MEMORANDUM TO: NEIL COLEMAN, COSATU FROM: … ·  · 2012-10-29S ' f ~ his ^murder? ... vigil, Kheswa and some others went to the Riviera Hotel m Three Rivers, Vereeniging. They

MEMORANDUM

TO: NEIL COLEMAN, COSATU

FROM: A STEENKAMPCHEADLE THOMPSON & HAYSOM

REF: NH/C2/91DATE: 27 MAY 1991

re: SBBOKENG BEER HALL ATTACK 2 3/05/91

1. At about 19hl5 on Thursday 23/05/91, two men armed with AK-47 rifles opened fire on about 100 people in the Gobizitwana Kooperasie Beer Hall in Sebokeng. Five people were killed immediately, and by Monday 27/05/91 the death toll had risen to 13. Twenty One people were injured in the attack.

2. We received information that a suspect who lives at Kwamadala Hostel Sibusiso Ndamara, was seen speeding away from the Beer Hall in a Nissan Laurel. This information, as well as a request to search the Kwamadala Hostel, was conveyed to The Minister of Law and Order, The Commissioner of Police and Major General R. van der Westhuizen.

3. I spoke to the investigating officer in this matter, Warrant Oficer Sydney Puth on Monday 27/05/91. He informed me that the police did search Kwamadala Hostel on Friday night, as requested, but they did not find any firearms. The police also questioned Sibusiso Ndamara, but no witnesses were able to identify him with the shooting. It was found that Ndamara was present at the Beer Hall on the night of the shooting, but he could not be linked to the incident. Ndamara's car, a Nissan Laurel, was searched but nothing was found in the car. Ndamara had a pistol with him, for which he produced the license. No pistol cartridges were found at the scene of the shooting.Sibusiso Ndamara is also known as "Blessing Chonco", who was— 5ng ~of ilm— i~T7 suspects in .the Inkatha attack of4 September 1990. --------

5. Ten cartridges, apparently from AK-47's, were found at the scene and have been sent for ballistic tests by the police.

27/05/91 15:27 C. T. AND H. 253 P03

- 2 -

I have also been in telephonic contact with Major GeneralR. van der Westhuizen in Pretoria, who informed me thatextra policemen will be gent to Sebokeng to assist thelocal police station with the investigation into this incident.

t0 Press reports, no arrest3 had been made by 27/05/91, and no AK-47's had been confiscated.

S S P Q R T — 9 F ___ S E B Q j c K M r ' _M A S S A C R 2 C > ^ 7 ^ ------ v

1 1 4 7 2 Zone 7h SebckengCn Saturday 12 January 1991 cru-Ten -•

shcpsteward, Mandla Nanga'leSfce cde M i r d ^ * °f s>nopsteward at Ca’-o + a .,v, ' "ana.a _s awhen the workers' refused ' to 7* Problemsparticular one Sibusiso c h o n c l ^ K f d ^ e n ^ o l J e d 3 / 4 September massacre at Sebckena "arrested with 14 others Seboken, Hostel* with^47™° i,al!!SL«,r- iS y„ii14?2.MorMa-‘- h« 1202s:3usr»n

drives ^ i s s a n ° D a « u n ^ L a u ^ l ’S f S 1, "t°™«P-clever»Hek dhr ~ 2 H ! « s - s ofc o n ^ t ^ i a ^ ^ ^ SSengave his address as Kwa-Maria i a* w % Xf presen1:ly unemployed,

but still drives around with a well “^ n t ^ i l f £ ? “MA.VDLA NANGALEMRF

w a r \ ” sPtS.eMntfiale^ f e aW” the. ^ un9 « brother of Mandla. He

- °fS ' f ~ his ^murder? were the leader arrested prior to his death

released o n ^ o n ^ y ^ f “d T y ^ a ^ X ^ t o p ^ s’T d *“ ■ » and other relatives requestecf^liceup.Altogether 38 people" wYre kil^ed^heTii.6in the earlv hour-? c=, j when the gunmen struckwas followed r f i v e S Mandla Nan<?alembeJanuary.He had just left th« * u°n • WednesdaY 16member, when the s mor. creek* where he is an executive

s r s « % « — — —

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representative cf the Kva 7 1ruaored to be a center of H.r other son is

2 i ;-;: c l e s

A powder tl up a..ada was sppnOn Sunday6*!2 / i / s i I n f i l l ' 5/1/91- r y SUS- — about

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Cape Gate shcpstewa*--1 •Makon;anaIunder?fke^C°bS Tsipe(016 ) 93-4805list o p deceased a t ZON* 7 /••1 ZONB 7 (incomplete)1. Rose Thofaela

3698 zcmet

2 . Edward Motludisi 8 4 De Beur

3' m l Meshack Malaahia

4. Gideon Lovey Mbe^e U483 Zone5- Lillian Khumalo

10937 Zone 7b6 • Evelyn Nduao

1310 Dow Road Evaton7. Elias Mthombeni 1000 Zone 78. Percy Mpho Mbele

11483 Zone 7b

9' 1 1 ^ ^ * Paulos se « s 11416 vena street Zone 7b

10' l l H 5 VZiSnee7Wa M a “eni

4

JJUARY 17, 19 91

Kgetisi Kheswa was due to appear in court on 17/1/1991 on charges cf pcssession of a firearm and ammunition which relates to the January 2, 1991 incident. According to Saul Tsotetsi, Kheswa failed to appear in court. Tsotetsi says he also has information that just after the attack on the vigil, Kheswa and some others went to the Riviera Hotel m Three Rivers, Vereeniging. They were apparently staying in a room at the hotel and that only one person had access to them. Tsotetsi says he was given this information by a man who works at the hotel. A woman allegedly supplied the men with food etc in the room twice day at llhOO and again at 15h00. Tsotetsi and others went to the hotel on 17/1/1991 to investigate. However the woman was not on duty and from what they could gather the men had left the hotel. Tsotetsi believes that the woman may know the whereabouts of Kheswa and the others. He is trying to track down this woman.

On 17/1/1991, Manala Nangalembe, the deceased's brother, attended an identity parade to identify the policeman who refused to take the statement about his brother's kidnapping

on January 5, 1991.

NOTE:

The SAP in Sebokeng have released the names of the people they have detained in connection with the vigil massacre.

They are:1) Aaron Mtshali2) Bhekunubi Ngema3) Janet Kheswa (Possibly Kgetisi Kheswa's sister)4) Zimbuzi Khuzwayo5) Darkhi Chongo* (Possibly one of the accused who were found in possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives

granted bail of M o 0 on 12/12/1990 in the Sebokenggional Court, he gave his address as KwaMadala Hostel

Xscor) '

«) Daniel Mabote (Probably Themba Mabote/Kubheka)7) SUwani Kubheka (Probably Themba Kabote's brother orrelative who linked the group to Inkatha. See incident of December 29, 1 9 5 0)S) Joseph Ndhlovu

9) Thomas Lukhozi (possibly Sipho Majozi)10) Aubrey Myena

11) Harry Mamato (Possibly Zandi Mamatu)^12) Hunter Ndhlovu (This is Hunter sello Hdhlov.)

The investigating offioer in this Matter is Warrant officer De Jager. He can be contacted on (016) 88-1551.

The names of those detained have been released and we havecompared them to a list of people released on bail forpossession of arms on December 1 8 , 1 9 9 0 . Many of thosereleased on bail were from KwaHadala Hostel. This could beuseful, seeing that the policeman who spoke to MandlaMazibuko said 18 of the people involved were from KwaKadala jMp stel.In this regard, one of those arrested for the vigilmassacre, Darkhi Chongo could be Sibuso chongo who appeareda the sebokeng Regional Court on charges of possession offirearms, ammunition, and explosives. He was released on R200 bail. ^

The Board has also compared the names of the 12 arrested people to those who were arrested on September 4 , 1 9 9 0 at the sebokeng Hostel together with Themba Khoza.The Board has discovered that two of the people arrested for

e vigil massacre, Zimbuse Khuzwayo, and Aaron Mtshali were also arrested at the Sebokeng Hostel with Themba Khoza on charges of possession of arms and ammunition.

ituraseerr atrhaII killings,not arrested’he had

'retoriaMinister,7e thatevery-olence

Bail tor 11 vigiiter (lL (<7 |

massacre accusedBy SO PHIE TEMA

A BAIL a[)plication bv 11 people arrest­ed in connection with the Se b o k en g night vigil massacre was turned down by a \ anderbijlpark magis tra te this week.

Ma gis tra te G Revndcrs told the 11 ji people f;icing 37 murder ch ar g es that he ( I look into account the fact their lives j j "ere in danger and their h o m e s had been || burnt down.ii Re>nders added there was n o g u a r a n - |' tee they would not skip ba i l , s i n c e n ine o f

them had no f ixed p l a c e s o f a b o d e a n d Here u n e m p l o y e d .

H e said most o f the a c c u s e d had t o l d ? * A | ie court they were too sc a red to return V

the townships, and preferred to go back to the K waM ad al a H o s t e l wherethey lived when arrested. (__ _

H e told the accused Iscor hous ing manager S T W Basson had told the court the KwaM ada la H o s te l was solely for Iscor employees. Regul ar raids were carried out to remove i l l egal residents.

Reynders said he al so cons idered the act the accused were fac ing a number o f

charges and may also have to face charges o f a ttempted murder as there were still about 12 serious ly ill people in hospital from whom state m ent s had to be obtained.

War ra nt off icer M ari us de Jager, w ho supported the S t a t e ’s refusal o f bail, said the pol ice -were still searching for three assaul t rifles which they believe were used during the vigil at tack.

_ H e said pol ice had recovered 10 AK- 47s , o f which two were bal l i st ical iy c o n ­nected to the shootings.

Earlier, Bueiah Kubheka, a relative of five o f the accused, told the court it was^ safe for the II people to take up resi­dence at the K waM ad al a Ho ste l , c l a im ­ing an Inkatha delegation had obtained permission from Iscor.

Kubheka said she was a memb er of Inkatha and a Uni ted W o r k e r s ’ Union o f S ou t h Africa (Uwusa) of f ice -bearer and was hersel f staying at the hostel as her house was burnt down.

Th e accus ed will remain in custody until February 22, when the trial starts.

EZaSEESSE Beseiged councillorsfind ally in InkathaDEFIANT township councillors who have resisted calls by the Civics Associa­tion of Southern Transvaal to resign have finally found their ally in the Inkatha Freedom Parry.

At a rally attended by more than 35000 Inkatha supporters at Jabulani Amphitheatre on Saturday, councillors and mayors received a standing ovation and a mock 21-gun-saJute.

Introduced as guests of honour, Kwa­Zulu chief minister Chief Gatsha Buthelezi joined them for photograph sessions.

Buthelezi assured them of IFP sup­port - something they have been yearning for for sometime.

The councillors have been ostracised.Some have had their houses petrol-'

bombed. Others hive had their businesses boycotted.

Last year Cast embarked on a con­certed campaign to end the councillor*’ job*.

While some resigned, others remained defiant, especially those in Soweto. Even mass acnon campaigns could not change their mrads.

Those that resigned criticised the Transvaal Provincial Administration for "lepm m rm g” Cast by overlooking them , parocalirly during negotiations

By DON SEO KANE

over power cuts.Buthelezi strongly lashed out at the

campaign to oust councillors.“ It is shameful that campaigns

against locai authorities have cost us so many lives and such heavy losses through the destruction of so many homes,” he said.

“ We respect the right of people to of­fer themselves for these council positions and we respect the right of people who want to vote for them to do so.

"W e respect you for the positions that you hold,” Buthelezi told the coun­cillors.

The councillors have accused Cast of being undemocratic, pointing out that its leaders are not elected.

They hive urged Cast and any other organisation that opposes them to contest their legitimacy through the ballot.

They argued that the reason for the low turnout in their elections is that people have been intimidated and told not to vote.

In a message of hope to councillors besieged by rent boycotts and power cuts. Buthelezi tu d that he expected thit people would d o longer be inrimidated after his meeting with the ANC.

Inkatha S« t . r and office bearer of the United Workers Union of South Africa an Inkatha supporting union, .Mrs Eeullah Kubheka asked the magistrate to release all the accused into the care of the hostel dwellers at Kwa Madala in Vanderbijlpark. However on February 6, Magistrate Gerald Reynders declined to give the 11 accused bail and pointed to the seriousness of the charges against the accused as well as the fact that many of them had no fixed address and that nine of the 11 were jobless. (The citi?»n 7/2/1991).

Further developments in Sebokeng relate to the ongoing judicial inquest and the proceedings following the findings of the Goldstone Commission of inquiry.

The inquest is being held into the deaths of 37 people who were killed on September 4,, 1 9 9 0 at Sebokeng Hostel, some by the SADF and others allegedly by Inkatha members, is continuing. The inquest was set up largely as a result of statements taken by the Board.

o 2 SOWbTAN I hursday May 30 199 1

By MATHATHA TSEDUUniversity o f the Noriii has deployed cainpus

ity officers at the female residence following a of ra|>es which have led to a sit-in by women stu-

urces on campus said tension within the female nee had risen after a student was allegedly ra|xnl ipoint on Saturday night.male students, who had been complaining o f being led, invaded the male residence on" Sunday, iislraling against rapes and calling for protection, is understood the students repiesenlative council encd but no conclusion had been reached, i Monday the female students staged a sit-in and 'lied classes, demanding the deployment of ty peisonnel and the installation of intercoms in representatives’ rooms.

mass meeting was held that night whicl^ended in r as both sexes exchanged insults, campus sources

■ SRC sjjokesman said, however, the meeting had ed that unity was needed to combat the menace. KC eventually acceded to the request for security .vho were on guard on Tuesday night.

Five wounded gunmenopen

FIV E people were wounded, one critically, when three gunm en opened fire with AK-47 rifles at a coalyard in Sebokeng on Tuesday night.

All the victims have been admitted to Sebokeng Hospital.

Hie aiiack camc barely a week after 13 people were killed when masked gunmen opened Tire on about 100 patrons at the Gobizitwana Koopcrsie Beerhall in Zone 14, Sebokeng. No one has been arrested in connection with the May 23 incident.

A police spokesman said yesterday that the latest shooting occurred when the gunmen apparently crept up on four people - two men and two women - silting around a lire ai the Moutheuwel coalyard in Sebokeng.

I he next moment they opened fire, wounding Joseph Mokoena (41), Shadrack Mnxongo (36), Anna Non- lanyana (39) and Elizabeth Phiri (33), whose conditions were said yesterday to be satisfactory.

I he attackers fled and about 100 metres from the scene opened fine on another person. The unidentified

trydom should hang’

man is in a critical condition al Sebokeng Hospital.Meanwhile, at least six people died, nine were in­

jured and 53 were arrested as political violence flared in townships across the country on Tuesday, police have said.

An attempt to abduct a schoolgirl from Nalcdi High school resulted in retaliation from other pupils, said Soweto police spokesman Colonel Jac de Vries.

He said several youths armed with stones and petrol bombs went on the rampage, setting a vehicle and three houses alight.

On Monday the badly burnt body of a man was found in the smouldering rubble of a shack in Soweto’s Chicken Farm squatter camp.

Two recently indemnified ANC members were ar­rested at a roadblock in Pimville, Soweto, on Tuesday for the possession of a stolen vehicle and four FI hand- grenades.

In Phola Park, outside Tokoza, the body of a man who was stoned to death was found. A man was shoi and wounded at Tembisa, near Kempion Park. - Sowetan Correspondent and Supa.

IKE M OTSAPI•ND Strydoin, the oclttiincil leader it Wit V»olwe” , is iiinal ^<nd should e handed, for whatI P-lllorc f .. • I.

released from jails be­cause they were fighting apartheid when they were detained,* e said.

M ike o f indrnaccused

cam e violent and fought the system o f racial d is­crim ination .”

“ I want to state that my decision to say this is ml political.

Upington 11 leave prison

appeal.. „ ~ Selhwala was killedJan B a s s c ^ o found no aftcr hc |)at, |k d f , jextenuating circum- h(1|ls,. vvhl.„ i( U;K v,

Striker,' ‘entice< to eat’becued meat mui whiffed into their ce making the temptation eat very strong.

The Department Prisons and Correctio

[ Services has, howev denied liie allegation.

“ Our next meal v be in heaven or at botju (lie men said.

Both complained stomach cramps, diz ness, fatigue and ccssant headaches.

Hie men, both Emndeni, Soweto, are i only political prisom

I held in the prison.Mbatha was jailed I

14 years last year for i tempted murder, sabota, and illegal possession oi firearm and ammunition

Mhlckwa was sente ccd to five years f armed robbery.

Prison Service* spo esman Colonel DJ Ir mclinan said: "It ia ti policy of the Depliljpe of Correctional SerVIo not to comment on huqg strikes by individuals <

(HAAS'S Reft £

/3 /s /?//3 D ad

Gunmen kill 4,wound 19 in. C / 7 -z^/sA/

beerhall raidIP ______ . .F O U R people were killed and 19 others w ounded last night when gunm en burst into a beerhall in Sebo- keng, near V ereeni- ging, and spraved pat-

i rons with AK-47 gun- i fire.j The incident was con- I finned by both the Wit- j watersrand police liaison ! officer, Capt Ida van Zweel, and the owner of the Kooperasie Beerhall, Mr Bernard Motsapi.

i Mr Motsapi said that at (about 7.10pm, a guard .attempted to prevent sev­e r a l men from entering the beerhall after he no-

[ticed they had balaclavas jover'their faces. f- ‘Within minutes, we j heard shooting. I ran out | °* my office and saw the | gunmen spraying the pat- jrons with their automatic | weapons. Everyone in the j building scattered in all | directions. We could not do anything else as thev

. were shooting while we I ran for our lives.”I Capt Van Zweel said | two men burst into the I beerhall in Sebokeng's , ^ °n e 14 and sprayed the

f place with gunfire.f ' “We can confirm that | four People were killed

was an isolated incident. ” Mr Motsapi said police

were alerted to the inci­dent only after he located a telephone near the

beerhall.‘‘Ira n out of the office; said some pamms had

and fled down the nearby , noted a * registration j street in Zone 14, where 1V number o f the' vehicle managed to contart the «sed by the attackers, pofice throw * a »eigh- Mr Motsapi said he c£d boor s boose. They came not know how more than fboot half-ap-hopr later, \!00 other patrons man, together with ambo-~ (Jaged to escape. bnces The wuuuded | “It was crazy here. »ere taken to the Seboj4 People were spilling over keng HospitaLX I { ^ ^ and screaming in

A local ANC official horror as they tried to es­cape the ballets from

j these bandits. It ts the first time something hi.e

i this has happened at my pfaoe- b is shocking. I can’t believe it as I speak to yew.”

A spokesman for the Sebokeag Hospital coo- finned about 2D people

.were being treated for gunshot wounds ! • The death of three men in unrest incidents an Wednesday raised the owmtry-wide death toB to Z26sbke the beginning ofthe -n n tl .

In Rchm oad, south of Pietermaritzburg, pofice fcwnd the bocSes of two ■ e* with txtQet wounds- — Sapa.

A beer with friends— then bullets ^ stopped the laughterLUNCHTIMES, especially on a Friday, see the Gobizi- twana (Kooperasie) Beer- hall bustle with activity. Normally, regulars are sip­ping sorghum beer and ex­changing jokes, their laugh­ter echoing in the hall.

However, this was not the scene yesterday.

The beerhall was empty. Half-filled cartons of beer stood next to dry, crusted pools of blood. Bullets had peppered the walls and the steel benches were in dis­array.

There was no laughter.

HushedO u ts id e , m e n a n d

women, all regulars of this usually enjoyable place, stood on the streets with folded arms and exchanged hushed words.

Those who managed a drink sat on a bench just outside the beerhall. The winter dust did not both­er them

Only 24 hours earlier, gunmen in te rru p ted an early evening drinking ses­sion, spraying the elderly men and women with AK- 47 fire that killed four peo­ple on the spot

Another six died later in hospital. Eleven more were injured.

Bernard Motsapi, owner j of the establishment, was

too sad to say much. In the ! 27 years that he has been at

the beerhall he has never experienced such an inci­dent

Over the years he got to know his patrons per­sonally, and when one of them died, his “heart bled

JOVIAL RANTAO

and his head ceased to work".

“I knew most of them personally and what hap­pened to them is sad and regrettable. Most lived at the KwaMasiza F lats and worked for Iscor," Mr Mot­sapi said.

Much as he would want to know. Mr Motsapi does not have any idea why the assailants chose his place. Neither can he identify the attackers.

“I was busy with my books, preparing to close down when, just after 7 pm, gunshots interrupted my peace.

“There was silence for a short while and then screams, wails and more gunfire,” he said.

Mr Motsapi said he later opened emergency exits to allow those who could walk to escape and then rushed to a nearby house to call the police and ambulances.

He added: “Who would w ant to kill people who could never hu rt a fly? People who drink here are poor and cannot afford to buy beers. They a re so friendly.”

GunshotsAt the Sebokeng Hospi­

tal, elderly men, writhing in pain, tried to figure out why they were attacked.

“I had just taken a sip from my first drink when I heard gunshots," said Gevin Mcewa, a labourer from Transkei.

“After I heard shots, I fell to the ground. When I

tried to stand up, I could not my right leg was co­vered with blood. Friends helped me by pulling me under tables to hide me.”

Mr Mcewa. a father of five school-going children, was not sure whether he would go back for a drink at Gobizitwana, his water­ing hole for many years.

Thanduxolo Mtsobo con­siders himself lucky to be alive after being hit by an AK-47 bu llet. " I t w ent through my left hand.” he said.

Mr Mtsobo said the gun­fire started when he was in the middle of an interesting conversation with his group of friends. “We had bought lots and lots of liquor and had hardly drunk any when w e w e re a t t a c k e d . I thought I was going to die when I saw my body co­vered in blood.”

InformationM em bers of the Vaal

branch of the ANC said in­form ation, including the registration number of the car used by the attackers, had been handed over by neighbours to the police

H o w e v e r a p o l ic e spokesman in Pretoria said the information could not help police investigations.

“We confirm that infor­mation was given to the police that a vehicle was seen in the area where the attack occurred,” said an SAP statement

“The vehicle was traced, stopped and searched. No weapons which could be linked to the attack were found.*1

Beerhatl deaths —four heldFO U R people have been arrested in connection "'ith Thursday night's ar­med attack on a beer hal] in Sebokeng, near V’er- eeniging, in which 13 peo­ple died.

According to eyewit­ness reports, two masked gunmen arm ed with AK- 47 rifles opened fire insi­de the Kooperasie Beer- nall in the township’s ^one 7 just after 7pm .

I According to a police ; report yesterday two AK-

i -47 rifles, siezed by police while making the arrests, nave been sent for ballis­tic tests together with se­veral spent cartridges found at the scene of the shooting.

Five people wounded in the attack have since died, according to the po- lce statem ent, bringing

the death toll to 13.

The statem ent congra­tulated investigating poli­ce officers “ for making the arrests within 24 hours of the shootings.

“The investigation is continuing and more ar­rests may follow,” the sta­tement added. - Sapa

‘Warlord seen at beerhall killings,

S TrW t f

but not arrestedP e ta T h o rn y c ro f t

BATTLE-SCARRED hostel residents in Sebokeng say police failed to arrest an “Inkatha warlord" who they believe was one of three men responsible for the deaths of 13 people at a beerhall on Thursday night.

And as tension mounts around Sebokeng's KwaMa- dala hostel which belongs to Iscor, and is reportedly occupied by many unemployed men, Cosatu has issued

; a warning that it will hold Iscor and the SAP “civilly i and criminally responsible” if there is another attack ; on its members by inmates from KwaMadala Hostel.I Late yesterday the police announced that they had

arrested four men in connection with the beerhall massacre in which five people were killed, and eight more died later of their injuries. The police say two masked men entered the beerhalls and fired AK-47s into the crowd. Two AK-47s have been recovered.

I ...Mr Neil Coleman, information officer for Cosatu, said yesterday: “We once again warn the Government and the management of Iscor who owns the hostel that

:'we will hold them responsible both criminally and civ-. ’ my for any further attacks which are launched fron* this hostel of death. - -= - •

“We believe there are weapons in there and unem ; ployed men who are trained as vigilantes, and who; have no right to live in that hostel, ready to act at anjk moment. *

!‘ “We have instructed our lawyers to demand that the Commissioner of Police and the Minister of Law

! and Order search this hostel, and we demand that the Iscor management immediately evict the vigilantes who have no right to be staying on this property.” »

* The man accused by Sebokeng residents of taking part in the beerhall shoot-out is one of the accused in last September’s massacre in Sebokeng which left more than 20 people dead and is out on bail. He i^ known as an Inkatha warlord in the township and i» resident in KwaMadala. - •

Residents near the beerhall say that both they ancj the police clearly saw the man in the area shortly after the beerhall tragedy. *

f KwaMadala hostel was for a long tim e uninhabited* | However it is the property of Iscor, and only its work* ! ers are supposed to live there.,'.

. A spokesman for the SAP yesterday said it wa} I difficult to comment on this case “off the cuff, as Isc o b r' is also involved. >;•. . , *f “We were given the registratipivDurgberjof the'vehi» ' cle involved, we traced it, stopped it and searched iU !■ The police found nothing to perm it us to detain th£ ; man for further questioning. We call on anyone whfl !' can make a positive identification on the beerhall case

to come forward." •• Yesterday Sebokeng and Evaton were declared un*

crest areas. Seven men, all Zulus were arrested at [ Kwesine hostel in Katlehong early yesterdavTn con; t nection with possession of weapons and ammunition, j

4 held over 'beerhall massacreFour people have been arrested in connection with an arm ed a t­tack on a beerhall in Sebokeng, near Vereeniging, on Thursday night in which 13 people died, police said a t the weekend.

According to witnesses, two m asked gunm en a rm ed w ith AK-47 rifles en tered the Koo-

! perasie Beerhall in the town­ship’s Zone 14 just a fte r 7 pm and opened fire.

"P o lic e se ized tw o AK-47 rifles, which have been sent for ballistic tests. At the scene of th e sh o o tin g , s e v e ra l sp e n t AK-47 cartridges were found,” a police statem ent said.

T he d e a th to ll h as r is e n

sharp ly since the a ttac k , ac ­cording to the SAP.

“I t w as orig inally reported th a t e ig h t peop le had been k illed . F iv e of the w ounded since died, bringing the to ta l number killed to 13.”

The statem ent congratulated police involved In the a rrests “for m aking the breakthrough within 24 hours of the shooting".

The owner of the beerhall, Bernard Motsapi, said he could not think of a reason for the a t­tack. “My custom ers are Xhosa, Zulu, Venda, Sotho, Tsonga and so on, but we’ve never had prob­lems, even a t the height of un­rest.”

S u rv iv o r Ja ck so n Som ane. said from his hospital bed: "Two people appeared at the entrance and started firing at the patrons with powerful guns.” The men never uttered a word but con­tinued to fire as patrons ran for cover, Mr Somane said.

Victim Benjamin Masina said he saw several men firing from the entrance of the building.

“ T here w as confusion and people tried to run away, but many of them fell.”

• Sebokeng and Evaton w ere declared unrest areas on Satur­day. — Sapa.

over killing* at beerhall

rum*By THEMBA MOLEFE

NO one has been arrested yet in connection with last week’s Sebokeng beerhall shootings while similar cases dragon.

Police said on Monday they had mistakenly an­nounced that four people had been arrested in connec­tion with last Thursday’s AK-47 rifle attack in which 13 people were killed by masked gunmen in a beerhall.

i Police have also said three of the six people arrested in connection with the May 12 Swanieville squatter camp massacre have been charged with public violence and the others discharged.

Twenty-eight people were killed in a pre-dawn at­tack on the squatter camp by about 1 000 armed men wearing red headbands.

Some residents claimed they saw white policemen leading the group and firing at their shacks.

In clearing the mistake about the latest Sebokeng carnage, the SAP’s Directorate of Public Relations said the four men were actually arrested in connection with several shootings in Soweto on Friday night

At least 12 people were killed that night when groups of armed men wearing red headbands attacked the township. Two policemen were killed.

by memories of massacre

By THEMBA • MOLEFE

lets or scurried for cover." I t was sickening and

I was very, very scared as the sound of rapid gunfire and .. screaming - in­creased,” said Mkhize.

The father of a six- month-old baby girl was also in the'beerhall then.

THURSDAY May 23 1991 will forever be etched in the mind of security guard Mr Richard Mkhize who witnessed the shoot­ing in which 13 people were killed in Zone 4 Sebokeng.

• What probably saved1l39-year-old .Mkhize’s life^ Biau ... ---------------— _! was his panic when he < He told of his ordeal: found himself facing the > ,“ i was sitting on one

^barrel of an AK-47 as-," of t h e cement tables in the sault rifle and a masked' b e e r h a l l when the masked glossy painted face while;- gunman - walked in and

;on duty about_7.15pm at I stoppedas 1 turned and •the' Gobizitwana.: looked far him. I saw his.KpoperasieBeerhall. J _ hand go inside his jacket ^

’ He said as he jumped! and w henTsaw the long• away with his' arms flay-j * barrel of a gun, I realised Ing in the air In panic, his he waa going to ahoot left hand inadvertently hit ,s ’ 'the AK-47 at the same; . • W f l l t e , time that the gunman. V v < “ He was very close to who was about a foo t. me, so close that 1 could

f away, pulled the trigger.."* see he had painted his“ The bullets aimed a t1 -face black. I have seen

me hit the top of a wall; very dark people In my and 1 fell and hid under . life but this m ans face

I the cement table. S c r e a m s . - : was so glossy that it was ’ rented the air as the' 100- obviously painted. . •, V 1 odd patrons were e i t h e r ; ^ ^ I^ c a n n o t say for fhlt by the barrage of bul-'; certain that he was white.'-

He never spoke a word and his hands as he fired the gun were concealcd inside the cuffs of his jacket and the rifle was slung over his shoulder inside the greenish khaki jacket. ’

“ 1 will never forget the human blood, brain ■> and flesh after the gun- j men - 1 think they were ‘ two ^ disappeared in thedark.” . '

• I 'VfArrests

The owner of tMe beer- ’ hall Mr Bennet Motsapi, w as' overcome by the massacre: •‘Why ‘ should anybody do'this to other, human beings,” he said. I

Mr Johannes Pilane was lucky. He was d is - . charged at the Sebokeng: Hospital on Saturday after sustaining a bullet wound I to his left upper arm.

• Police have arrested, four people .,Within 24! hours of the attack and]

seized two AK-47!rifles* : j More arrests jnay fol- ;

low, a statement Said.at ■ •• the weekend. ■ ■ * • •

pilane waa shot In the arm at the beerhall massacre.

SAP blunder over beerhall killing

C is . , ... -.1 ...\ n l

POLICE yesterday said they made a mis­take when they an­nounced that Tour people had been ar­rested in connection with last Thursday’s AK-47 attack in a Sebokeng beerhall where 13 people were killed.

In a statement yester­day the South African Po­lice Directorate for Public Relations said no arrests had yet been made in con­nection with the shooting at the Gobizitwana Ko- opcrasie Beerhall in Zone 14.

The statement said: "W hile the facts are cor­rect in that four men were aiTested and two AK-47 rifles seized, they are being held in connection with a number o f shoot­ings which occurred in Soweto on Friday night and Saturday morning, and not in connection with the Sebokeng inci­dent.”

ByTHEM BA M O LEFE

I.aw and Order spokesman Brigadier Leon Mellet on Saturday personally handed a state­ment announcing that four people had been ar­rested in connection with the Sebokeng shooting to a Sapa reporter at the G overnm ent's peace sum­mit in Pretoria.

The initial statement, like the second one, omitted to give details concerning the charges against and whereabouts o f the suspects, circum­stances o f the arrests, as well as police units in­volved, Sapa reported yesterday.

A security guard at the beerhall, Mr Richard Mkhize, told Sowetan that one of the masked attack­ers in Thursday’s carnage had masked his face and painted it heavily.

His hands were con­cealed inside his jacket sleeves as he fired at the 100 patrons, he said.

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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