Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... spoken with the investigating officers in this matter, with the police, and what has been their response?

WITNESS:   There's nobody who ever came to me besides me reading stories from the newspapers and the radios as to what happened to Reggie.  Because if I remember very well I read in a newspaper on the 19th of February 1995 where Daluxolo said he was one of the people who were involved in the planning of this assassination.  Then on the 27th October, on the day that he died, I saw a newspaper article that Sibusiso Mbele was also present when this plan was being made, as well as how he was going to be killed.  Up til now nobody has been arrested.

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... Daluxolo do you mean Daluxolo Luthuli?

WITNESS:   Yes, it is Daluxolo Luthuli, yes.

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... a witness for the State in the hit squad.

WITNESS:   Yes, I am referring to him.

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... the police are no closer to finding or discovering who the assassins of your husband were.

WITNESS:   To tell the honest truth nobody has ever come to me to update me and tell me as to how far their investigation has gone except for yesterday, because yesterday before I came here I wanted to investigate as to what was  happening.  Then the information I got was that

MR LYSTER: Mr Scotsman, who is the detective - one thing I want to had is that Khawula Ngwenya, as well as Langalethu - before Khawula Ngwenya - before the meeting started Reggie shook my husband's hand (sic), and I think he was indicating that this is the one who should be killed.

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... consolation you said that.

WITNESS:   Khawula Ngwenya Mkhize is the one who held Reggie's hand.

MR LYSTER: Mrs Hadebe, I think what I'd like to do now is to ask Mr John Jefrey, who's on the stage with you, to relate his account of what occurred, and thereafter I will - once you have both given your evidence I will let my fellow Commissioners and Committee Members ask questions from both you and Mr Jefrey.

MR LYSTER: JOHN JEFREY

MR LYSTER: Mr Jefrey, you were - you attended the meeting with Reggie Hadebe on that day in October 1992, and you were in the car with him when the vehicle was ambushed, is that correct?

WITNESS:   That's correct.

MR LYSTER: Could you please, by way of background, tell us what meeting was taking place and what your intention was in going to that meeting with Mr Hadebe, just to give some background, and thereafter take up the story from the meeting and the incident that happened on the way back.

WITNESS:   The meeting was a peace meeting which was convened by the Regional Peace Committee.  It had been set up, as far as I understand, some weeks before.  I was attending as a representative of the ANC on the Regional Peace Committee, and Reggie was attending as a senior ANC person and also somebody who was from the Ixopo area and had an interest in the resolution of the conflict in that area.  The meeting was meant to be attended by local ANC people, people from the IFP and the police.

MR LYSTER: Sorry, could I just interrupt you there.  If there are people in the audience who are not able to follow English please can you swap earphones with an English-speaking person next to you so that you can understand the evidence that is being given by Mr Jefrey.  Sorry, could you just wait a minute while that takes place, and then I'll indicate that you can go on with your evidence.  (Pause)  So, sorry, you were saying it was a meeting organised by the Regional Peace Committee, and was meant to have been attended by ANC representatives, representatives from Inkatha, and the police, is that correct?

WITNESS:   That's correct.  Reggie and I had made arrangements to travel together.  On the morning of the 27th of October I picked Reggie up at the ANC regional offices in town.  Shaiks Cele, who was also a member of the Regional Executive Committee accompanied us to the meeting.  From what I recall he hadn't been that keen on attending, but Reggie had basically pushed him to attend.

MR LYSTER: Sorry to interrupt you, Mr Jefrey, I neglected at the beginning to ask you just to tell us what your position was then and what your present position is.

WITNESS:  My position then was I was the deputy secretary of the Natal Midlands region.  My position now is I'm a member of the Provincial Legislature in KwaZulu-Natal.

MR LYSTER: Thank you.  I apologise for the interruption.