self-defence units (SDUs)

... organisations. A strengthened underground movement inside the country would provide the link between the two. However, while underground political units of the ANC began to organise around some of the above aims, the military imperative remained the focus of ANC strategy in this period. At that ...

matter of my own experience relating to some applications refused, for example (and only as an example), for some actions by members of self-defence units which would never have occurred had it not been for the nature of the conflict, yet which fall outside the ambit of the provisions of the Act. ...

... THE COMMISSION FINDS THAT, IN RESPECT OF PUBLIC ORDER POLICING, THE SAP, SPECIFICALLY ITS CROWD-CONTROL DIVISIONS (THE RIOT AND INTERNAL STABILITY UNITS), DISPLAYED A GROSS DISREGARD FOR THE LIVES AND/OR PHYSICAL WELL-BEING OF BOTH THOSE ENGAGED IN POLITICAL ACTIVITY AS WELL AS THE GENERAL ...

... in its apparent anonymity. A comparatively smaller number of amnesty applications were received for this period. The investigation and research units of the Commission were also faced with some difficulty in dealing with the events of the more recent past. 2 Two factors dominated the period ...

... was the overthrow of the apartheid regime. To that end, the PAC recruited young men into self-defence or, as the PAC termed them, ‘task force’ units. 298. APLA’s first task was to wage an armed struggle against the security forces. While APLA’s strategy in the 1980s had been to target ...

... means prior to and post-1990, including the United Democratic Front; and f Non-state paramilitary formations such as the ANC’s self-defence units and the IFP’s self-protection units (SPUs). ...

consistently maintained that, although they had provided information about specific individuals and activists and had passed these on to operational units in the SAP and SADF, they were not responsible for the actions that arose as a result. The Commission rejects this position. 35 In line with ...

for Southern Sotho and the 116 for Northern Sotho. These complemented the Lusophone 32 Battalion that had been secretly formed in 1976. All of these units were to be employed in operational areas, and the 21 and 32 Battalions in particular played significant roles in Namibia and Angola. ...

THAT MR HARRY GWALA, NOW DECEASED, FUNCTIONED AS A SELFSTYLED ANC WARLORD IN THE GREATER PIETERMARITZBURG AREA, AND THAT HE ESTABLISHED SELF-DEFENCE UNITS IN THE AREA UNDER HIS CONTROL. GWALA’S POLICIES AND PUBLIC UTTERANCES ACTIVELY FACILITATED A CLIMATE IN WHICH GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ...

... by allowing them to carry out acts of violence unhindered or by failing to investigate incidents of violence perpetrated by gangs. Certain police units, such as Vlakplaas, were also more directly involved in supplying weapons to the IFP. Gangs that linked up with the IFP were one of the ...

... Ashdown, assisted by the police.33 172 The Commission heard that Ntombela enjoyed a good relationship with senior members of the police and that units of the riot police were often seen at his home. Evidence given at the Commission’s hearings in Pietermaritzburg in 1996 and at a 1997 amnesty ...

... out by MK members, despite the official suspension of the armed struggle. Some of these attacks may have been aimed at arming ANC self-defence units (SDUs) during the Ciskei–ANC conflicts. During 1993, there was speculation in the security forces and in the press that some of these attacks ...

Durban were allegedly responsible for the death of MK member Ms Ntombi Khubeka, who was allegedly involved in liaison between the local and external units of MK. The Security Branch members had information that a locally trained ANC combat unit was operating in KwaMashu and Inanda. Ms Khubeka was ...

... in Transkei. (Duli is supported by the South African security forces). Mandela pledges that MK members will help form and train self-defence units (SDUs) to protect communities from attack by security forces or vigilantes. SDUs are established in many townships across the country. ...

... there was an increasing blurring of the distinction between criminal and political violence. Certain activities of the Peninsula self defence units (SDUs) became criminalised, while taxi-related conflicts became increasingly politicised. 327 The liberation movements themselves were ...

Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO) and the Congress of South African Students (COSAS). It was also at about this time that the ANC began to infiltrate units of trained guerrillas back into the Eastern Cape. Political trials began again, along with reports of abductions and killings. The Commission ...

... sessions and were urged to kill UDF people on their return to Natal. After six weeks of training, the special constables were attached to SAP Riot Units and deployed in the Pietermaritzburg and Mpumalanga areas where the UDF was gaining the upper hand. Many special constables were sent to guard ...

... and through the amnesty applications of senior security force personnel. The evidence reveals the level of co-operation between the covert units of the SAP, Vlakplaas and the SADF Special Forces. In his amnesty application Mr Willem Schoon states that he discussed the booby-trapped hand ...

... it. A similar situation applied to the submissions of the African National Congress (ANC) in respect of its role in establishing self-defence units (SDUs) in response to violent conflicts in certain townships during the early 1990s. 37. Apart from such instances, it would have been quite ...

Self-defence units and weapons supply 253. The most senior ANC applications received in respect of this region relate to the provision of weapons and training of SDUs by three ANC leadership figures. Mr Jeff Radebe [AM7170/97], Mr Ian Phillips [AM5951/97] and Mr Sipho Sithole [AM5950/97] served on ...