Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1999-09-01

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Chairperson, it was not my decision,

MR LAX: I'm not saying it was your decision, I'm saying, were you part of the discussion about what to do with the body and then finally you got an order after the discussion was concluded.  Have I understood you correctly?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Chairperson, Wasserman and I were present when Taylor and Botha decided what to do.

MR LAX: Did you contribute to that discussion?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No.

MR LAX: So you were just present, they spoke about it in your presence and then they informed you of their decision?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: Thank you, Mr Chairman.  And when you received the order, what did you do?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Sgt Wasserman and I executed the order and dropped her off in the grass next to the Inanda road, near Bambayi.

MR VISSER: Now before we get to that, where was she, the body of Khubeka, when you had to transport her?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: She was in a storage room, she lay in a storeroom and Wasserman and I waited until all the members were asleep or were away, I cannot recall.  The camp was quiet and then we drove the vehicle until it was adjacent to the storeroom, we picked up Khubeka and placed her in the boot of the car.

MR VISSER: Was her body wrapped in anything?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No, Chairperson.

MR VISSER: Was she clothed?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: Can you recall the appearance of the clothing?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I cannot recall.

MR VISSER: Can you recall the colours of the clothing, even though you cannot recall the items of clothing themselves?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No Chairperson, I cannot recall.

MR VISSER: In what vehicle did you transport her?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: A Nissan Skyline.

MR VISSER: And whose vehicle was this?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: It was mine.

CHAIRPERSON: Your private vehicle, or was it a police vehicle?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: It was my police vehicle.

MR VISSER: The place where you and Wasserman dropped her off, you say this was in the grass next to the Inanda road.  Could you just give a finer description to the Committee of how far away from the road this was and also if you could perhaps provide some form of a landmark or something in order to indicate to us where precisely you dropped the body off?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Chairperson, it was next to the road, opposite the Ghandi settlement, there's a place there known as the Ghandi settlement and Bambayi would be on the opposite side against the hill slope.  And it was in that area between Ghandi settlement and Bambayi.

MR VISSER: Did you think that the body would be discovered there?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes, Chairperson, we left her approximately 15 metres from the road and I was certain that somebody would find the body there.

MR VISSER: Were there any signs that people were moving through that area where she had been dropped?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes, Chairperson, during the day there were many pedestrians there, it is a taxi route.

MR VISSER: And was it your own experience that there were people moving about there during the day?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That's correct.

MR VISSER: And if a body were to be found there, where would the nearest police station be where one could report this from that point?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: kwaMashu would have been the closest.

MR VISSER: Were there also any other police stations in that vicinity?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: The nearest police stations, that would be Phoenix and Inanda police stations.

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, before you proceed, Mr Visser.  Are you saying the nearest police station is kwaMashu, then the next nearest is Phoenix?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Phoenix and Inanda, yes.

MR VISSER: Were there any state mortuaries in the vicinity where bodies which were found would be taken to?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: As far as I knew there was a state mortuary in kwaMashu.

MR VISSER: Did you know where Mrs Khubeka resided?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I did.  She stayed in G Section.

MR VISSER: Now G Section, if one consults Exhibit D and follows the line from the M2 in a north-easterly direction, then there is a railway line, it would appear due to S A R which is stated next to it, that runs from kwaMashu north in the direction of Inanda.  Is that correct?  Do you see it?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: Yes, I see it.

MR VISSER: Now if you were to take the railway line as a point of reference, was G Section on the left side, that would be the western side, or the right side being the eastern side of that railway line?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That would be on the left side, the western side.

MR VISSER: Very well.  That area there, is it rural or are there many people living there?  What is the position in that area where you left the body?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: It was a big open grass field at that stage.

MR VISSER: No, I'm referring to that area.  Were there any homes nearby or not?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: No, there were no houses near that place at that stage.

MR VISSER: Very well.  Would you continue with paragraph 16, beg your pardon, 15?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I did not report the incident and consequently I made myself guilty of defeating the ends of justice.

MR VISSER: Yes and other offences with regard to bodies, isn't that so?

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: That is correct.

MR VISSER: Continue.

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: From documents now before the Committee, it is alleged that Khubeka's body was exhumed and that it was found that she had a bullet wound in the back of her head.

MR VISSER: Yes, we know that the bullet wound is actually on the top of her head, but continue.

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: I know that she did not have any bullet wounds.  According to me and Wasserman, her body was dropped off next to the Inanda highway, near Bambayi.

MR VISSER: Yes, and there is a reference, for the information of the Committee, to the TRC report.  Please continue, paragraph 17.

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: My motivation to carry out the orders of Col Botha by abducting Khubeka and afterwards dropping off her body, was an action in support of the liberation attempt against the revolutionary onslaught and especially to spare the government and the SAP political embarrassment during a period of time when there was much criticism, both internally and internationally, against the government.
	The ANC used all events which indicated at offences of the Security Forces and made propaganda out of it in order to place the government in the worst possible light.  My actions were aimed at the protection and maintenance of the former government and constitutional dispensation.  
	The acts and omissions which I committed, I committed in the execution of my official duties under the order of a higher officer, whose orders I was obliged to execute.  I did this as part of the opposition to the struggle and my actions were aimed against supporters of the liberation movement.

MR VISSER: And the next sentence is a repetition.  Please continue with paragraph 22.

SALMON JOHANNES GERHARDUS DU PREEZ: As such I believed bona fide that what I did fell within my express or implied authorisation.  I humbly request that amnesty be granted to me for my acts and omissions in this regard.

MR VISSER: And as previously stated or indicated by the Chairperson of this Committee, during argument you will be led regarding - it will be discussed exactly what you have applied for and you request amnesty for that?