At least 10 people have been assassinated in a reign of terror by a union allegedly linked to the UDM, writes Sechaba kaNkosi
Members of the newly formed United Democratic Movement (UDM) and controversial mining union Mouthpeace Workers Union have been implicated in a reign of terror at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) mine hostels in the North West province.
More than 10 people have been assassinated by death squads allegedly linked to the union and the UDM.
A confidential letter signed on behalf of Amplats managing director, Barry Davison, last month and sent to Premier Popo Molefe and Kgalema Motlanthe of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), warns of no-go areas for people perceived as enemies, extortion, intimidation and kangaroo courts.
The letter leaked to the M&G this week says the situation in the Rustenburg area has taken on a new sinister character in the past weeks. It warns that Molefe, Minister of Labour Tito Mboweni, NUMs assistant general secretary Gwede Mantashe and its Rustenburg regional co-ordinator, Mahlakeng Mahlakeng, are high on a 17-man hit list circulating in the area.
Amplats representative Johan Adler has confirmed the letter is authentic. He says it is based on information from a person who attended Mouthpeace meetings where these decisions were taken and has been passed to government departments and ministries.
Although we state very clearly [in the letter] that this information is from unconfirmed sources, we view it in a very serious light. There are important people on that hit list. So we worked very closely with the police to ensure that nothing worse happens, says Adler.
The letter also states: The above information has been received from reliable sources. I bring these matters to your attention as they can have grave political and labour consequences. What we are in fact seeing is the establishment of no-go areas.
Amplatss concerns about the violence stems from an illegal strike last year by Mouthpeaces predecessor, Five Madoda, demanding payment for, among other things, death benefits. Since then, more than 10 NUM officials and their relatives have been killed, allegedly by Mouthpeace warlords in Rustenburg and the Eastern Cape.
Mouthpeaces president, Kaizer Mpiyakhe, is alleged to have confessed to Mboweni his involvement in the death of a white mine security guard last year which is why, sources say, Mboweni is on the hit list. Mboweni was unavailable for comment this week.
According to Rustenburg police area commander Superintendent Lucas Breedt, Mpiyakhe was freed on bail after being charged with the murder, despite a previous conviction and fine for intimidation during the strike.
A North West intelligence report handed to Molefe this week on the situation in Rustenburg claims that UDM co-leader Bantu Holo-misa has addressed a number of Mouthpeace meetings since April. He allegedly promised to help Mouthpeace register as a trade union.
It was at one of these meetings Holomisa addressed, the report says, that a decision was taken to impose curfews and armed 24- hour patrols in the Nkeneng, Telele and Smashblock (now Holomisa Park) squatter camps. What is not yet clear is whether the decision was taken during Holomisas presence.
Holomisa dismisses the allegations as a smear campaign by the African National Congress and NUM against his party. He concedes that he addressed Mouthpeace meetings, that the union asked to affiliate to the UDM and that some Mouthpeace members have joined the UDM. But he says he told the meetings his organisation did not have a policy on unions yet, and that a decision would be taken next June.
I think the ANC and NUM have pressed unnecessary panic buttons on the issue. Yes, I have publicly pledged to assist Mouthpeace if they have problems with the Department of Labour or mine management. But my personal stance is that unions should be independent of any political influence, says Holomisa.
Superintendent Breedt agrees with Holomisa that all the allegations contained in the Amplats letter are unfounded, saying they have found no evidence to justify any investigations or arrests.
The mastermind behind the intimidation is allegedly murder accused and local Mouthpeace chair John Ndungane, a high- profile member of the UDM. Holomisa says should any of his members be involved in criminal activities, the UDM would treat them the way it did suspended leaders Sifiso Nkabinde and Lucas Mangope.
Amplats sources and NUM officials in Rustenburg say intimidation of witnesses and police complicity is behind the failure to charge most culprits. Mahlakeng points to an incident in May, when NUMmember Msizeni Mxhamli was allegedly abducted by Mouthpeace warlords and taken to a kangaroo court in a hostel said to be dominated by Mouthpeace and UDM members.
Mxhamli was charged with spying for management and having an affair with the girlfriend of one of his interrogators. After a wire was wrapped around his head and gradually tightened, he confessed to both charges. He was given a choice of paying a R8 000 fine or death.
Minutes later, another NUM member, Cosmos Qakathayo, was subjected to the same torture and fine after being charged with being a spy. An Amplats source said the company was so furious that it fired a manager who was implicated in the abductions.
Mahlakeng says the company agreed to pay the fines and deduct it from the wages of NUM members. Our shop stewards viewed the sitation as a matter of life and death, and that is why they agreed to the settlement. However, after studying the situation, we pointed out to management that the settlement was illegal, and therefore our members would not pay anything.
Breedt admits he was informed of the torture and fines. But because no charges were laid, the police could not launch an investigation despite confirmation from the Amplats source that police were provided with a dossier detailing Mxhamlis torture and the names of four people allegedly responsible.
These things are always reported to union officials, but when we are supposed to do follow-ups we do not get any co-operation from those affected. Its frustrating for the police and we feel we are being made scapegoats,says Breedt.
NUM insists that Qakathayo is now in the police witness-protection programme, but investigating officer Patson Chomela says he is not under their guard. Mxhamli was ambushed, with his son and daughter, at his home in Coffee Bay, Transkei, by unknown gunmen wielding R-4 and R-5 rifles. He was later castrated.
NUM officials say because Mpiyakhe and Ndungane are out on bail, they continue to wield a powerful influence in the area, and potential witnesses have decided not to testify for fear of reprisals.
Mahlakeng says another pointer to police complicity with Mouthpeace is the fact that an agreement reached in peace meetings with the police to carry out raids in the three squatter camps and smash the patrols has yet to be carried out. If the state machinery is not as advanced as that of these thugs who have imposed a mini-state of emergency in the area, God help us all, he says.