Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1998-11-17

MR VISSER: We heard from Botha that he, Nxiweni, apparently provided information that on the previous evening an act of terrorism had taken place at the Rosborough station, and it was committed by members of the unit under his command?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: And on that very same evening, the 5th of November, another explosion was to occur.  Was that the 4th of November, I am sorry, I beg your pardon.  Sorry, it is the 4th of November, another explosion was to take place?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes, that is correct.

MR VISSER: Where would that be?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That would be at Montclair, on the railway line at Montclair.

MR VISSER: What happened as a result of this information?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Van der Westhuizen and I drove to the place where he said the bomb would have been placed and on the way there, we received a report that the bomb had indeed exploded and when we arrived on the scene, we did see that it had exploded.

MR VISSER: Were there any police on the scene?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes, they were already on the scene.

MR VISSER: Pumeso was held overnight at the safe house,is that correct?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes.

MR VISSER: Did you remain there or did you go home?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I remained there.

MR VISSER: Was any attempt made to recruit him as an informer?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No Mr Chairperson.

MR VISSER: From your side, that is what I mean?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No, there was no attempt from my side to recruit him.

MR VISSER: During further interrogation, more information came to light with regard to armed vehicles?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes, that is correct.  He indicated to us that there was a trunk full of arms and ammunition in the suitcase room at the Allan Taylor residence.

MR VISSER: Did you go along to the Allan Taylor residence in order to fetch these arms?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: How did you obtain access to this room?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: We climbed over the fence, and we went into the room.

MR VISSER: You opened the door and went in or did you break in?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I cannot remember whether the door had been forced open or simply opened.

MR VISSER: Did you find anything?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: We found a trunk which fitted the description which Nxiweni had given us, and we found arms inside, we took the trunk and brought it back to the safe house.

MR VISSER: Was it your impression that Nxiweni was recruitable as an informer, judging by what you had observed from him?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No.

MR VISSER: What else happened?

MR MALAN: I beg your pardon Mr Visser, while you are discussing this matter, was it ever said to you that it was a consideration to recruit him as an informer?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No, Mr Chairperson.

MR VISSER: We have heard from Botha that in during the afternoon of 5 November, Taylor and Wasserman arrived at the safe house, and that they were informed there by him about Nxiweni's arrest.  Do you know anything about that?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: Was that after their arrival that you went to the Allan Taylor residence to lift the weapons?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes, that is correct.

MR VISSER: Upon your arrival back at the safe house, what happened then?

CHAIRPERSON: Can I disturb you for one moment?  This safe house, was this the safe house at Verulam?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: You have arrived back at the safe house at Verulam, what happened next?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Colonel Taylor told Botha and Van der Westhuizen that they could go home and he began to dig a grave.

MR VISSER: That is who, who began to dig a grave?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Taylor, he started digging a grave.

MR VISSER: He didn't ask anybody else to do it, he did it himself?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct, yes.

MR VISSER: Can you provide any reason why he did this?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No Mr Chairperson.

MR MALAN: I beg your pardon, nobody offered to assist him?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Wasserman and I helped him later with the digging of the grave.  When we arrived there, Taylor had already begun to dig the grave.

MR MALAN: And when you started helping him, did he withdraw?  Surely it wouldn't have been all three of you digging the grave at the same time?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: He was there throughout the time that the grave was being dug.  We took turns.

MR VISSER: During this stage of the grave being dug, were Botha and Van der Westhuizen still there, or had they already left?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I can't remember.

MR VISSER: Now you have dug the grave, what happened next?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Taylor told Wasserman and I to eliminate Nxiweni.  He and I took Nxiweni out of the house.

MR VISSER: Did you say anything to him?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: We told him the same thing, we told him that we were taking him to another place.

MR VISSER: Was that during day time or night time?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: It was at night.

MR VISSER: Yes?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: He was blindfolded, and we walked with him until the grave.  There I shot him in the head with a Scorpion pistol.

MR VISSER: Who shot him?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I shot him.

MR VISSER: Was this pistol legally in your possession?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No Mr Chairperson, it was a Russian Scorpion pistol.

MR VISSER: Where did he stand, or did he sit or lay down when you shot him?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: He was standing.

MR VISSER: Where were  you standing when you shot him?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I stood right next to him.

MR VISSER: On his left or right side?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: On his left side.

MR VISSER: Was the pistol held near or far from his body when you shot him against his head, so indeed he was shot through the head?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: Was he dead?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: He died instantaneously.  He fell down, we removed his clothing and placed him in the hole and closed the hole.

MR VISSER: Was he buried in the same fashion as Ndwandwe?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct Chairperson.

MR VISSER: Did you also sprinkle lime over him, can you remember anything about that?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I cannot remember it.

MR VISSER: Can you remember if rubbish was also thrown into the grave in that case?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No, we didn't put any rubbish into the grave.

MR VISSER: Mr Chairman, I notice that it is 1 o'clock, I am just about finished with this incident, if I may proceed a little while longer.
	What happened with the clothing?  I think you already said that his clothing had been removed?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct, we burnt the clothing afterwards.

MR VISSER: And then you departed?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: Just with regard to this aspect, Mr Taylor says in his amnesty application, that Nxiweni went along to point out the DLB at the Allan Taylor residence.  Is this in accordance with your recollection?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I cannot recall that.

MR VISSER: And he also says that Botha was present when Pumeso was killed, can you remember that?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No one else was there.  By the time we killed Pumeso, Taylor had left the farm.

MR VISSER: Mr Chairman, that concludes this incident, thank you.