survivors as they have told their stories.  
From time to time we will also have witnesses who will give evidence of those people who conspired against people who were in the struggle and the struggle for democracy and freedom.  One such person is the witness that is before us today.  He is well known to all of those who are gathered here and I am not going to go into any detail.  You know him possibly even better than I do but may I say that we are very pleased and very delighted to have him with us.  He will have a great deal of evidence to put before the Commission and we have asked if he could give us at least until tea time in order to present that evidence.  I take pleasure now in handing over to Yasmin Sooka. 
Ms Y SOOKA: Thank you, Deputy-Chairperson.  We thank Bantu Bonke Holomisa for taking this stand.  I would like you to stand and as his customary in our proceedings, I will now ask you to take the oath.
Mr BANTU BONKE HOLOMISA D.S.S.
Ms Y SOOKA: I wold like to welcome you on behalf of the Commission in coming forward with this evidence. We hope that the example that you were setting here today will be followed by other members of our government who had been responsible for the atrocities of the past.  As is customary in our events we have signed a Commissioner to assist you with the leading of your evidence.  He is well-known to you and he is Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza on the left hand side of me.  I now hand over to Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza.
ADV D NTSEBEZA: Thank you, Ms Sooka.  General, I will not really lead you.  I think what you need to do is to give your evidence yourself in the structured way in which you think it will make more sense.  I think ours will merely be to highlight areas on which we need some clarification in respect thereof.  We will also be guided by a statement you have made available to us.  So if you do not mind, if you could kick right away. 
WITNESS: Thank you.
Dr A BORAINE: Could I be very rude and interrupt you?  Forgive me.  I just want to let people know that you have very kindly presented the Commission with a copy of your statement.  We received this about 10 minutes ago.  So the witness will be referring to this.  Obviously there are not enough copies to go around.  Thank you very much.
WITNESS: Thank you.  Chairperson and Honourable members of 
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the affected families, witnesses, ladies and gentlemen, I have not come here in my capacity as a Deputy-Minister or a member of the African National Congress but as a concerned citizen of the country, who as a former Head of the then Transkei government have had to face one of the most callous regimes  hell bent wreaking havoc in that territory, and the province in general for the purposes of advancing its own areas, political agendas.  
My presentation will cover the following:  Introduction; Violence in Black areas as orchestrated by the then National Party Government as contained in these files;  Indoctrination of the Black communities;  brief on Operation Katzen;  Political gains to the National Party Government;  Destabilisation of Transkei by South African Government;  Operation Abbot;  South African Defence Force planned the invasion of Transkei on 12 June 1991.  
I will table these files and then suggest some recommendations.  What I am saying, people, to you, is that I am here in front of you not as a Deputy-Minister or as a member of the African National Congress.  These files that I have brought here today are going to show exactly how the previous government planned to murder people and to twist people's minds using churches, using youth and also using Black Organisations like UDF.  I am also going to tackle a certain plan that was done by the government to attack Transkei.  There were people who were supposed to be released from jail.  Now that was done by the De Klerk Government.  Coming to the recommendations, I am going to quote the way that worked.  I am not going to say this in Xhosa, if I do that I am going to take too long.  So I am going to say it in English.
They stated time and again that I am in the possession of some top secret documents relating to the Covert Operations of the then South African Defence Force.  The intention of coming to testify before the Commission is to make public such information.  Many South Africans at present may be bluntly unaware of the burning need and the significance of the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  
However the startling revelations of the hyena cries and atrocities committed by some agents of the brutal apartheid security operators have underscored the wisdom of President Mandela and the ANC to insist on establishing the Commission in order to lay back these atrocities for public scrutiny so that the South African nation can come to terms with its past and deal with its present and future.
Chairperson, I would like to put on record my sympathy for the Commissioners as they delve into our dark past before the necessary transformation of our justice system which is still a third reflection of the legacy of the inglorious apartheid era.  Who would have thought that in a democracy, a person like Mamasela could boldly claim responsibility for the murder of an individual and yet walked free as an innocent man. 
On the other hand some people who attained the government structures obeying for the blood of the leadership who dispersed cadres on revolutionary missions to the country during the years of conflict and also clamber for their removal from office as in the case of Comrade Mc Bride.  
The TRC has been charged with an unenviable task of having to strike a balance between the just feelings and expectations of the deceased families and the please for amnesty by the perpetrators of violent crimes against their fellow country men and women.
So far the TRC has been inundated with claims of physical torture and the gruesome death of individuals in police hands with, in some instances, the identification of the bloody thirsty killers of political activists.  The former police, political office bearers continued to disclaim knowledge of this wicked edge and shifted the responsibility to a few rogue elements within the ranks of the former security establishment.  
In view of the disclosures made so far, is it not pertinent for the Commissioners to ask for the handing over of all available files pertaining to the activities of CCB, the Joint Management Centre, the State Security Council for perusal by the TRC.  Chairperson, it is common knowledge that many Ministers of State in the old order served in the various Security Bodies I have mentioned above.  It is they who approved funds for the execution of the murdererous activities which are euphemistically alluded to as projects.  
Hopefully, the files would reveal the nature, scope, purpose, decisions and content of the projects in which the State was able to shroud in secrecy and mystery its real intentions.  From the document I am going to table it emerges undoubtedly that the army was the link pin of the government's strategy of neutralising and eradicating opposition to its policies.  They ferociously pursued a psychological programme underpinned by sophisticated and very subtle methods of indoctrination in the better for the hearts and minds of the Blacks.  The army was involved in the management of projects purporting to be beneficial to various Black communities like the establishment of youth clubs and the organisation of the leadership courses which were manipulated to turn Blacks against the ANC, SACP alliance including UDF.  It was also influencing the behaviour of Black South Africans in a way beneficial to the apartheid government.  It was also charged with the task of propping up Black Local Councils which were increasingly being ignored and despised by Blacks.  
My next item is use of violence.  While the army resorted to subtle propaganda means in its endeavours to undermine the force of the government and to dampen the revolutionary fervour of the population.  
It is mind-boggling to learn of their readiness to use violence against activist at the same time.  It was used to gather intelligence for the government and shared the information gathered with the rest of the intelligence community for the purpose of eliminating persons considered to be dangerous to the State.
A clear illustration of the use of State violence, propaganda and colour on colour violence is given in a file called "Project Kampong" which consist of the following sub-headings.  
"1. General
 2. Edu guide
 3. violence"
In the same file there is a document called OP/KO/32A/5/3 FOLIO 14  marked "UITERS GEHEIM" [that is top secret] from the eastern province command head quarters.  Prepared in march 1987 by two senior military officers with the heading "'SECURITY PLAN COUNTER MOBILISATION PROJECT - EASTERN PROVINCE COMMAND"
According to the documents, the security plan was for distribution amongst other for the Chief of the army and exclusively for a certain Brigadier Van Wyk.  
It states that the plan is for the greater part already implemented and in operation.  It continues to list projects for which precautionary measures should be introduced as follows.  
"1. Project Lambart
 2. Project Niblick
 3. Project Wallecks
 4. Project Lactone
 5. Project Pulli"
I would like to concentrate on Project Wallecks.  This gives us an insight into the Black on Black violence as a pillar of the army and the then South African Government in each counter revolutionary [Inaudible...].  
The aim, according to the document written in Afrikaans is also a task in this document, was to establish a positive community organisation in order to isolate Cradock, thereby breaking the enemy power base in the rural areas, resulting in effective third level of government.  Its main objectives were as follows:
"1. To deny the enemy, its power base by attempting to establish an organisation that will unify Black communities against the UDF in rural areas and infiltrate enemy organisations and eventually take them over."
I wonder whether that thing is not happening right now.
"2. To influence Blacks to accept Legal Black Local Government and participate.
 3. To remove the UDF through the use of force from the communities from the principle of colour against colour.
 4. To break the power of the enemy in Cradock and to establish a moderate attitude towards whites.  
 5. To influence Blacks to resist intimidation, radicalism and the influence of the UDF."
The management requirement for the project to succeed were tabulated as follows:
"1. The appointment of a white coordinator in Somerset-East to assist with planning and is a link between the organisation and the SANDF.
 2. The appointment of a full-time leader for the organisation structures and facilities including offices and a newsletter to come later.
 3. A subsidy for the leader of the organisation.
 4. The continuous conducting of courses for new members joining the organisation.
 5. Credibility for the organisation by means of positive media coverage."
That should say a lot.  This says a lot.  What it means is that they had their own people in the media to carry out the so called positive media coverage.  You will see this later when I am transferring to Transkei.  
"6 Funds on a continuous basis.  Firstly to launch the organisation and then for running the organisation."
Possibly the ability to pay the victims limited compensation like the UDF does.  These files will also show that there were a lot of money that were paid to certain individuals which I would not like to list here but they are contained.  You will also see the pictures which were taken of some of our African brothers and sisters in various projects under the guide that this was a leadership but the Commission will see how to handle that.  Functioning on the ground, he is referring to the implementation of this project "Wallecks".   A local medical doctor in Somerset East has been involved in project for approximately six months.  He is of a high standing amongst Blacks.  A certain Minister is in the process of establishing an organisation known as Eastern Cape Moderate Residence Alliance.  Three courses have already been conducted for groups of between 24 to 45 in Somerset East and one for the Chicaners in Cookhouse.  
Hard action, I repeat, hard actions have not yet been launched, seeing that training and influencing was launched on a trial basis.  It continues as follows.  However restricted isolated hard actions have been launched by Joel Memese and his followers on comrades resulting in no action from Cradock in Somerset East over the past month.  It is said here "These Kaffirs ran away when violence was used".  [IInformation lost due to recording]  ...meaning one thing, that is use of force.  That is my interpretation.  
Memese is outspoken against the ANC and the UDF and is responsible for evictions of those who do not pay rent.  Intimidation by UDF is now less effective in Somerset East.  It is envisaged that should the organisation grow as expected it will become a mouthpiece for Blacks in negotiations.  It can also cooperate with the Regional Services Council in order to convey the government policy to Blacks.