Amnesty Hearings — Hammarsdale — 1998-08-13

MR WILLS: Yes.  Now it was during your stay at Ndwedwe that the first incident occurred.  You've indicated to me that you were on a period of leave from your duties at Ndwedwe when you returned home to Mpumalanga when the first incident occurred, and by that I refer to the death of Mr Msomi, do you recall that?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes Chair.

MR WILLS: Now I want you to explain to the Amnesty Committee the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Msomi.

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Chair, when I arrived I used to off 7 days because I was working 21 days.  I used to take off for 7 days.  When I arrived at home I stayed some few days.  When I arrived, if I'm not mistaken, Jack Gomede was sent by ...(indistinct) Ntuli to call me.  When we arrived there he told me that there is a job that we have to do, and I asked what type of job that we have to do.

MR WILLS: When you say he told you, who are you referring to?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: I'm talking about Mudla Induna.  We must carry out a duty at D-section where we should kill Mr Msomi who was alleged to be an ANC leader, and was working with ANC.  And then indeed we left, it was at night.  It was myself, Jack - Jack had HMC, I had the 9mm which I took from Lanie Nshlengo, and Jack got it from Mzu.  When we arrived there at D we didn't find him in his house, Mr Msomi, and we were told he was at the neighbour's house.
	When we arrived there the neighbours who actually saw when we approached because the door was open, and then we asked for him - but we decided to enter.  He said we should enter, but then we asked him to come out because we needed help because there's somebody who was actually injured.  And then he took only two steps and then we shot him, that's how we shot him.

MR WILLS: Now you say "we shot him", did you yourself actually shoot?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes indeed.

MR WILLS: And you used - for this purpose you used the 9mm pistol that you had got for the operation, is that right?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes indeed.

MR WILLS: And as I understand your evidence, there was - you were accompanied on this mission by a certain Jack Gomede, is that correct, who you said was armed with a HMC?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes.

MR WILLS: And did this person Jack Gomede also shoot Mr Msomi?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes it's like that.

MR WILLS: Did Mr Msomi die as a result of the wounds he received?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes he did.

MR WILLS: Now what did you do after you had shot Mr Msomi?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Thereafter we ran away, we went back.  We took these guns that we had and we took it back to their owners, and then we continued with our journey.  We went to our homes, and we reported this to Mudla Induna that we finished the job, and then he told us to be quiet about this.  Indeed this is for the first time that I'm talking about this now.

MR WILLS: Yes.  I just want to get a little bit more clarity on how you acquired the weapon, 9 mm pistol, which you used.  Can you just explain that to us.  You said ...(intervention)

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Chair, Dul Thlontlo said I must go to Mpumlani Nshlengo where I will get this 9mm which I will use.  Indeed I did that, and then I found it.

MR WILLS: And after the incident you returned this firearm to the same Mpumlani Nshlengo?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes it's like that.

MR WILLS: You have also advised me of an incident in respect of which you're not applying for amnesty for, but which involved the shooting at a combi in Mpumalanga.  Can you just briefly explain to the Committee what occurred in that incident.

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: ...(indistinct) Mr Chairman, here at Mpumalanga the taxi's were no longer straight to Unit 4 and Woody Glen.  Now they used another route.  Our person - if that person, a person belonging to our side would bother the taxi mistakenly, would actually be taken out on the first stop, and that person would be burned and killed.  The drivers wouldn't do anything, and they would just be quiet.
	And the incidences would continue, for instance the first person - the person who was killed, it was Mteto on the first stop.  He was actually a resident there at Woody Glen, he was killed there.  Also at Sigogobele, the second step, the same thing happened to IFP people used to be taken out of the taxi's, they ...(indistinct) there at Kentucky.  The taxi's used to use that route, not the other route.  It is then that we realised that there at the corner at Kentucky, we must stop there and shoot the very same drivers because they are also partaking in what the comrades are doing, that is taking people out of the taxi's, and they wouldn't do anything when the comrades are doing that.  And we also shot at these taxi drivers.

MR WILLS: Yes, but do you know if in this incident anyone was killed or that you even hit the taxi?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: I don't have any knowledge, I've never had.  I don't know whether a person died or whatsoever.

MR WILLS: Did you see if the taxi stopped, or did it continue driving after you shot at it?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Chair, as we up on the hill the road there is steep going down.  It's not easy for you to go and peep there what is happening because it's going down.  Because that happens the taxi is overturning, and lightning also was moving up and down, and we were trying to escape from it.

MR WILLS: Now I want you to turn now to the other areas in respect of which you're applying for amnesty.  Those are the incidents involving the attacks on the ANC at Ndwedwe.  Now the first incident you instructed me about is the death of a pregnant woman and a black male in Ndwedwe.  Can you just tell the Committee what occurred there.

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Chair as I was working there at Ndwedwe, we used to patrol there, did the truck 325 patrolling in the place Sindeswene, and that area is the stronghold of ANC.  That's where we were patrolling.  While we still standing looking down at a place called Ekunjini where the houses were burnt the previous day, looking at that area, we heard a bullet from across on the opposite direction, directed to us.  That is people who were standing there on the yard in that house.
	We were not aware whether that person had a 303 or R1, but we actually then ducked.  And then we realised that the truck - the truck won't reach that area easily, and then we used the walkie-talkie that the - a small van must be sent so that we can go to that house and actually check those people who are shooting at us.  When the ...(intervention)

MR WILLS: Just - sorry Mr Ndlovu, I just want to get some clarity.  As I understand your evidence you were patrolling as a Kwa-Zulu Policeman in a Kwa-Zulu Police vehicle when this incident occurred.

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Not a van, a truck, the Police truck 235.

MR WILLS: Yes, and when you say you used the walkie-talkie to call a van, you used the police vehicle to contact the police station in order that they could send a police van, is that correct?

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: Yes, the walkie-talkie that was in the truck to call those at the police station so that they can give us a van that we can use to work in that house because the truck is slow, it won't reach that area quickly because those people by then would have escaped.

MR WILLS: Okay, continue.

BERTWELL BHEKI NDLOVU: When the van arrived it was driven by - Dlamini was in it, Boy Ngobo, a sergeant.  And in front there was station commander Mogwaza who was a sergeant there at Ndwedwe.  At the back there were three special constables, Dlamini, Mtelezi ...(intervention)

INTERPRETER: Sorry I missed the other name.   Oh there were two Dlamini's.