Amnesty Hearings — Boksburg — 1998-06-22

JAN B DE WET: Because I saw it Mr Chairman,  when I got there.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: In other words, you did see the trailer?

JAN B DE WET: No Mr Chairperson.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: What did you see?

JAN B DE WET: There was sand on top of the gas bottle, I did not see it.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Did you see the sand?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, I did.

CHAIRPERSON: Inside the trailer?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, inside the trailer.

CHAIRPERSON: Was it only sand that you saw inside the trailer?

JAN B DE WET: I only saw the sand, yes.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: What type of bomb would you take to Germiston?

JAN B DE WET: I accepted that it was the gas bottle bomb.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: So you knew how big that bomb would be?

JAN B DE WET: No Mr Chairperson.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Was the trailer not full?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, it was full of soil.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Sir, what I cannot understand is why did four of you have to drive through?

JAN B DE WET: I was the driver of my vehicle.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: That is acceptable.

JAN B DE WET: And the person who drove with me, had to detonate the bomb.  The vehicle in front could have one or two, it would be the guide vehicle.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Why did that vehicle have to have two people?

JAN B DE WET: It could have been one, I do not know why there were two.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Did you see what damage that Germiston bomb did?

JAN B DE WET: Only that which I saw on television, and also the photographs that were at the court case.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: So you saw what damage that bomb did?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, that is correct.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: When you unhooked the trailer, who were with you?

JAN B DE WET: Mr Johan Vlok.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Did you not at that stage tell Vlok that we are now at a taxi rank, we must not detonate the bomb here?

JAN B DE WET: No, I did not say that.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Were you happy with the choice of the target?

JAN B DE WET: We were told that they will tell us where we must detonate the bomb, and I kept with the order that was given.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: You just executed the orders?

JAN B DE WET: The only difference was that the vehicle said that the bomb must be detonated here, all that I did was drove around the block and parked in the parking lot, and that was the order.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: And there were a lot of people and taxi's?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, there were taxi's.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Not a lot of people?

JAN B DE WET: No.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Do you know how many people were killed in the Germiston bombing?

JAN B DE WET: They talk about 10 people.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: And in the court case, did you find out how big that bomb was?

JAN B DE WET: They talked about 100 kilograms, if I can remember correctly, 100 kilograms of explosives.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: 100 Kilograms of explosives?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, they said the bomb was 100 kilograms.  I do not know what they meant by 100 kilograms.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Did you realise how big that bomb was that bodies were thrown up to the ten storey building?

JAN B DE WET: Yes Mr Chairperson, I heard that in the court case.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Sir, your application in the AWB, you said that you have to be an Afrikaner and a Christian?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct yes.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Was that the action of an Afrikaner and a Christian?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, Mr Chairperson, I was in a war situation and everything that I had to achieve, I see that as a Christian way.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: In other words that bomb is within that parameter?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, that is true.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: You said earlier on to Mr Landman, that you are currently not a member of the AWB because you are of no use to them?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, that is correct.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: And if you do get amnesty, will you again join the AWB?

JAN B DE WET: Sir, at this stage I do not want to involve myself with any politics, I just want to continue with my life.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: Thank you Mr Chairman.

ANDRIES STEPHANUS KRIEL: .

MR SINJATSI: Sir, listening to you I must at the outset tell you that, I am asking myself if you are telling us the whole truth as you know it.
	Tell me Sir, ordinarily who do you expect to get the instructions from if you go out on any operation?

JAN B DE WET: Mr Chairperson, that it would carry the approval of the leader of the AWB and Staff Generals and the Officers above me, it should carry their approval.

MR SINJATSI: And Sir, is it correct that as a trained soldier you expected things to be done in an orderly fashion, you knew that if actions are to be carried out, there will be specific cells or groups for that purpose and things would be done in an orderly fashion, didn't you?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct Chairperson.

MR SINJATSI: Now, talking about the Germiston bomb, did you belong to any cell or any group that was responsible for any operations?

JAN B DE WET: I belonged to the AWB at that stage Chairperson.

MR SINJATSI: Sir, the impression I have is that even within the AWB and further within the Ystergarde, somebody seems to have been appointed at some stage, to be in charge of the operations unit, is that impression correct?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct Chairperson, there were people who were appointed to do certain tasks.

MR SINJATSI: Now my question to you is, did you belong to any of these special operation units?

JAN B DE WET: No Mr Chairperson, I was only a member of the group who gathered together at the game farm and part of the bomb missions.

MR SINJATSI: And just to understand you further, are you saying that as far as the Germiston bomb is concerned, it was by mere chance, you collided into it, you didn't know about its planning, hardly did you know that it was going to be there in the first place, you just happened to be called there to make your motor vehicle available and there you were, finding yourself in Germiston on such a big mission?

JAN B DE WET: That is correct Chairperson, of the planning of that bomb, I knew nothing.  Koekemoer who was involved in court, he testified that I helped building the bomb, but that is a lie, I did not help in building the bomb at all.

CHAIRPERSON: On the way to Germiston, did you know what you were transporting?

JAN B DE WET: Yes, I was told it was going to be a bomb which should be planted in Germiston.

MR SINJATSI: Sir, you say that when you were in Germiston, you realised that this was a black taxi rank?

JAN B DE WET: Chairperson, all that I saw when I arrived in Germiston was that it was a taxi stand and that there were buildings around it.

MR SINJATSI: Is it then your evidence that you didn't know that this was a black taxi rank?

JAN B DE WET: No Chairperson, there were black people, I can tell you that.  I do not know if there were other people, there were whites present as well.

MR SINJATSI: Okay, talking about the war and be mindful of the fact that you are a trained soldier.  Did you have any targets in your war?

JAN B DE WET: No Chairperson, we did not have specific targets.  I wasn't told that we had specific targets.  The fact was that the elections had to be stopped at all costs.

MR SINJATSI: Talking about the bombs that came before you could move over to Ventersdorp and therefore let's say, talk about the bomb on the 23rd/24th, before then, the other bombs that had gone off, were you aware of what the policy of the AWB was regarding the planing of these bombs, with particular reference to who would be the target?

JAN B DE WET: Chairperson, what I did know was that the targets which were pointed out at that stage, was NP offices as well as ANC offices.