Wonder Hlongwa
The widows of two prominent African National Congress leaders in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands are seeking legal advice to sue Inkatha Freedom Party members implicated in their husbands’ murders. They say they are not satisfied with the quality of the evidence submitted to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s amnesty committee.
Thobekile Maphumulo and Sbongile Hadebe – the widows of Chief Mhlabunzima Maphumulo and Reggie Hadebe – said this week they will be contacting their lawyers.
Daluxolo Luthuli – former commander of the IFP’s armed wing – said in his testimony before the commission that Phumlani Mshengu and Bongani Sithole, who were trained in the Caprivi area by the former South African Defence Force, killed Maphumulo and Hadebe.
Luthuli claimed that Phillip Powell and David Ntombela – both IFP members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature – knew about the plans to murder Hadebe. He said Sithole had confessed that he had been involved in Hadebe’s assassination. Sithole allegedly used a G3 rifle which was given to him by a Mr Vezi, the IFP chair of Phateni near Ixopo.
“Bongani complained that the South African Police were collecting G3 rifles to compare them to spent cartridge cases which had been found at the scene of the murder,” Luthuli said. “They had approached Mr Vezi and wanted to remove the G3 that had been used in the murder. Mr Vezi refused to hand them the weapon until he received another in its place.
“They eventually appealed to Phillip Powell and he managed to convince Mr Vezi to hand him the G3 in question. Phillip Powell later told Bongani that he need not worry as the weapon had been destroyed.”
Powell said he had read Luthuli’s statement and did not take it seriously because it was full of “inaccuracies and inconsistencies”.
The ANC has thrown its weight behind the two widows. “We are calling on [Natal Attorney General Tim] McNally to urgently study the revelations of Daluxolo Luthuli so that the necessary legal action can be taken. We will be monitoring McNally closely and the action that should be taken, especially for people who have not applied for amnesty,” said ANC MP Blade Nzimande, who was a close friend and colleague of Hadebe.
But McNally said the national investigations task unit is till investigating Hadebe’s murder and the police docket has not yet been submitted to his office for a decision to prosecute.