Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

WITNESS:   Even before I go to the start of the threats, as well as occurrences of violence, Gabela didn't only work with the police, but he also worked with certain people who were members of Inkatha.  Some of them were members of the Government of KwaZulu who used to come, as well as with chiefs.  But they were not staying at Trust Feeds, they were coming from outside places.  Some were coming from Dalton, people we didn't know.  Maybe I can point a few who were members of the Government.  It was Ben Jele, who was from Imbali, Psychology Ndlovu from Zwaiman(?), as well as VV Mvelase.  These were the people who came into our meeting and they said the Crisis Committee were just people who deserved to be killed.  Those words came from Ben Jele's mouth.  As from that time there started to be altercations, as well as threats, as well as attacks.

MR LAX: Underlying all of this tension was one important issue, and that was that these people who were involved in the KwaZulu Government, and who were part of Inkatha, wanted Trust Feeds to be consolidated into KwaZulu, and not to remain part of South Africa outside of KwaZulu.

WITNESS:   That is correct.  As you have already pointed, when the Government had already given up on taking us out of the area they found that the Trust Feeds should be put under KwaZulu-Natal, but because we had ownership titles we didn't want that to happen, we flatly refused, so that is what actually cause the rift.  That is why they used Gabela as the Inkatha induna, so that they could be able to put us under the KwaZulu Government, which we did not want from the start.

MR LAX: Let us now move ahead.  Having established some of the underlying factors that led to this violence let us now move ahead to the actual violence itself.  And please, in the interests of time, if you could try and restrict yourself to the specific issues.  You've told us that during September threats began, and there were a number of altercations.  Trust Feeds began to become divided between a top and a bottom section, is that correct?

WITNESS:   That is true.

MR LAX: In October the shop on your family's property, which you had leased to somebody - who was that person?

WITNESS:   It was Philip Shange.

MR LAX: That shop was attacked.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... briefly.

WITNESS:   (Inaudible) ... it was apparent that we were not going to get ... (incomplete)

MR LAX: We still can't hear you, sorry.

WITNESS:   There was a meeting at a school hall, and the purpose of the hall was that we should get a solution to our problems.  Then there came a group of Inkatha youths.  They disrupted the meeting.  I can point out that in that meeting there were police, but they were not inside the hall, they were just outside the hall.  When this meeting got disrupted people dispersed, they went to different directions, and this Inkatha Youth group was following some other people who were going towards my shop.  When they got there they were already in a warpath.  They started shooting people, as well as attacking the shop.  We tried to protect ourselves.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... Philip Shange was shot.

WITNESS:   It was the second time.  This was the first incident.  On the following day when they came at 7 o'clock in the shop they pretended as if they were customers.  They took out a gun, they shot him on the chest.  We went to report to the police.  We went to the station commander, Brian Mitchell.  When he got there he asked us whether we knew the people who shot him.  We didn't know these people because there were quite a number of people who came in there.  There was no case.  Instead of that the station commander said to us why did Philip Shange not join Inkatha.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... after your discussions with Brian Mitchell, who in your statement you've indicated was very aggressive towards you, he was not happy, he considered you basically, as you've quoted in your statement, "a terrorist," and you say that he used those words, he called you a terrorist.  Is that correct?

WITNESS:   Yes, that is true.

MR LAX: We'll get to certain facts later, but it's common knowledge and it's well publicised that Brian Mitchell is presently in gaol serving a sentence for murder.

WITNESS:   That's correct.

MR LAX: It's common knowledge that he was involved generally in a conspiracy to break your organisation and ensure that Inkatha was able to dominate Trust Feeds.

WITNESS:   That's correct.  Who was Brian Mitchell working with as far as you're aware?   ---   According to my knowledge Brian Mitchell was working with Inkatha within Trust Feeds, but I know that even further than that there were certain other organisations - Joint Management Services.  There were many people from diverse communities where they were taking resolutions and decisions.  I was not part of those organisations, but I know that people who used to comprise these organisations were working hand in hand with him.  He was also working with this organisation, especially the people I just counted who were from the KwaZulu Government.  They used to meet him also.  People of Inkatha that he was working with were Jerome Gabela, Johan Nxumalo, Bongani Pungula.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... a lot about Jerome Mncwabe, and his name has come up many, many times, especially around Imbali area.  Is it correct that during the period of November 1988 numerous attacks took place within Trust Feeds?  Your shop was attacked many times, and the divisions within that community became increasingly more severe.  So much so that, as I said, there was an upper and a lower section, the one dominated by Inkatha, the other one dominated by the UDF.

WITNESS:   That's correct.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... in the two areas.

WITNESS:   That's correct.

MR LAX: Now, tell us what happened on the 23rd of November 1988.

WITNESS:   On the 23rd of November 1988, it was on a Wednesday, there was another attack.  I think throughout November there were attacks on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th.  Up til the 23rd there were continuous attacks almost every day.  But now we realised that we had had enough, because we could not fight during the day because the police used to be there to accompany the attackers, so that when we fought they would be able to take our ammunition so that they might attack us even more.  On the 23rd I was from work.  I am working at Sobantu at the school, I am a teacher.  I was accosted by police.  The police arrested me.  I was with some other gentlemen.  We were seven in all.  I was arrested and put in custody.  I was kept for three months.  When ... (intervention)

MR LAX: Your initial arrest was a detention under the emergency at that time.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: Subsequent to that you were charged.  That was in January '89.  You were charged with illegal possession of firearms, bullets and explosives.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... of the case against you?

WITNESS:   All the charges I was found not guilty.

MR LAX: Now, that case finally finished in May 1989.

WITNESS:  That's correct.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... that while you were involved in this case the Department of Education and Training brought misconduct charges against you.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: And in spite of being acquitted you were issued with a strong warning from the Department.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: Let us move on to the events that led up to the massacre in Trust Feeds, the well publicised massacre for which Brian Mitchell and others are presently in gaol.  What happened at that time?