Special Report Transcript Episode 5, Section 6, Time 22:23

Boy Diale and Christopher Makgale are Bafokeng. In 1990 they killed the man they saw as a Bophuthatswana puppet: 83 year old Glad Mokgatle. Diale is serving a 12 year jail sentence and Makgale 15 years for the murder. They want to be released from prison and have asked for amnesty. Their amnesty hearing took place at the Bafokeng civic centre, the symbol of Bafokeng power and pride and it is the battle for keys to this building that led to the murder of Glad Mokgatle. // We said to ourselves, we are going to search for the keys. The keys to our offices. Those keys do not belong to the Bophuthatswana government; they belong to the Bafokeng tribe. We decided to kidnap Mister Glad Mokgatle. The decision was to keep him at a place where he would not be seen by anyone, and we’d interrogate him to ask him questions about the keys. // On our arrival we knocked and we found that … had a girl friend, and then we asked her ‘where is Mister Glad Mokgatle?’ // They said they wanted Glad, I didn’t realise they were coming with aggression. I then said to them how come you are looking for Glad here? Why don’t you go and look for him at his house? They said we are not here to play. I said, you are coming with war. // Mister Mokgatle came from the bedroom and he had a panga in his hands. It was sharpened on both sides. If I have to give the measurement it would be the size of my hand. Few of us went into the house, and the others were remaining outside. // He went back into the bedroom. He took cover under the bed. Then those people entered the bedroom as well. They took him out from under the bed and held him by the hands and feet. They went away with him. // And when I entered the house, he had already been grabbed by the rest of the men and they took him into the kombi. We drove into the veld, and it happened that they attacked him. I must say I was one of those people that attacked him, because I was already emotional. Because he didn’t want to listen to our issue, we wanted the keys. Most unfortunately we lost our temper; we hit him until he died. I kicked him, and I hit him with my fists and I strangled his neck. That’s the part I took in the killing. // I was really angry because there was never such a decision to assault him. When we drove off I had a look at Mister Mokgatle, and I could see that he was still alive. I took the sibyl from him and I chopped him, I chopped him personally. I chopped him because I realised that we were heading for prison. I wanted to sweep away the evidence. I didn’t want anybody to know or to have any light that Mister Mokgatle was here. // Mokgatle was left at that spot where he was attacked.

Notes: Sketch: Glad Mokgatle; TRC testimony: Christopher Makgale; TRC testimony: Boy Diale; Maria Sedumedi (Friend) interviewed; TRC testimony: Boy Diale; Maria Sedumedi; TRC testimony: Boy Diale; Christopher Makgale; Boy Diale

References: there are no references for this transcript