/(1 fli0 ~ B Independent Boord of Inquiry Into Informal Repression
Phone 1011 J .03·325617 f l~ (011) 403·1366 I B I I R REPORT MAY 1990
1. The Harms Commission.
In London, former Police captain Dirk Coetzee • reiterated his allegations of a Hit Squad operating within the ranks of the South African Police and
testified about his involvement in various incidents,
including the murder of lawyer Griffiths Mxenge, the
murder of two black former c olleagues who had "turned" and were suspected of wanting to return to the A N C,
the theft of a trade union Kombi, and his knowledge of the death of Sizwe Kondile, an activist who was
detained by the police in Jeffrey's Bay and who later
disappeared. His evidence was substantially
• corroborated by his former colleague, David
Tshikalange. The Harms commission will hear further
evidence on the alleged police Hit Squad this month in
Pretoria.
50 0' A'Ct.llO'r)Or(" ,,~ )' /vI()'lQS &J1heIP. ... Ms lXh (:rdmefs '") ~Ior\k l"'oIkCroO . .'" PI' I fJc.~,.,. • AI(Y fr,.- ~ '/.IJ>: :.x ' 8' 1'1 Tn "lor :iheCnO ~ IIo1f F\.)!Af rOil ~ [IC t.'oJIQb Br Jud. Ac'lr;;'l'se lIIct'n - 2 - More evidence on the SAD F's Civil Cooperation Bureau (C C 8) has come to light in the Harms commission and in the Press. A former Regional Director of the C C B, Pieter Bates, told the Afrikaans weekly Vrye Weekblad that he had been in charge of various external • operations of the C C B, inter alia a project to contaminate the drinking water at Dobra, a refugee camp in Namibia, before last year's elections in the territory in order to disrupt swapo. Bates also gave evidence at the Harms Commission, and he told the Commission of a plan to poison Durban lawyer K E Mlaba by poisoning his razor blades . • The Harms Commission also heard that Ferdie Barnard, who was held under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act last year, had told Brigadier Floris Mostert that poison had been applied to the Rev Frank Chikane's toilet seat. Rev Chikane was poisoned last year, but it was thought that the poison had been applied to his clothing. Barnard has however denied making such a statement to Brigadier Mostert. - 3 - More than a hundred names of people who had been monitored by the C C a, appear in files of Regions 6 and 9 of the C C B that have been confiscated by the investigating officer. Most of the names are of people belonging to legitimate organisations such as the End • conscription Campaign, the Five Freedoms Forum, The Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa and others. Among the names mentioned, are those of Dr David Webster, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen outside his home on the 1st May last year; Dominique Sauchon and Paula Hathorn of the E C C; Kate Turner, a Black Sash advice office worker in Port Elizabeth; Sheena Duncan of the Black Sash; Dr Alex Boraine, co-director of Idasa; and Louis Bredenkamp of Idasa in • Pretoria. -4 - A diary of "Christo Brits" (a false name) revealed that Regions 6 and 8 of the C C B had been involved in projects in Namibia in June 1989. An entry on the 28th April 1989 reads: "Get ammo." Three days after this entry, on the 1st May 1989, Dr Webster was shot, • An entry on the 29th August 1989 reads: "Get limpet", Two days later, on the 31st August, a limpet mine exploded at the Early Learning Centre in Athlone, Cape Town. C C B member Lt. Abraham (Slang) van Zyl admitted that the C C B was responsible for this incident. The top half of the page for the 31st August 1989 was removed from Brits's diary . • According to Brits, C C B member Chappie Maree monitored the Natal Indian Congress. Maree's whereabouts are still unknown. - 5 - Col. Joe Verster, the Managing Director of the C C B, testified before the Commission in disguise and said that the C C B was a victim of the new dispensation in South Africa . According to him, C C B members were unsure what to do when organisations like the A N C and • PAC were unbanned. Verster admitted in his evidence that the C C B had its own bank accounts overseas and that arms were obtained from foreign countries. Accord ing to Verster, the C C B still operates in an "administrative" capacity. willie van Deventer, an external operator of the C C B until September 1987, told the Vrye Weekblad (4/5/ 90) • that the C C B was responsible for the murders of Dr Fabian Ribeiro and his wife Florence in Mamelodi on 1/12/1986. The Ribeiro couple was shot at their home in Mamelodi outside Pretoria. According to Van Deventer, the C C B was also responsible for the car bomb death of Piet Ntuli, former Minister of Internal Affairs of Kwa Ndebele, in 1986. He also alleged that the SAD F helped to train Inkatha vigilantes in Natal. However, when Van Deventer was called to testify at the Harms Commission, he refused to answer any questions about Ribeiro and Ntuli because it might incriminate him. - 6 - In Namibia, the Attorney General had to withdraw charges against Donald Acheson, who had been charged with the murder of Swapo activist and lawyer Anton Lubowski, after the key witnesses failed to give evidence. The witnesses, all members of the • C C B in South Africa, were not extradited by the South African Government. The South African Government explained that the Namibian Government had not followed the correct procedure for extradition. 2. The Hiemstra Commission. In the Hiemstra Commission of Inquiry into the • security department of the Johannesburg city Council, the security department was shown to have links with Military Intelligence, which is linked to the C C B. Brigadier Jan Visser, former Security Director of the Council, also admitted to links between the Council, the South African Defence Force, the Security Branch of the South African Police and even the National Intelligence service. The Commission also heard that Major Frik Barnard, who was in charge of the spy network, was a friend of Staal Burger, the Regional Director of the C C B in Johannesburg. - 7 - Hannes Gouws, a former spy handler of the City Council, named ex- colleague Paul de Swardt as the assassin of Dr David Webster. De Swardt denied the allegation . • Gouws also testified that the security Department worked in close cooperation with the SAD F under Major Johan Loubscher of Witwatersrand Command. Gouws admitted to, inter alia, intimidating youths in Soweto; setting fire to a house in the Yeoville suburb of Johannesburg; beating up an actor appearing in an anti war play; infiltrating Union meetings; and tear gassing a shop steward of the Transport and General Workers' Union. Evidence has also been led of members • of the security Department infiltrating organisations like the Five Freedoms Forum, the End Conscription Campaign, the Black Sash, Lawyers for Human Rights and the South African Council of Churches. - 8 - Tony Naude, a trainee lawyer who was used as a "source " (spy) by the Security Department, admitted that he gathered information for the Department as well as the Security branch of the South African Police . Naude had • befriended Dr David Webster and went jogging with him . Spy handler Martin Hennig refused to reply to questions on his links with Military Intelligence before the Hiemstra Commission. Mr Justice Hiemstra ruled that Hennig was contravening the Commissions Act by refusing to answer . Mr Hiemstra ruled that the Defence Act cannot be used to shield the Military from inquiry and he asked the Bar Council to take note of the actions o f • Advocate Hans Bornman who instructed Hennig not to divulge information on his military associations. In the Harms Commission, C C B members have been allowed to appear in disguise and to refuse to divulge their names (except to the Chairman of the Commission). They have also refuse to answer questions that might incriminate them. Newspapers have also been barred from printing photographs of C C B Managing Director Col Joe Verster. - 9 - 3. The Goldstone Commission. The Goldstone Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of people who were killed after the police opened fire on a group of marchers at the Sebokeng township on the • East Rand on the 26th March, also started hearing evidence. The Commission heard that about 50 000 people were marching on their way to the town of Vereeniging when they were stopped by the South African Police. As to when and why the Police opened fire and the number of deaths, the evidence is contradictary. The Vaal Council of Churches claims that seventeen people were killed, while the Seboke ng hospital has fourteen deaths on record. Mr George • 8izos, S c, is appearing for the families of twelve deceased. He informed the Commission that fifty-seven people were injured according to his information. - 10 - 4 . Bantustans. In Pretoria, the Parsons Commission of Inquiry into unrest in Kwa Ndebele in 1986 heard evidence that Brigadier Hertzog Lerm, then Commissioner of Police of • Kwa Ndebele, had told Kwa Ndebele detectives to compile statements to the advantage of members of the Kwa Ndebele Government. Lt Col Fritz Klee testified tha t it had been clear to him that factions in the Kwa Ndebe l e Government were involved in the intimidation of residents, and acts of murder and arson. Brigadier Lerm had prevented the guilty parties from being prosecuted • • In Kwa Zulu, where internecine violence continues unabated, a Kwa Zulu police constable has alleged in an affidavit that Kwa Zulu policemen and "turned" AN e members, helped Inkatha in attacking houses belonging to U 0 F members in the region. These people were allegedly trained at Arnatikulu, an Inkatha training camp. - 11 - 5 . Growth QI the Rightwing. In the face of political changes inside South Africa, Rightwing groupings seem to be enjoying unprecedented growth. On the 27th May, a Conservative Party Rally at the Voortrekker Monument outside Pretoria attracted a • crowd estimated to be between 30 000 and 130 000 strong. Although only flags of the Republic of South Africa and the old Boer Republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State were officially allowed, A W B uniforms and flags were prominently displayed. c P leader Andries Treunicht told the crowd that "The third Freedom Struggle has begun". The previous day, a bomb exploded at Melrose House in • Pretoria, site of the signing of the Peace Treaty between warring Boer and English armies in 1902, causing extensive damage . Piet Rudolph, a leading figure in the Boere Separatist Movement, accepted responsibility for the blast in a telephone call to a daily newspaper. Rudolph is currently on the run from the police after an arms theft from the South African Airforce Headquarters in Pretoria. - 12 - In the telephone call, Rudolph also accepted responsibility for the arms theft and he threatened t o kill ten blacks for every white person who was killed in the tension-ridden Welkom area. A statement issued to another newspaper in the name of the wit Wolwe • threatened to kill National Party me mbers of Parliament. It was reported that Blanke Bevrydings Seweging (8 B B) leader Professor Johan Schabort has claimed that the B B B has merged with the Conservative Party . The C P denied the claim. The B B B was banned until the 2nd February this year, but was unbanned along wi th • the A N C, PAC and other political movements . Koos van der Merwe, C P member of Parliament, said in an interview that the C P "understands" that whites would resort to violence if black majority rule were t o become a reality. Robert von Tonder, leader of the Boerestaat Party, told Vrye Weekblad in an interview that whites are ready t o take up arms and that they can rely on strong support i n the South African Police and the South African Defence Force. - 13 - outside the Western Transvaal town of Ventersdorp, the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweeging gave members of the Press a display of arms by their Commandoes in • training . In the Free state gold mining town of Welkom, racial tension is at a peak. After members of the A W B and a vigilante movement called Blanke Veiligheid (White security) had allegedly imposed a self-styled curfew in the town and indiscriminately attacked blacks found on the streets, community leaders in the black township called for a consumer boycott. The tension reached crisis proportions when two white miners were • killed by black mine workers after a confrontation at the mine. Twelve mine workers were injured by rubber bullets used by mine security personel. - 14 - 6 . Other Incidents. 1. On a road leading to the black township Mamelodi outside Pretoria, two blacks were killed and one wounded, allegedly by three white men who asked • them if they knew the wit Wolve. The black men were allegedly forced off the road by the white men who jumped out, wielding guns, threatened them and then shot them. Simon Koba (28) and Petrus Mbokena (30) were killed and saville Lekgoate was wounded. Lekgoate hid away until the white men had disappeared and he was later taken up in hospital. Two white men, Peter Groenawald (29), a private detective and Brian Chester Brown • (27), a student, have appeared in court in connection with the murders. 2 • The alleged C C Band S A P death squads and A N C limpet mine explosions in South African townships in 1989 have been included in the U S State Department's annual report on Global Terrorism for 1989. - 15 - 3 . A number of journalists covering the Hiemstra Commission of Inquiry into the Johannesburg City council Security Department have been harrassed. A photographer of the Star, Helen Grange, found that the tyres of her car had been deflated. • An S ABC reporter was severely assaulted, and the cars of three journalists working for the Vrye Weekblad have been vandalised. 4. A witbank Catholic priest has claimed that he is being harrassed by the security Police. Father Chico Madeiras alleges that the Security Police are trying to drive him out of Kwa Guqu • township. Father Madeiras receives midnight death threats over the phone and he alleges that the same method was used previously to drive two white priests out of the township. He claims that two members of the Witbank security Police had told him last year that "anything can happen to you if you stay in this township". Ten days later he was terrorised in the Parish home by two black men with knives who had used skeleton keys to enter the home. The Witbank Police deny the allegations. - 16 - 5 . The offices of the Johannesburg Branch of Lawyers for Human Rights were broken into and ransacked on the 7th May 1990 . • 6. A steel-tipped arrow was fired at the Alberton home of Dr Etienne Le Raux, a D P candidate in the election, on the 7th May 1990. Attached to the arrow was a note bearing the words "Wit Wolf, wit Weerstand, wit Woede." (White Wolf, White Resistance, White Fury) . 7 . On the 13th May 1990, Ismail Mogatle was shot in • the leg while he was walking home about 10 kilometers outside Ventersdorp, allegedly by white men driving a yellow Kombi with a red flag on it . - 17 - 8 . In Kroonstad, two school children were shot dead by the Police, allegedly in a "Trojan horse" type incident. According to residents , policemen hid under a canvas sheet on the back of a delivery truck and emerged to fire at about 200 • demonstrating youths. 9 . A bomb exploded at the Rustenburg offices of the Food and Allied Workers' Union on the 25th May. A man who identified himself as a Lieutenant in the Orde Boervolk - a rightwing grouping with close links to Piet Rudolph - telephoned a morning newspaper and claimed responsibility for the • blast. FOR THE BOARD Collection Number: AG2543 INDEPENDENT BOARD OF INQUIRY (IBI) Records 1989-1996 PUBLISHER: Publisher:- Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand Location:- Johannesburg ©2012 LEGAL NOTICES: Copyright Notice: All materials on the Historical Papers website are protected by South African copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise published in any format, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. 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