Amnesty Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — 1998-02-10

MR PRIOR: During a submission made by the APLA high command during the week 7 to 10 or 11th of October, of last year, before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Cape Town, it was stated quite clearly there that the PAC was a party not based on racial lines.
	Do you agree with that?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: It seems that you've added to the fact that you say PAC was not against apartheid.

MR PRIOR: No, its policies weren't based along racial lines, in other words it also embraced the white population and welcomed membership from the white section of the population of the country?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I think that is correct.

MR PRIOR: I need to put this to you, it also appeared from those submissions that the strategy of APLA seemed to change round about that time, it was from mid-1993 when the St James attack occurred until the Newcastle attack occurred, a range of about eight months.
	That APLA moved away from striking purely military or police targets and shifted its emphasis to civilian targets or soft targets as they were  referred to.  Were you aware of that shift or were you aware of that development?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I wasn't told about the shift.  I only used to know that we had to attack white people.

MR PRIOR: And if I understand your evidence thus far, you simply agreed with that policy and you gave every assistance that you could, as you have explained, to the members of APLA who came to Newcastle to carry out the attack, is that correct?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

MR PRIOR: And you did that without question?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Asking who, from whom?

MR PRIOR: No, you did that without questioning whether it was correct to do so or not, you simply carried out those requests and instructions as you had received from your superiors?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry Mr Prior, when you say your superiors, who are you referring to?   Are you referring to the PAC people or APLA?

MR PRIOR: Thank you Mr Chairman.  Maybe he can answer that.  The instructions that you carried out or the requests that you undertook, did they come from your leaders of PAC or did they come from the high command of APLA?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I think it was from APLA.  I can't say the high command, because I don't know the rank structure of APLA.

INTERPRETER: The witness is complaining that his earphones are not working well, it goes on and off.  Can somebody help me?

MR PRIOR: Maybe he can just change his headset.  Please try the other headset that has been handed to you.
	May we just try that question again.

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: This is an English channel, could somebody just get it on channel 3?

MR PRIOR: Can you just assist and put channel 3 on your headset.
	Can you hear now?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, I can hear you.

MR PRIOR: Right the question briefly is where did you get the instructions to assist in the attack in Newcastle, was that from the leadership of the PAC or from APLA, did that request come from APLA?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: With regard to the attack, I am getting confused, the instruction that I got was to help those people who are coming to attack, organise a place for them to stay.
	We never discuss as to which target for example Crazy Beat, I think it might have been organised or dealt with while they were in Umtata.

MR PRIOR: Just finally, one of - you indicated also that there were two targets to be attacked in Newcastle, one was a restaurant.  And you indicated that that wasn't attacked because there were black people in the vicinity and they may have been injured.

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I didn't say inside, I said just surrounded area, there were black people.

MR PRIOR: In the vicinity of the restaurant and that is why that target wasn't attacked, is that correct, is that your information?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

MR PRIOR: Just finally, you also indicated that a vehicle was hijacked and used presumably in the attack.  Are you aware of that?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes.

MR PRIOR: Were you present when that vehicle was hijacked?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: I parked around the area where they hijacked the car, they alighted from my car and went to hijack the car.

MR PRIOR: So were you able to see what happened with that incident?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: It was at  night, I couldn't see.

MR PRIOR: Sorry, was it Mr Tanda and Mr Shiceka that approached that vehicle, that is the vehicle that was hijacked?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Shiceka wasn't there, it was Tanda and other two men.

MR PRIOR: Do you know whether they were armed at that stage when they proceeded to that vehicle or moved towards that vehicle?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, they were armed.

MR PRIOR: Do you know what happened to the driver of that vehicle?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Yes, I know.

MR PRIOR: Was he injured, was he tied up, was he assaulted?  Are you able to tell us?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: What I found is that they had a discussion with them, which was not an amicable one.  They explained to him who they were and they said they are not going to attack African people.
	They asked him that they will not cause any problems to him, they will bring back his car and he should just obey the request and fortunately he had his girlfriend.
	They agreed to hand the car, they even drove the girlfriend and this man back to their place.  They were tied from behind, the hands behind and they were guarded by two people.
	Their car was taken to do the operation and after that, it was brought back to them.  Tanda after the operation, also gave him R10-00 to put petrol in the car.  They even shared a cigarette after that.

MR PRIOR: Why was it necessary to tie these people up, the girlfriend and the owner of the vehicle?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: They were tied because it was a common cause that if there is an accident they might get injured, so for their safety we have to tie them.
	When the car went to do the operation, found the young boys who had to guard these people.  They said to them, untie them, because you are armed and they are also cooperating, there is no need to tie them.
	Therefore after the operation, when they come back, they found they were tied.  They were only tied when they were caught and put into the car, but most of the time, they were untied.

MR PRIOR: Mr Chairman, I have no further questions.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR PRIOR

CHAIRPERSON: Maybe we should adjourn until two o'clock.
COMMISSION ADJOURNS

MR PRIOR: One aspect if I may be permitted, to put to this witness.  Mr Malevu, there is just one aspect I wish you to comment on.
	It is an aspect that seems to have arisen in most of the APLA applications.  It certainly came to the fore in the Heidelberg Tavern attack and it concerns your arrest the next day, that is the day after the attack, on the 15th of February 1994.
	You indicated that you were arrested together with Mr Tanda and Mr Shiceka, is that correct?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

MR PRIOR: And you were driving in someone else's motor vehicle?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: That is correct.

MR PRIOR: Did that ever bother you that you were arrested so soon after the attack?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: It did bother me.

MR PRIOR: Are you able to say now, at any stage, whether any information had been passed to the Security Forces regarding your involvement and the involvement of your co-applicants in this attack?  In other words there was an informer in your midst?

BONGANI GOLDEN MALEVU: Excuse me, what came to my mind was that the person from whom they hijacked the car was told that we were APLA people, so I suppose that people might have been surveilling or operations.

MR PRIOR: Thank you Mr Chairman, I have no further questions.

MR PRIOR: .