A mass of evidence before the Natal courts points to a failure by police to apprehend "warlords" accused of large-scale thuggery, intimidation and murder in the Pietermaritzburg area. Two more temporary interdicts were served this week on Inkatha-supporting "warlords", restraining them from killing, assaulting, threatening or intimidating people. This brings to seven the number of interim interdicts which have been won against them – yet all are still walking around freely.
One of the most striking examples is Christopher Sichizo Zuma, who has had two interdicts granted against him. An application for contempt of court was brought against Zuma this week after two men, who were party to a court order seeking to restrain him from committing acts of violence against them were allegedly shot by him at the weekend. This allegation is contained in papers before the court. The temporary interdicts already granted against Zuma restrain him from multiple murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, arson, assault and intimidation. Lawyers bringing the applications say despite the large amount of evidence produced in court, there is no indication of the police investigating Zuma.
According to affidavits forming part of the contempt of the court application, Zuma showed the papers to a relative on Saturday. On Sunday, the affidavits claim, he shot Smallridge Mthembu, the third applicant in the interdict in the shoulder. The fourth applicant, Simon Mthembu, was also shot and is paralysed from the waist down. According to the Mthembu's lawyers, there is still no sign of the police arresting Zuma, while an eyewitness to the shootings has been arrested and charged with public violence. Several "warlords" mentioned in court papers have lengthy criminal records.
Peter Harris, a lawyer involved in drawing up the cases against the "warlords", said interdicts had been launched in the hope that this would control their activities. "With certain 'warlords' – and one in particular – this was found not to be the case, and we had to launch a second interdict against thesame person," said Harris. "This means people identified in the community as allegedly being responsible for such crimes as multiple murder continue to be at large and as a consequence the conflict escalates." Harris said as long as certain "warlords" and chiefs with private armies were allowed to act in an unfettered manner, one could not expect the violence to come to a halt.
The failure of police to arrest "warlords" was a key issue behind a strike yesterday at Sizanani MaZuIu bus company in Pietermaritzburg. On Wednesday, after driver Patrick Magwaza was shot and critically injured at his home, only about 25 percent of drivers reported for duty. Although the numbers went up to 50 percent yesterday morning, about 15 000 people had severe problems getting to work. Magwaza's shooting comes in the wake of the deaths of 10 drivers over, the last eight months. One union official said a "key issue" of the strike was the workers' demand" that a certain induna be charged for murder. "Witnesses have seen him shooting people in the area. There are affidavits naming him, but he is still out, there, walking the streets and shootings people."
However, managing director of KwaZulu Transport, Eddie Marshall, said management would not agree to put the issue of "warlords" on the negotiation agenda. It was an issue for "the authorities." Apart from the accusations against the "warlords", which have been denied in replying arguments, the affidavits contain serious allegations about police reluctance to take action against Inkatha leaders. One disturbing – but not a typical – example, was that of Mandla and Mangethe Mkhize, two young men from the Mpumuza area, whose mother and sister were murdered on the night of October 9 last year. Their younger brother and sister wereeyewitnesses to the murders, which they, claimed were committed by the induna of the area, David Ntombela, along with other identifiable Inkatha members.
These men were also allegedly responsible that night for the death of another boy, Sithembiso Khumalo. Ntombela and his cohorts, including the four Zondi brothers, were later identified at the police station as the men responsible for the crimes. Mangethe, emotional because of the death of two family members, started to cry at the police station. He claimed a white police officer offered a gun to him, saying if he wanted revenge he could shoot Ntombela. "When I moved towards the gun, he took it out of my reach," he said. "A number of policemen who were present thought this was funny."
Two days later, on his way back from the mortuary, older brother Mandla passed Ntombela at a T-junction, and went to the Plessieslaer police station to find out why he and the others had been set free. Mandla spoke w a detective who "told me if he were in my position he would immediately move his family where they would be safer. "He said in his experience when members of Inkatha committed atrocities, they were arrested but subsequently quicklyreleased and almost never charged and prosecuted."
The Mkhizes fled into hiding – just missing another raid on their house. Pietermaritzburg's new security police chief, Brigadier Jac Buchner claimed in an interview on Network two weeks ago that his forces were "a law enforcement agency, not a political organisation". He said the aim of the massive deployment of security forces into the area in January was to "restore law and order and' to restore the human dignity of people living in this area."
Yet Buckner said authorities would seek to do this by restoring the control of parents and traditional, chiefs. In addition, he said, the local population would not give any information on the atrocities to the police. Yet the January deployment has had little effect and was followed by an even more horrifying wave of violence which, far from subsiding this month has made it almost the worst month on record.
According to Peter Kerchhof, an organiser for the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Social Awareness (Pacsa), 82 people died between January 1, and January 25, compared "to 90 for the whole of December. Kerchhof said from mid-December well above 1 000 people had been detained underthe State of Emergency regulations and that between 800 and 1 000 were still being held. Though some members of Inkatha are facing criminal charges, Kerchhof said he had names of about 500 detainees and had yet to hear of a single Inkatha person held under the Emergency regulations.
All evidence points to the UDF and Congress of South African Trade Unions bearing the brunt of the clampdown, as well as of propaganda from the SABC. Asked to comment yesterday, the SAP public relations division said the gist of this article was "antagonistic towards the police and the authorities … to which we take the strongest exception. "The police have been accused by both Inkatha and the UDF of siding with the other group. We have made it clear the SAP is apolitical and impartial. We deny that we side with certain groups or that we act selectively in maintaining law and order.
"We refer you to our daily unrest reports which have indicated the large number of arrests made by the police. Those arrested have not only belonged to one specific group. "The police can only refer cases to court where they have sufficient evidence. "It is clear that certain allegations are based on hearsay and are vague and unsubstantiated … It must also be remembered that the SAP cannot arrest a person because he has a criminal record or has had an interdict brought against him. Allegations should be lodged with the police in the form of written affidavits in order that they can be investigated." – & Weekly Mail Reporters.
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
