MR SIBANYONI: What are your full names, Mr Bosch?
IZAK DANIEL BOSCH: (sworn states)
MR SIBANYONI: Sworn in, Chairperson.
EXAMINATION BY MR LAMEY: Mr Bosch, you are applying before this Committee, for amnesty for your involvement in the attempted murder and then also the conspiracy to murder Dirk Coetzee. Is it correct that there was an initial amnesty application which you submitted on the 18th of November 1996, which we can find from pages 76 to page 82 of bundle 1 before the Committee?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And that is before you obtained legal representation?
MR BOSCH: Yes, that is correct.
MR LAMEY: Now with that initial application there was an annexure which was typed, which can be found from page 83 to 88, is that correct?
MR BOSCH: Yes, that is correct.
MR LAMEY: Furthermore, after you had obtained legal representation, a further supplementary document of particulars was provided with regard to this particular incident, which we can then find from page 91 up to and including page 94, is that correct?
MR BOSCH: Yes, that is correct.
MR LAMEY: You were also a State witness in the trial of Mr de Kock, and in the bundle, in bundle 2, we have an extract of your evidence during that trial, pertaining to the death of Bheki Mlangeni and also the attempted murder of Dirk Coetzee, of which Mr de Kock was charged.
MR BOSCH: Yes, that is correct.
MR LAMEY: As far as it concerns the particulars that you provided during the de Kock trial, you would request the Committee also considers this as relevant to your application.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Chairperson, I just want to mention that on page 91, the offences and/or the acts that he is applying amnesty for, I will deal further with that in my submissions, but the intention is also here to ask for conspiracy to murder Mr Dirk Coetzee. That has not been mentioned thusfar in the supplemented papers on page 91.
Mr Bosch, you state that during 1990 you received an order from Col de Kock, what was your rank at that stage?
MR BOSCH: I received an order and I had the rank of Sergeant.
MR LAMEY: And did you have any particular training at Vlakplaas? I know the documents mention that you received technical training, demolitions training.
MR BOSCH: Yes, I underwent demolitions training as well as certain technical training, but I was largely self taught.
MR LAMEY: And according to your affidavit, you state that you received an order to manufacture a package bomb, with the objective of sending it to Dirk Coetzee.
MR BOSCH: Yes, that is correct.
MR LAMEY: And prior to this, were you at any stage involved in the tapping or the listening to tapes which were obtained by means of tapping the movements of Mr Coetzee?
MR BOSCH: We observed the movements of Mr Coetzee's wife in order to see whether or not she would make any contact with him. This was by means of surveillance and tapping.
MR LAMEY: This was before you received this particular order.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And when you received the order, were you aware of the whereabouts of Mr Coetzee?
MR BOSCH: We suspected that he was in Zambia.
MR LAMEY: Did you yourself have the capacity at Vlakplaas to give execution to this order?
MR BOSCH: No.
MR LAMEY: And when you received the order from Mr de Kock, were any particulars conveyed to you with regard to the package bomb and what specifically it was supposed to entail?
MR BOSCH: No, not at that stage. I said that I would go to the Technical Division to find out whether or not they could assist us.
MR LAMEY: And when you refer to the Technical Division, what do you refer to?
MR BOSCH: The Technical Division of the Security Police.
MR LAMEY: Did you then go there?
MR BOSCH: Yes.
MR LAMEY: Where was it situated?
MR BOSCH: In Rebecca Street, Pretoria West.
MR LAMEY: Very well. And who did you approach there?
MR BOSCH: I approached Capt Japie Kok, upon which we went to Col Waal du Toit and directed the request to him.
MR LAMEY: Can you recall whether it was Col Waal du Toit at that stage?
MR BOSCH: Yes, that is correct.
MR LAMEY: Can you recall whether or not he knew about the order at that stage? What is your recollection about that?
MR BOSCH: At that stage he didn't know, but I have just found out that Mr de Kock had already consulted with Mr du Toit.
MR LAMEY: You state that it was decided to send a cassette player to Mr Coetzee, of which the earphones would contain explosives. Can you explain how this took place? Did Mr de Kock mentioned anything to you about a portable cassette player with earphones, or when did this come under discussion?
MR BOSCH: After a few days, Japie Kok contacted me, it was either Japie or Kobus, I cannot remember precisely who, they told me to buy two walkmans.
MR LAMEY: Japie and Kobus, are they brothers?
MR BOSCH: Yes.
MR LAMEY: And their request to you was to buy two walkmans?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Did you then do so?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Where did you purchase these items?
MR BOSCH: At Philtron in du Toit Street in Pretoria.
MR LAMEY: Which funds did you use to purchase these items?
MR BOSCH: I instituted a false claim from the secret fund to obtain the money.
MR LAMEY: Was this a secret fund which was at the disposal of Vlakplaas?
MR BOSCH: Yes, at the disposal of Vlakplaas and the entire Security Force.
MR LAMEY: Now when you refer to a false claim, do you mean that the true particulars for the purpose of the acquisition were never conveyed in the claim itself?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: When you were supposed to purchase these portable cassette players or walkmans, is it correct - firstly, let me ask you, is it correct that it was the walkman type of cassette player?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Was it at that stage clear that this would be the instrument which would be used?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And then you returned both of these items to the Technical Division.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: May I just ask you, at that stage did you have any particulars pertaining to an address to which this bomb was supposed to be sent?
MR BOSCH: No, Chairperson, my purpose was to facilitate between the technical and somebody was appointed for sending the package.
MR LAMEY: Who was this?
MR BOSCH: Riaan Bellingan.
MR LAMEY: Very well. And where did the further manufacture and composition of this so-called package bomb with the portable cassette player take place?
MR BOSCH: In Rebecca Street, Pretoria West.
MR LAMEY: At the Technical Division?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And with whom did you liaise further there, to maintain contact regarding the progress?
MR BOSCH: First with Japie Kok and then Kobus Kok.
MR LAMEY: Was he later the contact person?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And at that stage did you make any enquiries regarding the progress?
MR BOSCH: Yes, I did. Every second or third day I would visit the Technical Division to see whether or not the package was ready and what the progress was regarding this instruction.
MR LAMEY: Was anything said to you at a later stage that is was ready, but that the Technical Division needed to test it first?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Did you have a particular request in this regard, to assist with the testing of it?
MR BOSCH: That is correct, I was requested to purchase a sheep's head, or at least I suggest that we test in on a sheep's head. I don't know exactly what the situation was, but when I visited the butchery I saw that the sheep's head was too expensive and that is why I purchased a pig's head.
MR LAMEY: And where would this test run take place?
MR BOSCH: At the shooting range at Vlakplaas.
MR LAMEY: And who was to attend it?
MR BOSCH: It would have been me and then Col Waal would also have been present, as well as Japie and Kobus. But I must just add that at a certain stage during the criminal trial, I wasn't really certain of who was present, whether it was Kobus or Japie, but one of them was present.
MR LAX: Sorry. Could you just repeat who was present at the testing?
MR BOSCH: Col Waal du Toit, Willie Nortje and I think it was Japie.
MR LAX: Thank you, please continue.
MR LAMEY: Thank you. May I just ask you, Willie Nortje also knew - as far as you know, he also knew about this planning.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Do you know whether he received any instruction pertaining to the execution thereof?
MR BOSCH: No.
MR LAMEY: And was this testing conducted at Vlakplaas?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And where at Vlakplaas did this take place?
MR BOSCH: The shooting range. It was about three-quarters of a kilometre away from the house, adjacent to the river next to the mountain.
MR LAMEY: Was the test successful?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Can you explain how the explosives functioned with regard to the testing, where were they situated?
MR BOSCH: It was in the headphones. The explosives were placed inside the headphones.
MR LAMEY: And how was it detonated?
MR BOSCH: With a cable.
MR LAMEY: Very well. And after the test run, you reported the success of the test to Col de Kock.
MR BOSCH: That is correct. I cannot recall whether it was on the same day or the next day, because he wasn't present at the shooting range.
MR LAX: Sorry, just that I couldn't help but notice that none of you are wearing your headphones.
MR LAMEY: Now after this test, can you recall for how long the package was ready?
MR BOSCH: About a week afterwards.
MR LAMEY: Did you then go to the Technical Division?
MR BOSCH: Yes, I went to the Technical Division, Kobus was busy wrapping it up and I assisted him in wrapping it.
MR LAMEY: Did you use gloves?
MR BOSCH: Yes, we both wore gloves.
MR LAMEY: Did you assist him with the final packaging of the package?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Do you know anything about cassettes which were to be purchased?
MR BOSCH: That is correct. Bellingan told me that I had to buy cassettes, that he liked BZN and Neil Diamond. That is at the OK Bazaars that I purchased the tapes.
MR LAMEY: There was music on these tapes, did you also give these tapes to the Technical Division?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And after the package had been wrapped and this was finalised, can you recall whether any address was placed on the wrapping when you became involved in the final wrapping of the package?
MR BOSCH: At the stage when we had finished wrapping the package, nothing had been written on it as yet. I cannot recall whether I took it with me that very same day or whether someone delivered it at the farm. I'm not certain about that, but the next thing that I can recall, I can see this clearly in my mind's eye, the package was ready, the address was on, it was standing in the office, the address had been written on in a thick black koki pen.
MR LAMEY: Did you notice what was written on the package?
MR BOSCH: No, I didn't.
MR LAMEY: Now this office that you had - you had an office at Vlakplaas?
MR BOSCH: Yes, that is correct.
MR LAMEY: Was this off limits to certain members, was it some form of a security office that you could lock?
MR BOSCH: Yes, it could be locked, but it wasn't that it was off limits to anyone. If I was in the office they were free to enter because there was equipment inside and sometimes the equipment would disappear and I would have to replace it.
MR LAMEY: Who kept the keys to this office?
MR BOSCH: Mr de Kock had a set of keys, as well as me.
MR LAMEY: And you state that at a certain stage you can recall that you saw the package in the office and at that stage the address was written on the package.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Do you know what happened to it subsequently?
MR BOSCH: I told Col de Kock that the package was ready, I think I also told Bellingan that the package was ready and that it could be posted.
MR LAMEY: Do you know whether the particulars of the address of where it was supposed to go as well as the address of the sender, was ever at your disposal at Vlakplaas, as far as you know?
MR BOSCH: It was never at my disposal, I don't know whether it was at the disposal of any of the other members, perhaps they were waiting for an address, I don't know where the address came from.
MR LAMEY: On page 92 there is a section of the affidavit which follows
"The address of Dirk Coetzee was provided by Security Head Office"
And then it reads further -
"After the package had been sent, it appeared that it was not fetched by Dirk Coetzee at the post office in Lusaka, that it had been back to the sender's address which was given as that of Bheki Mlangeni, that he was an operative for the ANC and so forth."
Is this firsthand knowledge that you stated in your affidavit, or is it not firsthand knowledge?
MR BOSCH: I listened to the tapes of the discussions which took place when the lines were tapped, so the address did not come from those tapes.
MR LAMEY: The tapes that you listened to?
MR BOSCH: Yes. Then I would have known that it came from the farm, and it didn't come from the farm either.
MR LAMEY: You state that the address of Dirk Coetzee was given by Security Head Office. Can you recall where that statement of yours emanates from?
MR BOSCH: It would have been an assumption that I made, because what I mean is that it wasn't only us who were working on this project, there were others who were also collecting intelligence to launch this project with.
MR LAMEY: Then a further section of your statement which follows from there, is this information that you heard of subsequently?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And this was after the package bomb ultimately detonated in the hands of Bheki Mlangeni?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: You state that the cassette which was placed in the cassette player, was marked "Hit Squad - Evidence". Did you anything like that? Did you put that inscription on the tapes, which read to the effect of hit squads?
MR BOSCH: No.
MR LAMEY: Is this also information which came to light subsequently?
MR BOSCH: That is correct
MR LAX: Just while you're there, who would have written that on there?
MR BOSCH: To this very day I still don't know who wrote it on the tape. These are things which I heard after the fact and I can tell you why. One day I arrived in the canteen and I saw a BZN tape lying there and it looked exactly like the one which I had purchased and then I thought, why wasn't the cassette included, or perhaps someone had bought one similar to that, but I assumed that it was my cassette or at least the one that I had purchased.
MR LAX: Just remind me, who went to buy those cassettes?
MR BOSCH: I did it myself, Sir.
MR LAX: You bought them yourself?
MR BOSCH: That's right, yes.
MR LAX: And who did you give them to?
MR BOSCH: I gave it to Technical.
MR LAX: As part of your planning because you were the link with Technical, weren't you?
MR BOSCH: That's correct, yes, Sir.
MR LAX: Did you know the tape had to be marked "Hit Squad - Evidence"?
MR BOSCH: No, our original planning was for the two music cassettes to go in, that's all. The "Hit Squad Evidence", that was a fact that came later on, after the parcel was manufactured and in our possession. So somebody must have opened that thing again and put that in. That's my conclusion that I can make. I can't say it is a fact, but I think so.
MR LAX: Well let me ask you this. You were there when it was sealed.
MR BOSCH: That's correct, at Rebecca Street.
MR LAX: And there were two tapes there.
MR BOSCH: That's correct.
MR LAX: One was a Neil Diamond tape.
MR BOSCH: And one BZN.
MR LAX: And one was a BZN tape.
MR BOSCH: That's correct, ja.
MR LAX: And you don't know how this other tape got in there.
MR BOSCH: No.
MR LAX: The other thing, just while we're on this issue, you said that the writing on the thing was in koki pen.
MR BOSCH: If my recollection is correct, I recall that it was a thick black koki pen which had been used to write on that paper.
MR LAX: We've already heard evidence though that the writing on the parcel was mostly a computer print-out.
MR BOSCH: No, I don't know, I can recall black.
MR LAX: The addresses and so on. And that only a little bit of it was in koki pen.
MR BOSCH: I can remember because I did not take it out of the packet, because I didn't want my fingerprints to go on it. I just looked into the thing and I saw there was writing on the packet.
MR LAX: Yes. But you heard the evidence earlier.
MR BOSCH: Yes, I did, Sir.
MR LAX: Yes. We're talking about two different parcels here it seems.
MR BOSCH: No, one parcel, Sir.
MR LAX: We're talking about two different coverings.
MR BOSCH: That's a possibility, that I cannot deny.
MR LAMEY: But did you note what was written in black koki pen?
MR BOSCH: I didn't read it, I simply looked into the bag and left it at that.
MR LAMEY: Was the package in another bag?
MR BOSCH: Yes, it was in a white plastic bag.
MR LAMEY: Mr Bosch, then furthermore you stated on page 93 to 94 what according to you the political objective was.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And then with regard to the order or approval, you stated that you received the order from Col Eugene de Kock.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: May I just ask you this. Do you have any direct evidence indicating that this order came from head office?
MR BOSCH: No, I just assumed that if Col de Kock gave me the order, he received it from head office.
MR LAMEY: And did Col de Kock as far as you know, have daily liaison with head office?
MR BOSCH: Yes, he would have gone to Sanhedrin every day if he was in the area.
MR LAMEY: Did you believe subjectively that such type of an order would have been regularly cleared with head office?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Thank you, Chairperson, as far as I recall - Just one further aspect, Mr Bosch, before I finish off. Did you receive any additional remuneration with the exception of your regular salary, for your share in this incident?
MR BOSCH: No.
MR LAMEY: In the initial application, in the hand-written section on page 18, mention is made of bonus and cash, is that a general statement that you made, but which is not of application to this particular matter?
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: And the incidents for which you have applied, during which such additional remuneration was paid out, you have stated as such in your supplementary evidence.
MR BOSCH: That is correct.
MR LAMEY: Thank you, Chairperson, that is the evidence-in-chief.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR LAMEY
CHAIRPERSON: What time tomorrow morning, gentlemen? Nine thirty. Very well, we will now adjourn till nine thirty tomorrow morning.
MS LOCKHAT: All rise.
COMMITTEE ADJOURNS
