Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1997-07-14

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: Reads
"Due to a lack of recollection, inter alia due to a lapse of time, I can't remember exactly who, where and why I arrested and questioned people.
	As far as I can remember, the following terrorists who were trained abroad were arrested and questioned by myself of the Investigating team.  Peter Jacobs, Ashley Forbes, Anwar Dramat, Tony Yengeni, Gary Kruse, Niclo Pedro and Alan Mamba.
	If I may just mention here that trials of Tony Yengeni, I am not sure about Gary Kruse's trial, the case was stopped and the other people were in fact sentenced.
	If I have omitted to mention certain names, it is due to a lack of recollection and in no way to avoid responsibility.
	I accordingly also apply for the cases which I can't remember.  If I am given sufficient information as my legal representative, Adv Cook, repeatedly requested, I would like to be able to help the Committee.
	The modus operandi of the Unit including myself, was as follows:  The Unit received information from a Safety Information System, regarding a member or a liberation movement who was in the Peninsula.
	I received direct information from my Commanding Officer, Lieutenant, now Superintendent Liebenberg, to trace this person and to arrest him.  This had to be done expeditiously to prevent any further act or acts of terror being committed.
	All those persons arrested by us, had weapons of terror in their possession, or possessed information about acts of terror or gave us information about their hangers-on or sympathisers.
	Therefore my instructions from my Commanding Officer was that I had to act urgently and to make use of unconventional questioning methods.  This included inter alia the wet bag method, whereby a wet bag is placed over the suspect's head to disorientate him and to make him think that he is being suffocated.
	Very few suspects were assaulted, using an open hand.  We did not make use of fists, because we did not want to leave any physical marks.	In this way we ensured that no evidence aliunde was collected against us.  
	All the abovementioned members of the liberation movement provided us with the necessary information within one session, which never lasted longer than half an hour.
	Ashley Forbes was subjected to two sessions.  The last case was to extract new information from him.  Peter Jacobs is the only one which was subjected to the wet bag method for longer. If I say "longer" here, I mean longer than half an hour.  After they gave us the necessary information, the suspects pointed out their hangers-on as well as weaponry.  Most of the suspects were arrested within hours after we received the information that they were in the Peninsula.
	After the weapons were pointed out to us, or the sympathisers were pointed out to us, they were detained in terms of Section 29 of Security Legislation.
	The Security Branch then received the docket and took the matter further.  The following, excluding Ashley Forbes, the next occasion which I had any contact with the suspects, was in the courts.  There the suspects, then accused, raised the defence that they were assaulted and or tortured which I denied under oath.  I then told lies regarding the assaults and the tortures on the orders of the Security Branch.
	I questioned Ashley Forbes for plus minus six months.  Apart from those two occasions where I questioned him in an unconventional way, we built up an excellent rapport and he provided me with extremely valuable information and I then gave that through to the Security hierarchy.
	In conclusion I must add that the pointing-out of weapons indicated that the suspects were terrorists, who wanted to commit acts of terror in the Peninsula.  
	According to my knowledge, only one civilian, a Black man died as a result of an act of terror by the terrorists.
	I believed bona fide that due to my expeditious and unorthodox conduct, we made a big difference in the combatting of terror".

UNKNOWN: 9(b).  Captain Benzien, was any person injured, killed or was any property damaged as a result of your acts?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: As far as I can remember nobody, except for Ashley Forbes who sustained a bloodied nose and damage to his eardrum, was injured.

UNKNOWN: 9(c)(1), the names of the victims?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: Ashley Kriel.

UNKNOWN: And 2?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: Peter Jacobs, now a member of the South African Police Service, Security Branch Cape Town.  Ashley Forbes, unknown, I don't know where he is working now.  Anwar Dramat, a member of the South African Police Service, Security Branch, Cape Town.
	Tony Yengeni, ANC MP.  Gary Kruse, Director Commanding Officer Ministerial Security S.A. Police Service, Pretoria.  Niclo Pedro, whereabouts unknown and Allan Mamba, member of the South African Police Service.

UNKNOWN: Mr Chairman, if we can turn to the next page, to page 11, 10(a).  Captain what political objectives did you want to achieve by means of your acts?

JEFFERY T BENZIEN: The protection and maintenance of the previous government and constitutional dispensation and to prevent the community losing confidence in the government as a result of intimidation and fear.
	The averting of the onslaught from the ANC/SACP alliance which was aimed at overthrowing the previous government by violent means and destroying the constitutional dispensation.
	As a member and/or supporter of the National Party, everything was done to promote the confidence of the voters in the National Party and to prevent the ANC/SACP alliance and other organisations who wanted to overthrow the government by violent means, to prevent these from enlarging their political power base.
	And further to combat the threat posed by the communist expansionism and to ensure that the Security or the South African government and Security Forces, not be overwhelmed by those elements.
	To fight for the continued existence and preservation of what I saw as a normal Western democratic lifestyle, to protect South Africa against a communist take over or alternatively to prevent the country and its people being overcome by a series of attacks, both military or political in nature for instance, international sanctions, boycotts and isolation.
	These were also seen as being aimed at taking over the country and the government.  To fight for the right of myself, my family and the general public to continue to live in South Africa in the way that our forefathers lived, with special reference to our heritage, background, culture and political lifestyle.
	And to try to preserve everything created on the South African soil mainly by Whites, to preserve this and to maintain the status quo in terms of what we in the Security Forces, saw as the normal South African lifestyle.

UNKNOWN: Page 12 (b).  What was your motivation why you regarded these acts as an act associated with an political objective?