Mukoni T Ratshitanga and Wally Mbhele
Former Brixton murder and robbery squad head Charlie Landman blew up his official vehicle in 1993 to create the false impression that he was being intimidated, the Pretoria High Court heard this week.
But former Civil Co-operation Bureau operative Ferdi Barnard is facing the music alone for the blast, along with a string of other murder and fraud charges.
Barnard’s charge sheet includes a claim that Landman, together with Barnard and Carl Casteling Botha, blew up the vehicle on July 16 1993.
The vehicle was assigned to Landman, who was then investigating a series of murders, including the controversial Eikenhof killings for which three African National Congress members were charged and convicted.
The three claimed last year that Landman had tortured them into admitting they were responsible. Landman is currently under investigation for his alleged role in framing the Eikenhof three.
”The car was so damaged that it had to be permanently removed from [use],” reads the charge sheet. It reveals an elaborate plan – cooked up by Barnard, Landman, Botha and Kobus Klopper – which sought to ”improve Landman’s status as a police officer”.
Shortly after the explosion, Landman suggested to the police he was being intimidated by either the ANC or Pan Africanist Congress in an attempt to prevent him from executing his official duties.
”Because of those suggestions, the SAP [South African Police] were urged not to take steps they would have taken, in case they became aware of the truth behind the incidents, and to write off the damage to the vehicle in official police funds,” says the charge sheet. An investigation into the blast folded seven months later.
Hours after the blast, Landman claimed he had been running five minutes late for work. He said he was bidding farewell to his visiting parents-in-law when the limpet mine
exploded.
The Eikenhof three were accused of murdering Zandra Mitchley (35), her son Shaun Nel (14) and his friend Clare Silberbauer (13). Other charges included attempted murder, kidnapping and illegal possession of assault rifles. They were sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to life imprisonment.
During their 1993 trial, allegations emerged that Landman had tortured them. He denied this, but the Eikenhof three repeated their claim last year when the PAC disclosed that its military wing, the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Apla), was responsible for the killings. Ironically, Apla also claimed responsibility for the bombing of Landman’s car.
Abel Korobe, a state witness who helped destroy the alibi of the Eikenhof three, last year confessed to lying in court because the police, led by Landman, had promised him a R250 000 reward.
Korobe said in an affidavit: ”The police promised to reward me with a sum of R250 000 if I was prepared to incriminate [the activists]. I at no material time made any voluntary statement to the police.”
According to the Barnard charge sheet, Landman, Botha and Barnard made elaborate plans to blow up the vehicle. ”Barnard asked Klopper, who at the time was attached to Sanab [South African Narcotics Bureau], to provide them with a limpet mine,” it reads.
Klopper allegedly referred Barnard and Landman to a Mr Zeelie, who was a police explosives expert. ”Zeelie agreed to provide advice, with the proviso that only he and Botha would be involved in the deed.”
Botha collected the limpet mine from Zeelie on July 15 and it was placed under Landman’s car. The mine exploded in Landman’s driveway at 6.50am the next morning. Klopper this week told the court the car was blown up to give Landman ”more standing” in the police force. He said Barnard had contacted him for the mine.
Landman, who was last year appointed to a top post at Khulani Springbok Patrols, has not been charged for the blast although the court papers suggest he was key player in engineering it.
David Beresford: VIEW FROM THE GALLERY
‘Information, information, information,” demanded Deputy President Thabo Mbeki this week, complaining that the media was failing to keep the public informed about the activities of the government. It was, therefore, with renewed determination that your correspondent trod the corridors of power in search of the governance of South Africa.
The Public Accounts Committee, investigating how MPs have been spending taxpayers’ money, seemed a good place to start. Unfortunately, Parliament has decided there is some information from which taxpayers should be protected and its deliberations were closed to the media.
In room S26 the Portfolio Committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology was debating how to ”democratise science”. The expression on chair Wally Serote’s face suggested he, too, feared proceedings would lead to Pan Africanist Congress demands for a popular vote as to whether E should equal mc2.
In the Committee on Mineral and Energy Affairs, Gordon Sibiya explained God did, after all, play dice with creation. In the beginning, said the deputy director general, He put together containers filled with gold, platinum, diamonds and so on and lobbed them towards the earth, randomly distributing the wealth of nations.
As the containers fell one after the other in South Africa, an angel protested it was time to give others a chance … No, South Africa would pay, retorted God. ”Wait until you see the problems I’m going to give them with policy formulation.” At 120 Plein Street police Commissioner George Fivaz was entertaining the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security. Sitting alongside Fivaz was the CEO of the South African Police Service, Meyer Khan, displaying the smugly satisfied appearance of one whose track record for organising piss-ups in breweries is beyond debate. The former head of South African Breweries decided it was time for the sort of exercise in salesmanship which made of Charles Glass a master brewer.
”There are 190 countries in the world,” he announced, resolving in one fell swoop constitutional debates which have claimed the lives of thousands. Only 70 of them produce sophisticated crime statistics, he said, and South Africa ranked about 64th among them at present. In three to five years South Africa would rank among the 20 safest countries in the world, he predicted.
There was a nervous giggle from the cheap seats. But from the believers there was the sort of contented silence with which shareholders at a brewery’s annual general meeting might greet a promise that the road from Cape to Cairo would shortly be paved with Castle cans.
In the National Assembly the Speaker called ”AJ Leon to ask the minister of minerals and energy what amount has been paid to two persons whose names have been furnished to his department for the purposes of his reply”.
Asked Leon: ”I’ve finished reading the Bakker inquiry. Is the minister satisfied with the work of Emanuel Shaw and his son?” Answered Maduna:”The Bakker inquiry did not go into this question … The report has basic flaws … I will release it within a week …”
Information demanded, information refused. ”Time,” called the Speaker.
Outside, a government public relations officer sashayed across the lobby. ”Do you want some info?” she asked. With a mental apology to the deputy president I left.