/ 14 June 1999

POLICE GENERAL APPROVED NYANDA MURDER, TRC HEARS

Former police general Frans Steenkamp approved the 1993 murder of Umkhonto we Sizwe commander Zwelakhi Nyanda, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard on Monday. Former security police Brigadier Willem Schoon testified in Pretoria that Nyanda had been in charge of an MK unit in the former Natal province that was responsible for many deaths. Nyanda was the brother of South African National Defence Force chief Siphiwe Nyanda. Schoon, who is seeking amnesty for the murder, said he had approached Steenkamp in 1993 and told him about a plan to kill Nyanda. Steenkamp gave the nod for the operation to go ahead. The amnesty hearing continues.