Human Rights Violation Hearings — Moutse — 1996-12-04

MR MALAN: Mr Mahlangu, let me just make clear to the audience that you did tender to come and speak at the hearings, that we from our part did issue a subpoena at the same time so in terms of your legal position you are entitled to legal representation and I think it was mentioned to you.  I want to make sure about that.

MR MAHLANGU: That is correct.

MR MALAN: And you are also entitled of course if questions are put to you that are of an incriminating nature you may decide not to answer.  We can decide whether we would want you to answer and we can get in some legal entanglement in terms of forcing you but if at any stage you feel that you would be incriminating yourself we can talk about continuing in another situation.  I am not saying you would need it but I am just putting the legal position.  I want to make sure that you by choice do not have legal representation here.

MR MAHLANGU: That is so, Mr Chairperson.  Thank you.

MR MALAN: Then Mr Mahlangu could I further, before you commence, ask you whether you would be prepared as far as possible to be as open as possible.  You know that you have been implicated a number of times while you were sitting here, by other witnesses, either directly or by inference through what they heard from other people.  I am not going to put all the statements to you.  In each and every case
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where a perpetrator is alleged, in terms of the act before we can make a finding we have to put to such alleged perpetrator all the facts if a finding that we would be making would have a negative inference on the individual mentioned.  So in due time you will get an opportunity to respond to quite a number of statements and we will at that stage be giving you whatever other information we may have available to you to respond to.  This by definition goes for everybody who is implicated.  We are hearing the evidence today but we may not make a finding unless we have given the alleged perpetrator an opportunity to respond.  So that will be the procedure.  May I lastly say, and I have no reason to doubt that you will take a different approach, but the exercise is also to get to reconciliation.   Therefore we have the amnesty procedures.  To the best of my knowledge you have not applied for amnesty, you may be considering it.  It is none of my business at the moment but what is important is that we get the fullest possible picture, that people accept responsibility for what they did and that their names be cleared for what they did not.  It is against that background that I will appreciate it if you could deal with two matters important to us.  The one is the formation of the Mbcoto.  According to research and information we have you were very closely involved with the original formation, you might even have been involved with the drawing up of the constitution.  If you could give us information on that state of affairs, maybe a little bit of the history of the Mbcoto and the second issue that I want you to deal with is especially during the time of your premiership.  The second drive for independence.  If you can relate some of the information to us that was part of your
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experience at the time.  And for the rest you can start your own way and we would be happy to listen to you and then put questions at the end.  Thank you very much.