Special Report Transcript Episode 80, Section 2, Time 01:34

March 3rd, 1986. A shootout at a Gugulethu crossroads leaves seven dead. Police alleged that the young men killed that morning were trained cadres of an ANC cell planning to attack a staff bus which regularly crossed this intersection. Finding themselves under attack, the police said, they were forced to defend themselves with lethal results. The families of the victims insisted that their loved ones had walked into an ambush. More than a decade later, after two inquests and a trial, crucial questions remained. Were the Gugulethu Seven set up for slaughter or were they killed in the crossfire of a bungled arrest? In November 1996 nine Cape security policemen were subpoenaed to appear at a special event hearing of the TRC inquiring into the deaths of the Gugulethu Seven. Tension and emotions ran high amid dramatic and revealing testimony. For the first time police told the Truth Commission that the cell of alleged ANC operatives had been infiltrated by Vlakplaas askaris and furthermore, Vlakplaas operatives had been brought down to the Cape to help local security police improve their poor record on intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism. One year later, in November 1997, these two former Vlakplaas men Riaan Bellingan and Thapelo Mbelo appeared before the Amnesty Committee in Cape Town. The Committee was presented with conflicting versions of that day’s tragic events, versions which once again revolved around a central question: was it an ambush or a bungled arrest?

Notes: Aftermath of shootout; ‘TRC site visit: November 1997’; Gugulethu Seven Special Hearing, Woman breaks down