A V ID EO rec o rd in g Huysteen told the inquest,showing SADF soldiers The video footage alsoshooting into a crowd o( sh0wed police finding apeople who apparently home-made bomb in thew a n t e d to a t t a c k 0f ,he car while In-S e b o k e n g Hostel dwellers k a tha Y outh L eaguewas viewed yesterday at ieader Mr Themba Khozaan inquest in Vereeniging watched,into the deaths of 42 A n o t h e r p o l i c e ipeople k illed in the cameraman. Warrant Of-township in September. j-,cer piet Nienaber, also

The video was pre- submitted video record-sented as evidence by po- jngS t0 the inquest, but hislice cameraman Constable footage did not show theMarius van Huysteen, SADF shooting because,;who, while filming the hc said, his camera bat-1shooting was heard to say jery had run flat at theon the recording: “ The tjmeSADF members are start- A nother policem an,ing to act. they are shoot- Coionet Frederick vaning with sharp point am- 0f the Vereenig-munition.” _ jng police, said in a state-'.

A volley of rapid fire mcn( he made sh0nly;shooting followed, lasting (he incjdent and read'for about 10 seconds, ^ ,he |nquest yesterday;while the crowd scattere ( at was convinced the1in all directions. Detona- ln k a th a p eop le w ereition of teargas cannisters responsibie for the bodies accompanied the shoot- police found before theing. SADF shooting and that

Several people were ( should be detained.. . . • _ i i , » a t ________________________left lying in the street, at least two of whom were fpund to .b e .dead, .Van

The hearing continues today. - Sapa.

?.c®.n.e °J shootinS • • ■ Mr Justice Eddie Stafford, the inquest chairman, outside the SetlQkwg hostel where 42 DeoDle died in fighting between rival groups and in subsequent police action. r . , Picture aJ k S S

J T & f ( t o f U ( i d

S Video of shooting shown to inquest /id eo re c o rd in g show ing SADF soldiers shooting into a crowd of people, who apparent­ly wanted to attack Zulu resi­dents of the Sebokeng hostel, was yesterday viewed by a Su­preme Court inquest in Vereen- iging for 42 people killed in the township early in September.

The video was presented as evidence to the inquest by po­lice c a m e ra m a n C o n s tab le M arius van H uysteen who, while filming the shooting, was heard to say on the recording: “The SADF members are s ta r t­ing to ac t, they are shooting with sharp-point ammunition.”

A volley of rapid-fire shoot­ing followed, lasting for about 10 seconds, while the crow d scattered in all directions. Deto­nation of teargas canisters ac­

companied the shooting.Several people were left lying

in the s tree t, a t least two of whom were found to be dead.

Some people in the crow d who were apparently wounded by the vo lley of shots w ere helped away from the scene by their comra'des. Other wounded people were unable to move.

I m m e d ia te ly b e fo re th e shooting, Constable van Huys­teen, in running commentary’ of events, said people in the crowd were sitting down in the stree t while troops advanced in a line.

The in c id e n t a ro se a f t e r fighting broke out between two groups — allegedly supporters of Inkatha on the one side and ANC followers on the other — at the hostel in the early hours of September 4.

Police arrived at the hostel to find se v e ra l bodies a lre ad y lying in the immediate vicinity of the hostel.

The police investigation that followed resulted in the arrest of 137 Inkatha members, includ­ing Inkatha Youth Brigade lead- e r Themba Khoza. and the re­covery of weapons.

Most of the guns recovered in the operation, including m ore than one AK-47 rifle, at least one SA-manufactured R-4 rifle, a SAP-issue P38 pistol and .38 pistol, were found in a car ap­p a re n tly associa ted w ith Mr Khoza.

T he v id e o fo o ta g e a ls o showed police finding a home­m ade bomb in the boot of the ca r while Mr Khoza looked on.

At the police station, several m ore Inkatha m em bers were found possessing weapons.

W arran t O fficer P iet Nien- aber also submitted video rec­ordings to the inquest, but his footage did not show the SADF shooting because, he said cam era battery had run flat.

W/O Nienaber's video depict­ed police and their vehicles se­parating the fighting groups.

People on the outside of the hostel could be seen demanding to be let inside, apparently to get a t Inkatha members.

The hearing was adjourned early yesterday afternoon to en­able inquest chairman Mr Jus­tice Eddie Stafford to inspect the scene of the violence.

The hearing continues today. — Sapa.

Inkatha to blame - CID chiVf

the Sebokeng hostel that was convinced Inkatha hart h i 6

I hM d K . WC?Dta* , t " v N if k e rk '

srjffi5? 5-^ sssI S S «th° i e tr a PPed’ wanted to fight m ° ng^^wcars

After talking ^"hirn^Mr Khloza

agreed to leave the hostel,

s iv l ae„ 7 ° W<! becam e ™ re aggres-

the Inkatha supporters^ '"8 s 1-yW a s±*js*R-4 machineg^ns. This was nnt „ eSS„aery Lih1eriCOlr I t0,d ^ e o o t t " 6"

charge of the pofice a f t h " / ^ ^

shot a t the crowd, he said

S ^ » « * » a - X L b«

an inh10StKate. 7 ent' Mr Tafe"i said he

hosteV a t 4°am ^ h ie n ^ g ir o u p' o f u iT

wnh it:nh a T ^ S ^ h e t Wh0m we™

10 SAP’s gered* 4 - 1 1uit kloue van v*/**

duisende swartesVan Ona Vaaidnehoekae Kantoor

VEREENIGING. - ’n Skare van tussen 4 000 en 10 000 inwoners van Sebokeng het hulie reggemaak om tien polisie- manne en hul sowat 137 Zoeloe-ge- vangenes aan te val wat in ’n hostel vasgekeer was.

Weermagversterkings is ontbied om die aanval te keer en die Polisie te bevry, het kol. Wessel van Niekerk, distrik- speuroffisier van die Vaaldriehoek gis- ter getuig by die geregtelike ondersoek na die dood van 42 mense op Sebokeng op 4 September.

Omsingel deur die skare vir meer as twee uur, kon die 10 polisiemanne nie meer die situasie hanteer nie. Hulle was net met dienspistole gewapen. Hulle was nie eens in staat om die Zoeioes of lede van Inkatha te ontwapen nie.

By gebrek aan radioverbinding, kon hul ook nie versterkings van sowat veer- tig polisiemanne gebruik wat daar een- kant bevelloos gestaan het nie.

As die Polisie Inkatha in daardie sta­dium ontwapen het, sou die skare die Polisie en Inkatha verseker aangeval het, het kol. Van Niekerk getuig.

“Maak Inkatha dood,” het die skare geskreeu. Klippe is oor die hosteldakke na die polisie en Inkatha gegooL Petrol- bomme is na hom gewys. Een man het met ’n assegaai na hom gemik, het kol. Van Niekerk gese.

Kol. Piet Fourie, distrikskommissaris van Polisie het gevolglik Weermagver­sterkings ontbied sodat die Weermag die skare kon terugdwing om ’n pad te maak sodat die Polisie en hul gevange- nes daar kom uitkom. Hy persoonlik het ook gemeen dat die Weermag asseblief moet kom, het kol. Van Niekerk getuig.

Nadat tussen 25 en 50 bruin soldate onder bevel van kmdt. Clulee opgedaag het, was daar geen radioverbinding tus­

sen die polisie en die weermag nie.Hy het vir kmdt. Clulee gese die

Polisie en Inkatha is vasgekeer binne die hostel.

“Moenie skiet nie,” het hy kol. Fourie ' eerste in bevel, ’n rukkie later oor die radio hoor se nadat iemand hom ’n draradio in die hand gestop het.

Kol. Van Niekerk het om ’n versper- ring gehardloop en agter kmdt. Clulee en die soldate aan om die boodskap mondeling oor te dra dat daar nie ge- skiet moet word nie. Die skietery het j losgebars voordat hy die Weermagbe- velvocrder kon bereik.

Kol. Van Niekerk het gese gebrekki- I ge radioverbinding tussen hom en die ander polisiekolonels het vroeer die og- i gend gemaak dat hy kol. Fourie en kol. j Morgenrood ’n halfuur lank met sy mo­tor moes gaan sock het.

Adjt.-off. Anthony Slinger van die j Reaksie-eenheid, wat gister deur Eddie j Stafford bedank is vir sy volledigheid j het getuig dat die skare van sowat 10 000 die hostel wou binnegaan en I Inkatha en die polisie doodmaak.

Na die skietery het die Weermag be- velvoerder gese hy het geen bevel gegee dat geskiet moet word nie. Slegs traan- rook moes afgevuur word. Nagenoeg 96 R4-patroondoppies is later op die toneel opgetel.

Op versoek van Regter Stafford het getuienis nie na die skare as die ANC verwys nie. Vroeer is egter getuig dat kol. Fourie en kol. Van Niekerk meer as ! twee uur lank, beurtelings maar ver- geefs met ANC-leiers op die toneel on- ! derhandel het. Hulle het gevra dat die ANC-leiers die skare verwyder sodat j die polisie en hul Inkatha-gevangenes uit die hostel bevry kon word.

Die ondersoek duur voort.Regter Stafford is op die bank.

to stop SADF,a s o o - . p - i / b „ ^ 0 7inquest toldPOLICE attempted but failed to stop SADF members shooting at a crowd of people outside Sebokeng Hostel on Sep­tember 4, the inquest in­vestigating 42 deaths was .

• told yesterday.Colonel Wessel van

Nickerk told the inquest he had been instructed over the radio by his senior officer. Colonel Pet Fourie, not to shoot at a crowd gathered outside the hostel.

The crowd apparently wanted to kill a group of

.more than KX) Inkatha

members trapped inside.Van Niekerk said he

ran forward to relay Fouric’s instruction to the soldiers called to the

.scene because police had lost control.

But he was too late - a 22-second rapid-fire vol­ley of shots followed, leaving at least one per­son dead and several others wounded.

He also told the hear­ing that, according to a conversation he overheard between Fourie and the officcr in charge of the

soldiers, there had been doubt as to who had issued the command to open fire.

Van Niekerk said lie believed the army had shot in self-defence.

But he did not see ei­ther stones or pctjrol bombs being thrown at the tro o p s . A nd no weapons were found in the immediate vicinity of the body or one alleged shooting victims identi­fied as Mr Hamilton Golela.

The hearing continues.- Sd/HI.

r \

Inquest prevent

0 n / h / c f o

tried toPOLICE attem pted but failed to stop SADF soldiers shooting at a crowd of people outside Sebokeng hostel on September 4, the judici­al inquest investigating 42 deaths was told yesterday.

Police colonel Wessel van Niekerk told the inquest in Vereeniglng he had been Instructed over the radio by his senior officer, Col Piet Fourie, not to shoot at a crowd gathered outside the hostel. The crowd allegedly intended killing a group of more than 100 In- katha members trapped inside.

Van Niekerk said he had run for­ward to relay Fourie’s order to the soldiers, who had been called to the scene as the police had lost control.

told police Sebokeng shooting0 But he WAS too 1stP — fl 99.O0/«nnr( «f __1____IIBut he was too late — a 22-second

volley of shots followed, leaving at least one person dead and several wounded.

Van Niekerk said according to a conversation he had overheard be­tween Fourie and the officer in charge of the soldiers, there had been doubt as to who had Issued the com­mand to fire. He said Fourie had asked why the soldiers had started shooting, and the army officer had replied that he had ordered the firing of teargas, but not live ammunition.

Earlier evidence by two police vid-; eo unit members was that people in the crowd closest to the soldiers sat down in the street, apparently In a

show of passive resistance, moments before the shooting started.

Although the only uncontested evi­dence of provocation has been was. that two army soldiers were hit by stones, Van Niekerk said he believed the soldiers had shot in self-defence. I

Police W/O Anthony Sllnger said In a statement read yesterday he had collected 96 spent R-4 automatic rifle shells after the shooting. While pre­paring to go to Sebokeng early on September 4, he had heard orders over a police radio that Inka'ha members seen holding AK-47 rifles at the hostel should be ‘eliminated".

The hearing continues. — Sapa

•#n

Troops given no order open fire, inquest told

r ^ l l l l l A n I n n - 1 - I ------- J 1_ A __ f ISADF troops apparently opened fire on a crowd outside Sebokengi hostel on September 4 without receiving an order to start shoot­ing, the judicial inquest investi­gating 42 deaths was told in Ver- eeniging yesterday.

Regional police commissioner Col Piet Fourie said in a statement sub-1 mitted to the inquest he had issuedl clear instructions over a police radio that there should be no hitting or shooting during police efforts to: move a crowd back, but about onej minute later soldiers opened fire with' R-4 automatic rifles.

He had asked a Cmdt Clulie, the officer in charge of the soldiers, who

[had given the order to start shooting. .The army officer had replied that he “had only ordered the firing of •teargas.| Although Clulle claimed one of his troops had accused a man, who was

.apparently shot dead in the SADF ;action, of holding a petrol bomb im-, ,mediately before the incident, Fourie ‘said he had not seen a petrol bombi ■lying close to the body.

Clulle also claimed later his troops had been shot at and stoned, appar­ently by people In the crowd.

After the shooting, Fourie counted three bodies and a number of wound­ed people at the scene. A number of stabbing weapons, petrol bombs and clubs lay In the street where people in the crowd had been standing and sitting.

ProblemPrevious uncontested evidence be­

fore the inquest has been that SADF soldiers fired rapidly for 22 seconds without asking the crowd to disperse. Afterwards police collected 96 spent R-4 cartridges a t the scene. Several police witnesses have said people closest to the soldiers sat down in the road immediately before the shooting and that teargas was fired simulta­neously with the live ammunition.

Asked by counsel for the families of 12 of the deceased, Gys Rauten- bach, about security force proce­dures in riot situations, Fourie agreed that minimum force should be

applied in stages, starting with a ver­bal warning to disperse, followed by teargas, followed by rubber bullets and only then, as a final option, should the use of live ammunition be considered. A loud hailer was "essen­tial” in riot situations.

Fourie also admitted that joint police/SADF operations often posed a problem because there were separ­ate command structures. Good com­munications were therefore vital.

Another police witness at the in­quest yesterday, Const Joseph Leth- oba, testified he had seen two people shot dead by soldiers.

Describing events surrounding one of the deaths, Lethoba said he had been sitting in a police mortuary van when he saw the shooting start.

Civilian bystanders had wanted to load a man hit by a bullet into a minibus, apparently to transport him to hospital, but the man was already dead, the policeman said.

He told the inquest he had loaded the body into the police vehicle and taken it to the morgue. ,

The hearing continues. — Sapa. '

Probe told ofSADF soldiers who opened fire with live ammunition on a crowd of people out­side Sebokeng Hostel apparently did so without the instruction of their com­manding officer.

Colonel Piet Fourie yesterday told the! judicial inquest investigating 42 deaths in the township on September 4 that he had ordered security forces present to push back a crowd without shooting.

However, about a minute later shots and teargas were fired.

Fourie said he had asked a Com-

Vaal killings^;mandant Clulie, who was in chargc ol the soldiers, who had given the order to shoot.

Clulie told him he had only ordered teargas to be fired and had not authorised the shooting of live ammunition.

Fourie said Clulie told him that one of the amry troops had claimed that a victim of the shooting had held a petrol bomb in his hand.

“ At that stage I did not see a petrol bomb near the body,” Fourie said. - Sapa. _ . . . -....... ..

Arsenal of w eapons inC i T l t f M 2 -police ve

Citizen Reporter

THE leader of tbe Inka­tha Youth Brigade. Mr Temba Khoza, had asked the Vereeniging District Commissioner of Police. Colonel Piet Fourie, to remove his vehicle — which contained an ar­senal of weapons — from the Sebokeng Hostel, the judicial inquest into 42 deaths on September 4, heard yesterday.

Testifying in the Ver­eeniging Supreme Court, Col Fourie said he had been busy with negotia­tions with ANC leaders to have a group of about 150 Inkatha members who were trapped inside the Tiostel grounds, removed under a police escort.

He said Mr Khosa had approached him, and ask­ed: “Will you please make sure that my vehicle be safely removed from the hostel when we leave?” indicating a blue Nissan Sentra that was parked close to the group of Inkatha members.

Col Fourie said he did not know at the time that the vehicle contained sev­eral automatic assault rifles, a homemade bomb, and ammunition.

In earlier evidence, the inquest heard that a large group of Inkatha support­ers had invaded the hostel in the earfy hours of the morning of September 4,

M c \ es — inquestand killed several people in a gunfight.

Col Fourie said Inkatha and ANC supporting hos­tel dwellers had been in­volved in negotiations with the police on August 15, so that Inkatha could move back into the hostel after they had apparently been forced to move out.

He said they had reached a tentative agree­ment with the ANC sup­porters for Inkatha to move back in as soon as the “climate was ready for it” , but added that a follow-up date for further negotiation had been set for the week beginning September 3.

Col Fourie said he did not know whether the police has scaled down its patrols just before the in­vasion by Inkatha, but said it was possible if the “dimate was such that pa­trols could be reduced".

He said he found it “ suspicious" that Inkatha entered the hostel at night instead of during the day, as would have happened if they had peaceful inten­tions.

Col Fourie had request­ed reinforcements from Group 17, a Coloured regiment stationed at Vereeniging, when the situation became “explos­ive".

He said that although there was one security force present at the hos­

tel, there were two com­mand structures, with tbe police following orders from its leaders and the army from their leader — a Commander Clulie

Mr Gys Rautenbach, appearing for families of 12 people who died, stated that there had been no proper communication between the army and the police.

Col Fourie replied that lie had seen communica­tion apparatus in the pos-1 session of the army but he could not say whether the army had been in radio communication with tbe police. !

After the shooting. Col. Fourie had asked Com . madder Clulie why they’ had shot at the people-' He replied that he had given an order to fire teargas, and not to fire1 live ammunition.

The hearing continues.

Force soldiers who shot andkilled 42 Sebokeng resi­dents on September 4 this year acted without any au­thorisation or provocation.

This is the suggestion that emerged during evidence this week at the judicial in­quest in Vereeniging into the killings.

Senior police officer Colonel Frederick van Nie kerk told the inquest that soldiers had opened fire without authorisation and attempts to stop them had failed.

He said that by the time he issued the order for them to stop, they had already fired.

Police video recordings of the event screened in court on Wednesday showed no evidence o f provocation by the residents. No stones or petrol bombs were thrown at the army.

Police witnesses insist that there was no likelihood o f a fight breaking out be­tween Inkatha and residents because Inkatha people were enclosed within the hostel premises.

Lawyers acting for the S tbokeng residents said

that one o f the tasks o f the inquest was to establish how many people died at the hands o f Inkatha and how many died because of negligent action by the army.

W arrant Officer Sidney Path said after his investiga­tions: "I would think Inka­tha is responsible."

Judge orders witness detained forBy Tbabo Leshllo

A witness In the Sebokeng In­quest being heard by the Su­p re m e C o u rt w as d e ta in e d briefly for com m itting perjury yesterday after allegedly giving evidence which conflicted with a statem ent he had made to po­lice about his cousin’s death.

Mr Justice Stafford ordered that Wilson Tafenl be detained for perjury while the court ad­journed for tea.

The perju ry stem m ed from a statem ent m ade by Mr Tafeni in which he c la im ed to have

personally seen his cousin being shot by a white m an at 4 am on Septem ber 4.

Mr Tafenl denied having said so to the court.

/H e said th a t his cousin had been killed when the SADF shot a t peop le o y ts id e th e jh o s te l afte r 9 am. M

Mr Justice Stafford told Mr Tafenl he had “com m itted per­jury of the first degree”.

In the statem ent, Mr Tafenl said he and his cousin w ere pa­tro llin g th e ho ste l a f te r r u ­m ours th a t Inkatha would a t ­tack the residents.

T h e s t a t e m e n t s a id th a t David, his cousin, was shot by a w h ite m an — w hom he d e ­sc rib e d as being of m edium build — a t the hostel at 4 am.

Before dying, David had told Mr Tafeni that the killer was a Mr F erre ira or Mr Pelela, his m anager a t a Vereeniging firm.

Mr Tafeni denied having said so in his statem ent. He said his b ro th e r had been sh o t by a m em ber of the SADF. Mr T a­fenl said David was p art of a large crowd sitting in front of soldiers, about seven paces in front of him.

perjury,5 ,AcHe said he had ordered the

people to sit down to avoid any­body th row ing stones a t the troops and he denied they had intended to block the soldiers.

The people had been arm ed with spears and axes, he with a spear.

The group had s ta rted run ­ning a fte r soldiers fired tear- gas. Troops also fired live am ­munition while the people ran aw ay to e sca p e the gas. His cousin was shot and fell.

“Only the soldiers fired a t the people. No one else fired shots a t the tim e," said Mr Tafeni.

Sebokeng-video W"/*6'In die geregtelikc ondersoek na die dood van 42 mensc in September in Sebokeng word 'n video vertoon van ’n skare wat in die straat voor *n hostel sit wanneer SAW -troepe op hulle afgemarsjeer kom. Verdere getuienis deur die polisie is: Daar was geen provokasie voordat die troepe op die mense begin skiet het nie; geen petrolbomme is gegooi nie; daar is gevuur sonder dat die troepe se bevelvoer- der die bevel daarvoor gegee het. N& di6 gemienis deur die polisie onttrck die regsman virbeide die polisie en die SAW sy dienste aan die polisie omdat daar ’n botsing van belange mag ontstatm. _______ ____

Inkatha men planned to

on September 4, the day 42 people were found dead in and around the single-sex residential complex, the judicial inquest a t Vereeniging was told yesterday.

Wilson Tafeni testified he had been told Inkatha mem­bers had been overheard planning the attack.

He and his brother David were subsequently part of a neighbourhood “watch”, patrolling the complex, when a group of white men with guns and black men with axes attacked. He said he saw people being shot by the whites in the pre-dawn attack and that his brother was killed several hours later, shortly after 9am, when SADF troops opened fire with R-4 automatic rifles on a crowd of Sebokeng residents who allegedly wanted to fight In­katha members trapped inside a hostel courtyard, .tyquest chairman Mr Justice Eddie Stafford said, how-

eflir, Tafeni had apparently committed perjury In that he had offered conflicting versions of his brother’s death. Tafeni’s first account, In a statement to police, was that his brother had been shot by the white men In the pre­dawn attack on the hostel. Mr Justice Stafford ruled that although there might be a feasible explanation, the wit­ness would still have to face statutory perjury charges

,[before a magistrate to clear the m atter up.Tafeni said his original statem ent had been taken down

incorrectly by police colonel Wessel van Niekerk. He Insisted he had told Van Niekerk SADF soldiers had shot his brother, not civilian white attackers.

Tafeni also described to the Inquest how, between the hours of 4am and 8am, he had moved the bodies of about 15 people allegedly murdered to a central point. — Sapa.

hostel, inquest toldmfilers planned to attack Sebokeng hostel

m

Witness told lies» to inquest - judgeA W IT NE SS in the b e 4. i n q u e s t i n t o t h e H o w e v e r , in tils* deaths o f 42 people at . *es,imony yesterday, heSebokeng H ostel on said his bro,her had 1x6,1Septem ber 4 is to fa c e ' shot d' adby Sou,b Afrk____ - . c a n D e fe n c e F o rc ec h a r g e s o f p erju ry so,dicrs shortly after 9am .' f o l l o w i n g h i s Tafeni.s response t0,testim ony yesterday. thp perjury allegation was

Inquest chairman Mr that his original statement!Justice Eddie Stafford had been incorrectly!said in his view, Mr Wil- taken down by the police, son Tafeni had presented The judge said theretwo conflicting versions might well be a feasible’of his brother Mr David explanation for ihe con-iTafeni s death. D ieting ev idence but!

Tafeni had claimed in Tafeni would still have to'a statement to the police a p p e a r b e f o r e athat armed white men in magistrate to face chargesthe company of black of perjury.men had shot dead his Tafeni was released on1 b ro th e r at S ebokeng his own recognisances, -j Hostel at 4am on Septem- Sana. . j

Sebokeng probe witness (T faces perjury charges^ h oU ....... j t David * » » * * * ■ « «Citizen Reporter

A WITNESS at the judic­ial inquest into 42 deaths at Sebokeng on Septem­ber 4, is to face charges otperjury following conflict­ing testimony made in connection with the death of his brother.

Mr Justice Eddie Staff­ord yesterday ordered Mr Wilson Tafeni (46), to be held in custody while the court was on a short re­cess, and said later that although he did not want to make a prima facie rul­ing it seemed on the face of it that Mr Tafeni had trespassed against the law.

Mr Tafeni, of Sebo­keng Hostel, had made a sworn statement to Colo­nel Frederik van Niekerk five days after the viol­ence at the hostel which left 42 people dead, say­ing that a White man had

killed his brother, David (60), when Inkatha sup­porters had entered the grounds early that morn-

10 Mr Tafeni then blamed the South African De­fence Force (SADF) for the death of his brother.He said he had told Col Van Niekerk when he went to make a state­ment, that his brother was shot by soldiers.

“You might have a de­fence, but in this court you have given two con­flicting versions. Maybe a misunderstanding had ari­sen between you and the interpreter and Col Van der Westhuizen, but you have to appear before a magistrate for perjury."

Mr Justice Stafford said.Mr Tafeni said in his

original statement that he and his brother were pa­trolling the____hostel

grounds when they came upon a group of about 15 Black people and about10 Whites.

He said the White men were armed with fire­arms. while the Black people were armed with “dangerous weapons likeaxes” .

His brother was then allegedly shot by a White man who was a manager at USCO-Vaal, where his brother was employed.

Under cross examina­tion. Mr Tafeni said he had seen his brother shot hy the SADF outside the hostel, almost five hours after Inkatha invaded thehostel.

He ran to where his brother had fallen on the ■round, and saw him die \n his arms. A police van then arrived to take thebody away.

Mr Tafeni is out on his own recognisance.

Advancing soldiers ‘looked menacing 2 l/uldOBy Thabo L esh ilo

T h e in q u e st in to th e death of 42 people at th e S eb o k e n g H o ste l on S ep tem b er 24 w as to ld by a c le r g y m a n y e s te r d a y th a t a f t e r so ld ie r s had a r r iv e d and form ed up on the scen e, “it looked as if s o m e t h i n g t e r r i b l e w as going to happen”.

Lord E ldorado R igh­teousness M cCam el, of the M cCam el P a rad ise Church of God, said he had not seen the crowd gathered outside the Se­bokeng h o ste l do a n y ­th in g th a t cou ld have cau sed th e so ld ie rs to open fire.

Mr McCamel told the inquest, w hich is being held in Vereeniging, that before the arm y arrived a t the hoste l, w here a num ber of people had a l­legedly been killed by su­sp e c te d In k a th a m e m ­bers earlier, people gath­ered th e re had thought tha t police wanted to re ­

move the Inkatha mem bers trapped inside the hostel w ithout taking ac­tion against them.

He had seen m ilita ry v eh ic le s a r r iv e on the scene a t about 9 am. Sol­diers got off the vehicles and formed lines.

“When the soldiers a r ­rived I was relieved be­cause there is a general feeling that soldiers are calm and only act on in­struction,” Mr McCamel told Mr Justice E Staf­ford.

"A fter form ing lines, the soldiers started mov­ing fo rw ard . The w ay t h e y w e r e m o v i n g forw ard looked m enac­ing. It looked as if som e­thing te rrib le was going to happen. It was fright­ening and seem ed as if the so ld iers w ere going to shoot.”

M r M c C a m e l t h e n asked a M ajor Steyn of the Security Police to do so m e th in g so th a t the soldiers would not shoot.

However, he im m edia­te ly h ea rd sho ts being fired into the crowd by

soldiers while the people n e a r e s t to th e tro o p s gave the peace sign and waved their arm s.

“ I saw som e peop le falling during the firing: At the sam e tim e, I saw som e te a rg as billowing f r om c a n i s t e r s which w e r e f i r e d i n t o t h e crowd ..

H e l a t e r s a w n i n e b o d ie s on th e g r ound a f t e r th e bod ies wer e collected.

F re e la n ce press pho­t o g r a p h e r P e t r u s Ma- buye said he saw some ' soldiers wave at the peo pie and others laughing afte r the shooting.

Mr Mabuye handed to the court 90 pictures of even ts a t the hostel as exhibits. Among the pic­tures was one of a corpse w hose h e a d had been crushed by a police Cas- spir which had reversed on to it. The incident had a n g e r e d t h e c r o w d ; ; which had hurled stones and petrol bombs a t tha Casspir.

The hearing continues.

'TpfirtlclS W011 VfTf.JuCfr . Rev Eldorado McCainel W Mabuye sal<J.*'® Started shootingt s te rd ty t f ld lnTah sta tem ent t d l e w w h e n U M a b u y e ^ v e r -

S*^2& BSsrsSS S = ^ &»%sr-- *»rF arts~-ars*«■ •«" r^^“sys•SSgS35$ r3 r35:fis« fesrsrdeaths, alleged y pre-dawn In- i ediBte danger.-----

Army officer is charged for changing mindThe inquest into the shooting of 42 people at the Sebokeng Hostel in September is hearing conflicting evidence about the incident, reports

CHARLES LEONARD and Sapa

ON Tuesday September 4 South A frican D efcnce Force Commandant Steph- anus Lombard was in Seb­okeng as an observer with an SADF unit and witnessed how several people were killed in the

aftermath o f an alleged pre-dawn raid by Inkatha members on hostel dwell­ers, and how the unit killed at least one resident. On Thursday September 20 he made a sworn statement to the police on what he had seen that day.

On November 25 Lombard watched a police video of the massacre which left 42 dead at the Sebokeng Hostel.

During evidence this Tuesday Lom ­bard changcd his statement under cross examination at the inquest into the kill- ings held under the chairmanship of Judge Eddie Stafford in Vereeniging.

On Wednesday the judge ruled that Lombard be investigated for perjury following his conflicting evidence.

Lombard said in his sworn statement that he saw a SADF officer pick up a petrol bomb lying in front of a man who had been killed by the SADF.

During cross examination by Stafford he admitted that he did not have the “va­guest clue” where the petrol bomb was found and whether Commandant Alf Clulie had picked it up.

Lombard admitted he “wanted the bomb to lie next to the victim”, because it would be proof o f the “danger” in which the soldiers found themselves.

At 3am on September 4 a mob wear­ing red headbands allegedly attacked

the hostel with pangas, spears and guns and left several people dead.

Police have testified that they arrived at the scene to find several dead bodies lying in the street outside the hostel and that there had been two large groups of people intent on fighting each oilier.A Vaal Civic Association executive

member told the inquest in his view the police had been partial to Inkatha. .

Ernest Sotsu said that during negotia­

tions with Colonel Piet Fourie he had demanded Inkatha members be dis­armed, so residents could believe po­lice were “not saving Inkatha but ar­resting them ". He said Fourie had, however, declined on the grounds that the police were outnumbered.

In the meantime a group of soldiers had arrived from Group 17 in Veree­niging, and fired for about 22 seconds into the crowd outside the hostel.

Several witnesses agreed that thfcre was not enough provocation to justify the soldiers' opening.

Constable Marius van Huysteen, who submitted a video of the incident, was asked by state prosecutor Anton Ack­erman whether he had questioned the justification for the shooting, particu­larly in view of the fact that neither pet­rol bombs nor stones were thrown. Van Huysteen said he had.He agreed with Gys Rautcnbach, le­

gal representative for the families of 12 of the deceased, that the shooting con­tinued even after the crowd had turned to run away. I

SADF officerL t testifies at isbho inquest I

j -Citizen Reporter at the advancing line of

"I DID not hear a com- soldiers.mand to start firins.” a senior Defence'Porce of­ficer yesterday told the Vereeniging inquest into 42 deaths at the Sebokeng Hostel on September 4.

Commandant Stepha- nus Lombard (41), of the Vaal Commando at Van- derbijlpark, was the first SADF member to testify at the inquest investigat­ing who was responsible for the deaths at the hos­tel, during a day of viol­ence.

It is alleged that Group 17, a Coloured army unit

■ based at Vereeniging, had opened fire on a crowd of Sebokeng residents who had gathered outside the hostel to insist of the dis­armament of Inkatha members who were trap­ped inside. ’

Commandant Lombard said he had accompanied Group 17 as an observer and was not in charge of the operation.

In his statement. Com­mandant Lombard said he had seen a man wear­ing light coloured cloth­ing, shot through the head by a soldier after he had hurled a petrol bomb

Commandant Lombard then changed his testimo­ny in court yesterday after watching a police video of the incident, saying the man who had been shot, was not the same man who had hurled a'petrol bomb. i

He could not say | whether the man who was shot had been in posses­sion of a petrol bomb.

The group of soldiers had allegedly opened fire, lasting 22 seconds, after the petrol bomb was thrown. The bottle did. not burst into flames.

Ninety-six spent R-4 rifle cartridges were found afterwards at the scene of the shooting.

Commandant Lombard said the lives of the front line of soldiers were in danger, and added that they could shoot without an order if a soldier or his partner, was in immediate danger.

He said troops, who were standing closest to the crowd, had fired from a standing position, but those who were standing to his right, were in a pre­pared position.

l.nKe>.*fe^S i7uest■ ssaa-*# vssfij

Sebokeng: ^ judge orders perjury probeBy M ontsh iw a M oroke and Sapa

! An SAD F o ffic e r’s ev idence | Should be sen t to the A tto r- | p e y - G e n e ra l fo r s c r u t i n y ,

th e c h a irm a n in the ju d ic ia l j in q u e s t in to the k illing of 42 1 peo p le a t th e Sebokeng hos- ! te l n e a r V ereen ig ing on Sep- | te m b e r 4 ru led y es te rd ay , j Mr Ju s tic e E ddie Staf ford | said there was prim a facie evi- i dence th a t Com m andant Ste- j phanus Lombard had commit- i ted p e rju ry and ordered th a t ! the evidence be studied by the | A tto rn ey -G en era l so t ha t he i could be charged if necessary, j This followed C om m andant i Lom bard’s confirmation that he ! had made a false statem ent to ; the police regard ing a petro l t bomb allegedly found near the j body of a m an who had been i shot dead by SADF members.! Com m andant Lom bard was | the first of two senior SADF of­

fice rs who gave ev idence in .pourt which contradicted parts of their original statements.'. He was also one of four SADF officers who have confirm ed th e re had been no o rd ers to

; s ta rt shooting live ammunition i a t the crowd that day.| 1" In the statem ent, Comman- | dan t Lombard claimed to have i seen fellow officer Comman- J dant Alf Clulie pick up a petrol

bomb from the ground where J the body was lying, but, cross- j exam ined by Mr Justice Staf-1 ford, he adm itted not even see­

ing the petrol bomb in question.Sergeant-M ajor Marthinus le

-Roux a lso a d mi t t e d havi ng

made a false statem ent to the police concerning the p e tro l bomb in question.

He said the troops were justi­fied in firing for 22 seconds as they had not heard anyone or­dering them to stop shooting be­cause of the helmets they were wearing.

Mr Justice Stafford rem arked j that it did not make a differ- j ence because no o rd e rs had been given in the first place or­dering them to s ta rt shooting.

Another SADF member, Cor­po ra l D avid P a tr ic k E im an , said he had seen a m an throw­ing a stone a t R iflem an John Booysen, while he held a stick in the other hand.

C orp o ra l E im an sa id th a t when the man aimed to throw a . petrol bomb, Rifleman Booysen

• had shot him in the head. He said the petrol bomb had fallen j a few paces away from where the man’s body lay.

He had not seen any o th e r j petro l bombs being throw n a t the troops. The troops had fired - j live ammunition a t the crowd j because they thought their lives j were in danger.

Cor po r a l E i m a n sa id the shooting continued because his colleagues thought th e ir lives w ere s till in danger although the crowd was running away.

Anton Ac k e r ma n , f or t he State, put it to Corporal Eim an tha t none of the petrol bombs which had been collected a t the scene afterw ards showed signs of having being ignited.

Commandant Clulie, who was in charge of the SADF troops that day, is expected to testify today.

Army officer is charged for wV- changing mindThe inquest into the shooting of 42 people at the Sebokeng Hostel in September is hearing conflicting evidence about the incident, reports

CHARLES LEONARD and Sapa

ON Tuesday September 4 South A frican D efence Force Commandant Steph- anus Lombard was in Seb­okeng as an observer with an SADF unit and witnessed how several people were killed in the

aftermath of an alleged pre-dawn raid by Inkatha members on hostel dwell­ers, and how the unit killed at least one resident. On Thursday September 20 he made a sworn statement to the police on what he had seen that day.

On November 25 Lombard watched a police video of the massacre which left 42 dead at the Sebokeng Hostel.

During evidence this Tuesday Lom­bard clianged his statement under cross examination at the inquest into the kill­ings held under the chairmanship of Judge Eddie Stafford in Vereeniging.

On Wednesday the judge ruled that Lombard be investigated for perjury following his conflicting evidence.

Lombard said in his swom statement that he saw a SADF officer pick up a petrol bomb lying in front of a man who had been killed by the SADF.

During cross examination by Stafford he admitted that he did not have the “va­guest clue” where the petrol bomb was found and whether Commandant Alf Oulie had picked it up.

Lombard admitted he “wanted the bomb to lie next to the victim", because it would be proof of the “danger” in which the soldiers found themselves.

At 3am on September 4 a mob wear­ing red headbands allegedly attacked

the hostel with pangas, spears and guns and left several people dead.

Police have testified that they arrived at the scene to Find several dead bodies lying in the street outside the hostel and that there had been two large groups of people intent on fighting each other.

A Vaal Civic Association executive member told the inquest in his view the police had been partial to Inkatha. .

Ernest Sotsu said that during negotia­

tions with Colonel Piet Fouric he had demanded Inkatha members be dis­armed, so residents could believe po­lice were “not saving Inkatha but ar­resting them ” . He said Fourie had, however, declined on the grounds that the police were outnumbered.

In the meantime a group of soldiers had arrived from Group 17 in Veree- niging, and fired for about 22 scconds into tlie crowd outside the hostel.

Several witnesses agreed that thdre was not enough provocation to justify the soldiers’ opening.

Constable Marius van Huysteen, who submitted a video of the incident, was asked by stale proscctiUir A'Mon Ack­erman whether he had questioned the justification for the shooting, particu­larly in view of the fact that nciiher pet­rol bombs nor stones were thrown. Van Huysteen said he had.He agreed with Gys Rautcnbach, le­

gal representative for the families of 12 of the deceased, that the shooting con­tinued even after the crowd had turned to run away.

SADI fired 166 rounds, court toldBy Montshivva Moroke

A total of 166 rounds of l i ve a m mu n i t i o n was fired by members of the SADF a t Sebokeng on September 4, the judicial inquest into the shoot­ings, in which 42 people w ere killed, heard yes­terday.

This was disclosed by counsel for the SADF, Jan sen van Vuuren, in Vereeniging.

He handed the court a lis t of nam es of SADF m e m b ers in Sebokeng that day and the number of live rounds and tea r gas canisters used.

Picked upAccording to the list,

34 of th e 70 m em b ers f r o m H e a d q u a r t e r s G r o u p had f i r e d R-4 rifles. Three fired nine live rounds each. Twelve gas canisters were fired by seven men.

Previous evidence led w as th a t 96 spent c a r ­tridges had been picked up afte r the shooting.

E a r l i e r , M r v a n V uuren asked th a t fur ­th e r evidence from his clien ts be postponed to Monday so that a senior counsel could lead the present team.

One of those expected to testify was Comman­d a n t A lf C lu lie , co m ­m anding officer of the troops that day.

The chairman, Mr Jus­t i c e E d d i e S t a f f o r d ,

granted the request.The single witness yes­

t e r d a y wa s S t a n f o r d Ngubelanga of Sebokeng hostel, who corroborated his statem ent to the po­l i ce. He sa i d he h ad woken up a t about 4 am on the day in question and had heard shots.

He saw through the window a large number of men with battle axes and iron bars, hitting at cars and windows.

M ost w e r e we a r i n g dark overcoats and had w hite clo th tied round th e ir heads.

“Among this group of m en I a l so n o tic e d a w h i t e m a n . H e w a s wearing an overcoat and he had a balaclava over his head, but I could see th e w h i t e a r o u n d his eyes. I could also see his white hands,” he said.

He hid under the bed in fear. At about 6 am he went to Zone 14 where he felt safe.

“ S om ew here around 9 a m a n d 10 a m I r e ­turned to the hostel area wi th a l a r ge gr oup of people. We heard tha t the attackers of the pre­vious night had been cor­nered in the hostel,” Mr Ngubelanga said.

In a section of the hos­tel he had seen some of the men he had seen ea r­lier, but now wearing red headbands. P o lice had p r e v e n t e d r e s i d e n t s going into that block.

: The hearing continues.

Regter verskaf

die ware feite?z( n j

oor ondersoekREGTER EDDIE STAF­FORD, wat die geregtelike ondersoek na die dood van 42 mense by ’n hostel in Se­bokeng ondersoek, het ' Beeld gister daarop gewys dat feitefoute gisteroggend in ’n vertaalde berig van Sapa in Beeld verskyn het.

In die berig onder die 1 opskrif “Offisiere jok, se kommissie”, se Sapa se korrespondent Neil Oelofse I daar “is bevind” dat twee senior SAW-lede, kmdt. Ste- ! fanus Lombard en sers.- maj. Marthinus le Roux, meineed gepleeg het (have I been found to have given fal- ! se evidence).

Regter Stafford het Beeld daarop gewys dat dit verkeerd is en dat hy nog nie so ’n bevinding gemaak het nie. )

Hy het ook gese hy het 1 knidt. Lombard ondervra en nie “in kruisverhoor” (cross-examined) geneem nie, soos die berig gelui het.

Voorts het die stelling - . dat kol. Piet Fourie, streeks- kommissaris van die Poli­sie, vroeer getuig het dat hy nie ’n enkele petrolbom na die skietery in die omgewing van die lyk gevind het nie,'n wanindruk geskep.

Hy het gese binne ’n ra­dius van 20 m van die lyk is agt petrolbomme gevind.Die Sapa-berig het gelui “ . . . there were no petrol- bombs in the immediate vici­nity of the corpse after the shooting”.

SADF requests delay in inquest testimony

_ ----- -- he had not seen the alleged petrolVEREENIGING - The SADF yesterday reauested that the testimony of members ctni to aooear before the Vereeniging Supreme Court inquest into t h e d e a t^ o m people in Sebokeng on September 4 be held

° VA U orney"^^^van Vuuren told Inquest chairman Mr Justice Eddie S taffordasen- ior counsel was being brought in tobolstcr the SADF’s legal team, and required time to familiarise himself with th« ca®e,

Yesterday morning s scheduled witness

reSm s (dlow officer, CmOt St^anus Um^ bard, was accused by Mr Justice Stafford on Wednesday of committing perjury.

Lombard admitted fabricating crucial evidence in a statement to police. He orig nally said he had seen Clulee pick up a petrol bomb from the ground where a man shot dead by the SADF had been tyin8-

In cross-examination, the officer

the court

^ A U e a s t one man died and a number of others were wounded when the troops al­legedly shot without orders.

In earlier evidence, it was said SAI F soldiers were called out because pol ce had lost control of an explosive £ « * » g which a Sebokeng crowd had trapped 137 armed Inkatha members in a hostel court-

yaThe soldiers fired a 22-second fusillade of R4 automatic rifle fire into he crowd in order to free the Inkatha people, who were

Many!Tncluding Inkatha Youth Rrlgatle leader Themba Khoza, were charged with illegal possession of firearms.

An arsenal of weapons was found in Khoza’s car at the scene.

In papers submitted to the court yester- dav the SADF said 166 R4 rounds were fired in the fusillade, intended to disperse the crowd. — Sapa.

T H E shooting and

killing of people bv

members of the SADF

o u ts id e S e b o ke n g

Hostel was totally un­

p rovoked and u n ­

necessary, the inquest

into the deaths of 42

people on September

4 heard yesterday.

A s ta tem e n t by Sowetan photographer

Len Kumalo was read in a Vereeniging court yester­

day.Kumalo said he had

not seen anyone in a crowd of between 4 000

and 5 000 throw a petrol bomb or anything else at the soldiers or the SAP on

that day.

Tearqas“ I at no point heard

any of the soldiers say or shout anything to the group of people. The so ld ie rs advanced menacingly and quickly

They carried their rifles at their hips and pointing at the group of people,” he

said.One soldier threw a

teargas canister into the hostel buildings. As the

soldiers advanced further, the crowd grew restive.

Some people lifted their arms and shouted “ peace, peace” , and “ we are not

fighting” ,“ When the soldiers

were about 15 metres

from the group of people.

Cops did not warn crpwd.inquest told

LEN KUMALO

I heard someone shout something like ‘stop them, they are going to

shoot’." I turned briefly to see

that it was Rev Lord M cC am e l who had

shouted this.“ A lmost sim ulta ­

neously and without any

warnina > the soldiers

opened fire on the group of people in front of them. They shot from the hip. I could not believe what I was seeing.

-“.I fell to the ground and kept my head down. I heard bullets whistling over me.

Soldiers“ In my view, and

based on what I saw, the

attack by the soldiers was

completely unprovoked and unnecessary.

“The shooting lasted .for approximately one or two minutes. I attempted to lift myself up to take

photographs but someone shouted 'careful Len’.

“ 1 kept my head down

and pretended to be dead,” said Kumalo said.

He said when he looked up he saw at least

10 bodies lying in front of

him where the crowd had been. The people had fled in panic when the shoot­ing began.

U n d e r c r o s s - examination by Mr Bruce

Berman, SC, for the SADF, Kumalo admitted that he could not have seen everything which oc­curred that day and that it was possible that a petrol

bomb had been thrown at

the troops.The hearing continues.

^ " ‘o^apher says he saw ‘at leas! 10 bodies’Citizen Reporter

A NEWSPAPER pho­tographer stuck to his tes­timony, at the Vereeni- ging judicial inquest yes­terday, that he saw at least 10 bodies shortly after the SADF opened fire on a crowd of people outside the Sebokeng Hostel on September 4.

Mr Len Kumalo, of The Sowetan, was cross- examined by the new SADF senior counsel, Mr Bruce Berman, who tried to determine how many people died at the hands of the SADF.

According to previous testimony heard by the in­quest, the violence at the hostel started in the early hours of September 4 when a group of Inkatha members allegedly en­tered the compound and killed several people.

Police, who had arrived on the scene later that morning, found about 150

people trapped inside Block E of the hostel, with a crowd of about5 (MX) people outside de­manding that the Inkatha group be disarmed.

The SADF was called in to escort the trapped police and Inkatha mem­bers out of the hostel.

They opened fire after a petrol bomb was allegedly flung at a soldier.

Bodies from the fight­ing between hostel resi­dents and the Inkatha group had lain strewn in and around the hostel when police mortuary vans arrived after the SADF shooting to re­move the bodies.

Mr Kumalo’s eye-wit­ness account appeared in various newspapers after a SA Press Association (Sapa) reporter inter­viewed him, and a tally of 11 dead was given in the

story.

Mr Kumalo said some mistakes had been made in the Sapa story, but in­sisted that he had seen about 10 bodies lying on the ground after the SADF had taken action

He could no! say for certain whether they were

' dead or not.

Mi Berman put to Mr Kumalo that a video tape of the incident showed how someone carried a body out of the hostel and apparently placed it alongside several other bodies that had been col­lected.

Mr Kumalo said he did not see anybody carry any bodies from inside the hostel to where he stood, and said that his count of11 dead, did not include those killed in the fighting between hostel dwellers and Inkatha.

Sebokeng

shootinguj oy Med-Newsman

j B/'MBntshiwa Moroke --*t»i-----—--- -—____

I The\shooting and killing j of pwple outside the Se- | b°K§3g hostel by mem-

bers-of the SADF was completely unprovoked and^necessary, the in­quest on the death of 42 people on September 4 heard yesterday.

This statement, by Sowetan newspaper pho­tographer Leonard Ku- malo, was read in a Vereeniging court.

x : Sfr, Kumalo said he hadjiot seen anyone in a crowd of between 4 000 anrt^OOO throw a petrol ! bomb or anything else at j

soldiers or policemen th&foy.

‘4«-at no point heard ! a n y ^ f the soldiers say j or shout anything to the ‘ group of people. The sol- | diers advanced menac­ingly and quickly. They carried their rifles at | their hips and directed 1 at the group of people,”Mr Kumalo said. f

As the soldiers ad- ! vanced, he saw one sol dier throw a teargas canister to his left in among the hostel build­ings. : v . As the soldiers drew

closer, they appeared' to* be almost all coloured -f persons. Two. however, I appeared to be white,

j As the soldiers ad­vanced even farther, the' j

1 crowd grew restive and., became alarmed. Some people lifted their arms

i and shouted “Peace,| peace” and “We are not

fighting”. Others sat ! down, facing the soldiers.

"When the soldiers were approximately

1 15 m from the group of j people, I heard someone j behind me shofit some- | thing like ‘Stop them,

they are going to shoot’.

Opened fire

“l turned briefly to see that, it was the Rev Lord McCamel who had shout­ed this. He was standing behind me and had prob­ably shouted this warn- ing to the SAP.

"Almost simultaneous­ly and without any warn­ing. the soldiers opened fire on the group of peo­ple in front of them.They ' ; shot from the hip. I could ■’

j not , believe what I was seeing. I fell to the

| ground and kept my head . j down. I heard bullets j

whistling over me."In my view, and !

based on what I saw, the j attack by the soldiers on 1 the group of people was j completely unprovoked ! and unnecessary.

“The shooting lasted ) for approximately one or two uninutes. I canno* give £ny exact length of time;but it felt like a J lifetime. At one point, I ! attempted to lift myself | up to take some photo- j graphs, but someone shouted 'Careful, LenV j Mr Kumalo said.

Th£ shooting had stop- I ped | suddenly. As he looked up he saw at least 10 bofiies lying in front of him Jwhere the crowd had been. The people had turned and fled when sol­diers Jbegan shooting.

! It was difficult to esti- I mate,’ but he thought hei was jabout 5 m or 6 m j away* from the body clo-

sest t£> him.

However, under cross- , examination by ; Bruce Bernjan SC. for the SADF, Mr Kumalo ad­mitted he could not have seen ; everything which occurred that day and that U was possible that a petrol bomb had been thrown at the troops.

The hearing continues.

K

Soldier not hearCItlzsn Reporter

A SOLDIER who fired a shot in alleged self-de­fence and sparked off a fusillade of fire from his comrades — yesterday told the judicial inquest into 42 deaths at the Se- bokeng Hostel on Sep­tember 4, that he did not hear a command to start

firing.Rifleman John Booy-

sen (22) of HO Group 17, a Coloured unit stationed at Vereeniging, would not admit that he had fired a shot that killed a man, in order to prevent him from being exposed to possible prosecution.

Mr Justice Stafford told him that there was evi­dence in court that incri­minated him in the death of at least one person, and he could face charges or murder, culpable homicide, or of exceeding

the boundaries of emer­gency procedures, if he answered questions impli­

cating him.Rfn Booysen and six

other soldiers, said they had not been asked to tes­tify at a departmental in­vestigation cajled by the SADF after the shooting.

Mr Anton Ackerman, appearing for the State, said that 34 soldiers had refused to give Statements

for the police.Of the soldiers who had

testified at the ipquest so far, only Rfn Booysen had allegedly fired a live

shot.

Commandant Alf Clu-

lee (52), the officer in command of the company of soldiers on September 4, said he had not been called to testify at the de­partmental investigation, but he did submit an inci­dent report to Witwaters-

rand Command on the afternoon after the shoot­

ing.

Cmdt Clulee described how he had received his orders to assist the police, who were trapped inside the hostel.

He said he had told his troops to use minimum vi-

order’olence before proceeding

to the hostel. He said he

did not spell out to them

what minimum violence

entailed, as they were

taught during their train­

ing what it meant.

Cmdt Clulee will con­

tinue giving evidence to­

day.

‘Baie soldate wou nieCttb( 6J '/ivf f*

verklarings afle nie’Van O n* Vaaldriahoakaa Kantoor

VEREENIGINO. - Altesame 34 van die 70 soldate wat betrokke was by die skiete- ry op 4 September by ’n hostel op Sebo- k£flg waar n ANC-gesinde skare 'nTum?: jievol polisiemanne en Inkatha-lede vas- gekeer net, het geweier om verklarings af tele, het mnr. Anton Ackermann, staats- advokaat, gister ges4.

Kmdt. Alf Clulee, bevelvoerder van die Weermag-afdeling wat die vasgekeerde polisie en Inkatha-lede moes bevry, het gister voor die geregtelike ondersoek na die dood van 42 mense op 4 September by die hostel getuig.

»*■“ * »y swygreg gebruik gemaak en me n beMigde verklaring voor die Polisie afgeli me om te voorkom dat hy hom blootstel aan strafregtelike vervol- 8'ng.

Hy het net 'n verslag oor die voorval aan die Kommandement Witwatersrand

gi,ter °P vrae van regterEddie Stafford, voorsi'tter van die onder­soek, geantwoord.

Regter Stafford het gesi omdat dit 'n opsienbarende ondersoek is en kmdt. Clu­lee die bevelvoerder was, kan die kom-’ mandant sy swygreg uitoefen.

Tot dusver is nog geen werklike aantv- ging oor die sterftes teen kmdt. Clulee

dfit^hv n u** 8C,;n aanduidin? bestaan dat hy n skietbevel gegee het nie, "maareic kan later van mening verander". het regter Stafford gesi.

Kort voor die ondersoek verdaaa het het kmdt. Clulee getuig hy het opdrng

d.le.vas8elceerde polisiemanne en Inkatha-lede te bevry uit 'n situasic wat in daardie stadium “ernstig gdyk

In sy 33 jaar diens in die Weermae is hv opgelei om “oorlog te maak en te baklei Elke kursus het sy opleiding verder ver- fyn, het hy getuig.

Lt Stephen van Neel (21) het vroeir getuig indien lede van Weermag nie skote in die lug geskiet het nie, sou baie nicer mense in die skare raak geskiet gewees net. Die soldate het begin skiet sonder dal hy n skietbevel gehoor het.

, H\ V®'?,^eel he* «es« berig is ontvang dat die ANC en Inkatha mekaar op Sebo- keng wil aanval en dat die polisie cn Inkatha vasgekeer is. Die soldate is op 'n parade meegedeel om minimum-gcweld te gebruik om die toestand te beredder het hy op vrae van adv. Ackermann gese’

Op die toneel het kmdt. Clulee siren* volgens staande prosedures gehandel-

s is n magsvertoning gehou; toe is oorreding probeer, daarna is traanrook geskiet en toe het enkelskote gevolg. Daar was niks wat kmdt. Clulee kon doen om le verhoed dat die soldate uit noodweer op- tree en skiet nie.

° p ’n vraag van adv. Ackermann het It Van Neel ges«: "As ’n offisier kan ek bevestig kmdt. Clulee het nie nalatig op- getree nie.” B 1

Die ondersoek duur voort.

SAP chief 'disappointed at use of live bullets'^THE district police commirafon^rw&s disap­pointed at the army’s firing of live rounds to rescue trapped police at the Sebokeng Hostel on September 4 this year, the Vereenlging inquest court into the deaths of 42 people heard yesterday.

Officer commanding the SADF unit in Sebo­keng on September 4, Cmdt Alf Clulee, said District Police Commissioner Col Piet Fourie had expressed his disappointment over the use of live ammunition to disperse a crowd of between 3 000 and 5 000 people.

Fourie had called for SADF help.

Clulee said he had not given an order to fire, and an order to cease fire was "shouted repeat­edly” until the shooting - during which more than 160 rounds were fired — had stopped.

Although no order to open fire was given, it was accepted that single rounds could be fired if a member of the force’s life was threatened and no officer saw what was happening.

The SADF member who fired the first shot, Rfn John Booysen, had “without hesitation" admitted shooting a man said to have been in the act of throwing a petrol bomb at him, Clulee said.

Clulee said he assumed most of the sharp ammunition fired was shot into the air.

He also accepted the supposition that 34 SADF members had fired shots.

He had found a petrol bomb near a dead man’s head. The wick was still smouldering.

Cross-examination of Clulee is expected to begin today. — Sapa.

‘Soldiers told to^°c / / * / * >lire only teargas’ !

By Thabo Leshilo

A report of the military in­quiry into the shooting of people by members of the SADF at the Sebokeng hos­tel was made available to counsel yesterday , by Mr Justice Stafford, chairman of the Supreme Court inquest into events at the hostel.

Forty-two people died at the hostel after incidents in volving Inkatha, hostel dwellers and soldiers on Sep­tember 4.

The commander of the SADF unit at the hostel was Commandant Alf Clulee.

OrderedHe told the inquest he had

ordered the soldiers to fire only teargas at the crowd of 3 000 to 5 000 outside the hostel.

At no stage had he ordered the troops to fire live ammu­nition, he said.

The use of teargas, Com­mandant Clulee explained, was the third of four “mini­mum force” steps the sol­diers had been told to use.

He said the first step was a show of strength. The sec­ond involved speaking tc the crowd and informing them that the army had not come to fight them but to rescue Inkatha and SAP members trapped inside the hostel.

The fourth step was the firing of a single shot in the event of the soldiers’ lives i being in danger.

Commandant Clulee had ordered the troops to fire teargas after the crowd had ] thrown stones at the troops.

The teargas, however, had had no effect on the crowd.

He said he hid heard a I shot ring out while the tear- gas was being- fired. Two f more shots were fired, fol* i

lowed by a volley of R-4 au­tomatic fire.

He said the soldiers had ! tired into the air.

After the shooting, which lasted 22 seconds, people who dived to avoid the bul- ' lets leapt up and ran away. |

One man lay dead and six j men seriously injured at the scene. A petrol bornUr with its wick extinguished, was found near the corpse. Fight­ing sticks and stones were also found at the scene.

Commandant Clulee said he had then asked the sol- ! diers who had fired first.

Rifleman John Booysen immediately admitted firing the shot “without hesitation”.

Rifleman Booysen told . Commandant Clulee that he had shot the man (who lay dead on the scene) because ! the man had hit him with a stone and was about to hurl j a petrol bomb at him.

)

SADF shooting- angered

1 Id o

Citizen ReporterT H E District Commis­

sioner of Police in Ver-

eeniging, Colonel Piet

Fourie, was angry at the

'S A D F for shooting at a

crowd of about 5 000

people outside the Sebo-

-keng Hostel on Septem­

ber 4, Commandant A lf

.Clulee, commanding offi­

cer of the company of sol­

diers who went to the hos­

tel, told the Verci. niging

judicial inquest into 42

deaths yesterday.

Cmdt Clulee said most

of the policemen — ex­

cept Col Fourie — who

were present when the

SA D F opened fire on the

crowd, were satisfied with

the way the soldiers had

acted.Cmdt Clulee said he

had tried to talk to the

crowd, who had gathered

outside the hostel to de­

mand the disarmament of

150 Inkatha members

trapped inside, but was

unsuccessful.

He said he first spoke

to them in Afrikaans,

then in English, but he could not be heard, as the people have shouted him

down.He then ordered tear-

! gas to be fired, which did

not have any effect, he

Colc ' C * ( 12

said.Almost immediately

after teargas was fired, he

heard a shot, then two

more shots, and then a

barrage of shots followed, i

Cmdt Clulee said after

he heard the second vol­

ley of shots, he immedi­

ately shouted the com­

mand to stop firing, which'

was carried on to the

troops through the two

officers in charge of the

two separate flanks.

He said his lieutenants

had shouted continuously

to the tfoops to stop fir­

ing, which they eventually

did.Cmdt Clulee had seen a

petrol bomb with a

smouldering fuse, lying

about two paces from the

man who had been alleg­

edly shot first by one of

his soldiers.

Back at the base, he

had asked his troops who

had fired, and Rifleman

John Booysen had come

forward without hesita­

tion.He said the troops had

been justified in shooting,

as their lives bad been in danger, especially Rfn

Booysen, who would

have been the target of a

petrol bomb.The hearing continues.

Beginsel van rue hardloop, gehandhaafGetuienis in Sebokeng-ondersoekVan Ons Vaaldriehoeroe Kantoor

VEREENIGING. - Sy 80 tToepe het die beginsel dat “ons nie weghardloop nie”, gehandhaaf nadat feitlik alle weer- magprosedures teen ’n gewapende skare misluk het, het kmdt. Alf Clulee, bevel- voerder van die soldate, gister getuig.

Hy het getuig in die geregtelike on- dersoek na die dood van 42 mense op 4 September by ’n hostel in Sebokeng.

Na die skietery, waartydens sowat 34 soldate sowat 162 skote geskiet het, was kol. Piet Fourie, distrikskommissaris van die Polisie in die Vaaldriehoek, ontevrede met die optrede van die Weermag.

Die soldate is ontbied om ’n handjie- vol vasgekeerde polisiemanne en lede van Inkatha uit die hostel op Sebokeng te bevry, het kmdt. Clulee getuig. Vroeer is getuig dat kol. Fourie beveel het die Weermag moet die mense bevry “sonder om te slaan of te skiet”.

Sover hy kon sien, het sy troepe in die lug geskiet. Hulle het nie na die skare gemik nie, het kmdt. Clulee getuig.

Sy troepe het uit noodweer opgetree. As hulle nie so opgetree het nie, sou hulle hul eie lewens en die van die Polisie en Inkatha-lede gevaar gestel hei.

Gister tydens die geregtelike onder- soek is ’n gepriviligeerde dokument van die Weermag onder streng voorwaardes van geheimhouding aan regsverteen- woordigers van die Polisie, Inkatha en familielede van oorledenes beskikaar gestel.

Regter Eddie Stafford, die voorsitter, het gese hy sal dit as minagting van die hof in die ergste graad beskou as insae in die dokument wyer kring as amptenare van die hof.

Kmdt. Clulee het gister getuig hy het vergeefs die Weermag se standaard- 1 skarebeheerprosedures nagekom.

Die magsvertoon wat hy opgestel het i met militere voertuie en manskappe in I ’n wigformasie, het misluk Dit het die !

skare, wat petrolbomme en ander wa- pens rondgeswaai het, nie afgeskrik nie.

Pleks dat die skare die wyk geneem j het, het hulle nader gekom. Na tien tree | kon hy en sy wigformasie nie verder j vorder nie, terwyl die plofpunt van die ! situasie ’n ent vorentoe by ’n hostelhek was.

Die voorhoede van die skare het 8 m voor hom gaan sit, terwyl die agterhoede later begin klippe gooi het.

Die volgende stap was om die skare te oorreed om pad te gee. Dit het ook misluk. Die derde stap was traanrook. Agt traanrookgranate en -houers het ook geen uitwerking gehad nie. Klippe is na sy troepe geslinger. Die volgende stap sou skerp ammunisie wees.

j

“Maar ek het in geen omstandighede geen bevel van enige aard gegee om met skerp ammunisie te skiet nie,” het kmdt. Clulee getuig. Hy het getuig indien ’n soldaat se lewe bedreig word en sy offisier sien die bedreiging nie betyds nie, hoef die soldaat nie op ’n skietbevel te wag nie. Die soldaat is ten voile by magte om te skiet.

Toe die klippe begin val, het hy eers een skoot gehoor; toe twee skote en toe ’n klomp skote. Hy het onmiddellik beveel dat die skietery gestaak word. Die bevel is deur sy twee bruin luitenan- te herhaal totdat die laaste skoot geval het. Hiema het hy een dooie en ses gewondes gesien, het kmdt. Clulee gese.

Die ondsrsoek duur voort.

'officeT didliom enW bomb thr07 ” ,atpo™~»«»““d ' , l l z l a ok p f t R O L bomb was P0?. rhalrmanA rE j* „ c» npfenceta-i 5*5-5-W S S ^ s v s imention was made of it in a report to an internal inqu - rv bv the officer command-S&swrJssi‘ • S M o Z - * " ? "Vereenigmg in('ul^ P at rol bomb was thrown a SADF members but fell b him! them. He did not men­tion this in his report as he had already noted that the mob estimated at between2 000 and 5 000, had bran­dished such devices.

He also said a petroibomb, with a wick that was

smouldering when he picked it up, was not amongevidence given to the in quest and had not been pho- tnoraphed with other wea-

ins connstnw •He told inquest chairman

Mr Justice Eddie Staf he had counted nine petrol bombs on the truck that took confiscated weaponsto the Sebokeng police sta­

tion on September 4.Leading evidence for the

state Anton Ackermansaid in the light of one of the

SADF members having shot someone in the. mob, allegedly in self-defence, the petrol bomb allegedly

thrown at him

lrTn° his statement, Clulee

E 'S S ^ l^s p j s t aa*mand to open fire.

The hearing is to con­tinue today. — Sapa.

Collection Number: AK2672 Goldstone Commission BOIPATONG ENQUIRY Records 1990-1999 PUBLISHER: Publisher:- Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand Location:- Johannesburg ©2012

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