Enoch Mthembu
MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI’S key royal ally in the feud over the Zulu monarchy, Prince Gideon Zulu, was named in court this week as one of the mastermind’s of kwaZulu Police (KZP) hit-squad activities.
Also named was Celani Mtetwa, the province’s Safety and Security Minister. During the mitigation hearing for three self-confessed KZP hit-squad killers in Durban, Prince Zulu, kwaZulu/Natal Minister of Social Welfare, was alleged by convicted hit-squad member Romeo Mbambo to have attended hit-squad planning sessions.
“I was present in the planning of the killing of people. Meetings were taking place where decisons to kill people were taken, sometimes Gideon Zulu and other chiefs were present … ,” Mbambo said.
Mbambo was speaking on the first day of the hearing following his conviction, along other former Caprivi trainees Gcina Mkhize and Israel Hlongwane, for the murders of five African National Congress (ANC) supporters and KZP members in June 1993.
The hearing continues.