self-defence units (SDUs)

... the amnesty process , the Commission needed to confirm the following: a Was the ANC responsible for the creation and arming of the self-defence units ? b Was the Commission’s finding that there was not an adequate command structure correct? c Whilst acknowledging the state’s role in ...

... that they might have shot at the marchers as they were running away. All eleven applicants were granted amnesty [AC/2000/142]. SELF-DEFENCE UNITS 1990–1994 Background to self-defence units 155. In the period 1990 to 1994, self-defence units (SDUs) emerged in many urban townships in ...

... did little to change the situation. 230 The Peace Accord made provision for the establishment of “voluntary associations or self-protection units in any neighbourhood to prevent crime and to prevent any invasion of the lawful rights of such communities” (clause 3.7.1). It stated ...

Self-defence units (SDUs) 365 Substantial evidence placed before the Commission points to the fact that Mr Sifiso Nkabinde, the person responsible for the establishment of one of the largest self-defence units in the country, was recruited by the SAP Security Branch in 1988 as a registered ...

... defend ourselves with any means at our disposal’. The Conference resolved ‘to mandate the NEC to take active steps to create people’s defence units as a matter of extreme urgency for the defence of our people.’1 4 8 1 2 7 . The SDUs were conceived as tightly structured paramilitary units ...

the negotiation process and/or to undermine the ANC’s efforts to consolidate its political presence. These attacks were believed to involve covert units of the security forces acting in concert with individuals or groupings, such as the IFP and certain right-wing paramilitary organisations. 4. ...

Report has confirmed that the Commission was correct in making the findings that it did. GROSS VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTED BY SELF-DEFENCE UNITS 75. In its Final Report, the Commission made the following finding against the ANC in respect of the commission of gross human rights ...

■ STRUCTURES IN THE INVESTIGATION UNIT Regional units 71 Because the Commission required only a relatively low level of corroboration of the violations alleged in the statements before it, the Investigation Unit structured the regional units in a way that would ensure that they had the ...

... on the SADF headquarters base at Katimo Mulilo in the eastern Caprivi in which ten servicemen were killed. The SADF responded by sending combat units 250 kilometres inside Zambia to attack SWAPO camps. 160 During the SADF’s Operations Saffran and Rekstok in 1979, SWAPO bases in Western ...

... and the Department of Justice witness protection programme. In addition, security officers were encouraged to maintain contact with their former units and dip into their informer networks. 14 At the outset, requests for protection came from three sources: first, victims who were being ...

... former sabotage squad member, Major Theunis ‘Rooi Rus’ Swanepoel. The role of the camp was to monitor SWAPO activity. Sixteen months later, SAP units were deployed to the area in response to SWAPO’s decision to move its trained cadres into South West Africa. On 26 August 1966, SAP forces ...

... while trying to put out the fire. Isaac Mqayana was killed at his mother’s funeral a few days later [KZN/JRW/104/BL]. ANC self-defence units 183 ANC SDUs emerged in various townships around the Orange Free State in the early 1990s. The Commission heard that, while these units were ...

... given by MK leadership for the training of SDUs in the 1990s. Regarding the setting up of SDUs, the ANC told the Commission: Various clandestine units for the training and organisation of the various SDUs were set up, and some cadres were tasked to provide weaponry where possible … Selected ...

... we lived at the time was that we had no alternative … The instruction that I gave was that he [MH Gushu] should form and arm the self-defence units. It was therefore up to him to take the necessary steps as to how the self-defence units should be armed and that’s what decision he took: ...

how to categorise members of a variety of more or less organised armed groupings. These ranged from relatively well to poorly organised self-defence units (SDUs), self-protection units (SPUs) and vigilante groupings, under varying degrees of control by the ANC, the IFP, the state or other ...

... Some young people turned their attention to the defence of their communities6, redirecting their energies into the formation of self-defence units that were, in their view, justified by vigilante attacks. 34 Vigilantism was characterised by sudden attacks by an enemy who was frequently a ...

... by both the Commission and the D’Oliviera unit. 94 Communication channels were also established with other attorneys-general and regional units were encouraged to establish contact with offices in their areas. Essentially, these channels were established to enable regional units to ...

... US support (but withdraws the following year). The Special Task Force is formed in January, followed by the setting up of eighteen full-time Riot Units countrywide. (The units are formed with a strong emphasis on the use of counter-insurgency techniques and were later responsible for the ...

reported violations. During this period, members of the ANC were also identified as perpetrators of gross violations. The arming of ANC self-defence units (SDUs) increased levels of violence as these units became involved in local conflicts, sometimes abusing their power. Right-wing ...

... Accord and a similar earlier negotiated agreement with Swaziland, together with the considerable success of the Security Branch’s anti-terrorist units, held out the promise that MK’s supply and infiltration routes had been severely compromised if not totally cut off. The Tricameral system, ...