TRC Final Report

Volume 6

Section 3

Chapter 2

Subsection 23

K WAZULU AND NATAL AMNESTY APPLICATIONS 1990–1994

Introduction and findings

214. KwaZulu and Natal has been selected as a case study for a number of reasons. First, the violence in KwaZulu was more extreme and widespread than in any other part of the country. Second, the conflict that had begun between the UDF, the unions and Inkatha in the 1980s had, by the 1990s, spread far beyond the urban townships into the rural villages, homesteads and kraals of the region. Third, Inkatha was virtually synonymous with the KwaZulu government and, emerging in the 1990s as the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), opposed the positions taken by the ANC throughout the negotiations process. Hence the hostilities continued unabated throughout the early 1990s.

215. The ANC was also an active participant in the conflict, as reflected in the amnesty applications relating to this region. The scale of the violence drew in ANC members at every level: some as active participants in the conflict, some as refugees, others as peacemakers. At a local level, where conflicts erupted in urban townships and rural kraals and villages scattered across the remote hills of the region, there was no possibility of remaining outside the fray. For many, fight or flight became the only options. Self-defence units, made up primarily of young local men, mushroomed in these areas.

Statistics

216. One hundred ANC-linked persons applied for amnesty in respect of seventy-two incidents consisting of 200 separate acts that took place in the KwaZulu and Natal areas in the 1990 to 1994 period. They include fifty civilian ANC members or supporters, twenty MK operatives (including three senior ANC regional leaders) and thirty SDU members. Applications were made primarily by people who were in custody or facing prosecution.

217. The 200 acts included:

218. Of these one hundred applications, ninety-three involved hearable matters involving gross human rights violations, while seven were dealt with administratively in chambers. These seven non-hearables involved primarily the illegal possession of arms and ammunition, and were all granted. Of the applications that involved hearings, sixty-eight were granted. Twenty-two were refused. A further three were partially granted and partially refused.

Structures of the ANC and the nature of the conflicts

2 1 9 . Evidence from applicants suggests that ANC branch structures in KwaZulu/Natal, as elsewhere, played a mixed role regarding the activities of the SDUs. Branches could be and were used to launch attacks in the name of the ANC, but many SDUs appear to have had little or no relationship with their local branch, if indeed t here was one. SDUs also emerged in areas where no ANC branches existed.

220. Not one amnesty applicant said that s/he had received authorisation from the ANC regional leadership for these attacks. Several, however, claimed authorisation by their ANC branch or local ANC leader. Regional leadership played a role in the provision of weapons and the training of SDUs.

221. In one of the most direct cases of ANC authorisation at branch level, SDU member Khetha Mpilo Khuzwayo [AM6175/97; AC/2000/004] was granted amnesty for the assassination of Mr Eliakim Makhosi Mthembu and the attempted killing of Mr Amos Sibiya at Mankwanyaneni Reserve, Empangeni, on 3 May 1994. The attack took place between the elections of 27 April and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President on 10 May.

222. Mr Khuzwayo and five other SDU members set themselves up beside a road and opened fire on Mthembu’s vehicle as he drove by. Mr Sibiya, a passenger, managed to escape. At the Johannesburg hearing on 15 November 1999, Mr Khuzwayo told the Amnesty Committee that he had been given a hit list by his ANC branch chairperson.

MR KHUZWAYO: After the training, I received a list of people who were supposed to be killed because they were destabilising the ANC campaign which was geared towards the 1994 election. I was informed that by the time the elections come, these people should have been removed . MS LOONAT: Who gave you this list? MR KHUZWAYO: From Shadrack, the chairperson of the ANC at the time. MS LOONAT: Before we proceed with this list, did you always receive instructions only from Shadrack or from other people to commit these attacks on the IFP members? MR KHUZWAYO: Shadrack, as the chairperson of the area, was the one responsible for giving reports to the ANC office and he would also give us feedback on the information he had received from the ANC office. MS LOONAT: How did you get the information from Shadrack? Was it given personally, or did you have rallies, or how was it communicated to you? MR KHUZWAYO: I was not alone, but everyone who had been trained internally received a list of people who should be targeted and killed.

223. Historical fiefdoms and allegiances in KwaZulu and Natal made it impossible for residents to remain neutral. People’s identities were tied to where they lived, to their families, their clans and to local authority figures such as indunas¹⁶⁰ and chiefs.

224. This confluence of place and political allegiance could have fatal consequences, as simply being found or seen in the wrong area could result in death. On 28 September 1991, Ms Thembi Victoria Mzquso Mthembu, an ANC supporter, was apparently seen in the HRH compound hostel in Greytown. Because the compound was an IFP bastion, she was assaulted and stabbed to death by ANC members who suspected her of collaboration with the IFP. Three ANC supporters were granted amnesty for the killing [AC/2000/017].

225. The conflict also threw up old rivalries. In some cases, the roots of conflict were found in clashes between extended families. Traditional structures featured prominently in incidents described by amnesty applicants. While chiefs, indunas and other such traditional structures were more common to the IFP, in some cases chiefs were ANC supporters, or different members of a chief’s family supported diff e rent parties.