bloodshed
Chris McGreal
The KwaZulu-Natal town of Richmond is bracing itself for another bout of bloodshed this weekend with the funerals of assassinated United Democratic Movement secretary general and warlord Sifiso Nkabinde and those killed in a revenge attack on an African National Congress family attending a funeral vigil.
Nkabinde’s right-hand man and probable successor as Richmond warlord, Henry Gwamanda, shocked and angered many of the town’s residents by telling a local newspaper that he welcomed the killings.
“Although I am sad for the families of those who have been killed in the massacre, I am happy that people have been killed after Nkabinde’s murder,” he said.
An agitated Gwamanda later denied any knowledge of who organised the massacre of the 11 members of the Ndabazitha family.
“Why do you think I know? Are you accusing me of killing? There is no reason why I should know,” he said outside the mortuary when Nkabinde’s corpse was being identified by his widow.
But it appeared all but certain that the murders were in retaliation for Nkabinde’s death after it was revealed that a gunman killed while trying to escape the scene of the massacre was Mbongeleni Mtolo, a bodyguard to the slain warlord. Mtolo was due to face trial next week for his role in the July 1998 murder of eight people at a Richmond bar.
Nearly 1 000 police and troops have been deployed in and around Richmond where more than 100 people have died in political violence in less than two years. But they weren’t nearly as visible as some residents would have liked.
Army convoys escorted buses carrying commuters to and from work in the morning and evening to protect them from possible ambush. There were no incidents but the ANC mayor of Richmond, Andrew Ragavaloo, said the danger was not past.
“There’s a perception in the community that there will be that kind of violence over the next couple of weeks. I don’t think we’re out of the woods,” he said.
Police Provincial Commissioner Chris Serfontein agreed. “Because of the tensions and the emotions in the area one can expect further incidents. We can pump in double what we have there, but it is not ruled out that another incident can occur,” he said.
Gwamanda, now the de facto UDM leader in Richmond, was firm in blaming the ANC, which expelled Nkabinde from the party two years ago after he was accused of spying for the apartheid regime.
“The ANC killed Nkabinde. He worked with the ANC. I worked with the ANC. I know exactly what the ANC is doing. It is wiping out its enemies and it is trying to intimidate people who support the UDM so they won’t vote. If the ANC wants to kill me now, I’m prepared,” he said.
But Ragavaloo, who is also the headmaster of Richmond Combined School and travels with a phalanx of bodyguards, said the ANC had no interest in killing the warlord it had pushed from its ranks.
“The ANC has nothing to gain from the murder. The population of Richmond is 65 000. The majority are ANC supporters. Killing only destabilises things,” said Ragavaloo. “We knew Nkabinde, we knew how he operated. Now we will get someone taking over the UDM who is an unknown quantity. And therein lies the danger.”
The mayor admits that even a known quantity – in the shape of Gwamanda – might be bad news.
“If Henry Gwamanda is the best the UDM can come up with, then the UDM doesn’t stand much of a chance here. But what he had to say about the families who were killed is careless, foolish and provocative,” he said.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa dismissed President Nelson Mandela’s assertion that a “third force” was behind the killings in an attempt to disrupt this year’s general election.
Ben Ngubane, the provincial leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, which governs KwaZulu-Natal, appealed for residents of Richmond to show restraint.
“We must ask the people for the sake of themselves and their families and the families of Richmond not to allow emotions to run high,” he said.