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Special Report
Transcripts for Section 4 of Episode 1

TimeSummary
16:17Colonel Niewoudt’s lawyer, Francois van der Merwe, faxed us his client’s response to the allegation. He says: My client denies that he had any part in any action that led or could have led to the disappearance of the so-called Pebco Three or that he has any knowledge in this regard. It is significant that in three applications that were brought to the Supreme Court in this regard my client’s name was not mentioned once. The lawyer then quotes from Mr Justice Van Rensburg’s judgement in the last of these applications where the judge said: If these facts are taken into consideration it seems to me that the probabilities are in favour of some organisation other than the police being responsible for the disappearance of Godolozi and his two companions. But in the Truth Commission this week, Col. Niewoudt’s name was also linked to another well-known Eastern Cape murder mystery: the Cradock Four. Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli were the leaders of ...moreFull Transcript and References
17:25On the 27th of June 1985 he left for Port Elizabeth in the company of his friends: Fort Calata, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkhonto and that was the last time we saw them. They were due back on the same night and when they did not come back we knew that something serious had happened. Early in the morning of the next day I telephoned the UDF offices in Port Elizabeth. I also phoned Derrick Swarts and Maoli Blackburn to establish their whereabouts. Derrick Swarts informed me that Matthew left with his friends for Cradock the previous night, the 27th of June, 1985 at about 9 pm. You can imagine the shock, and I shivered to think what might had happened to these comrades. I kept the news secret for a while, from all the family, except for one person, my brother-in-law who was planning what to do next. On arrival at home we were informed that police had phoned, they left a message with a child, my brother-in-law’s son, to inform the family that Matthew’s burnt car had been found near ...moreFull Transcript
20:05On July the 4th 1985 Mr. Louis Nel, the then Minister of Information rejected allegations that the authorities were responsible and blamed the murders on an internecine power struggle between opposing radical organisations. Full Transcript
20:20The first inquest came up with nothing. And then the New Nation newspaper published a top secret message from Military Intelligence. It called for the permanent removal from society of Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata and others. The signal was sanctioned by the then Head of Military Intelligence, General Joffel van der Westhuizen. Mr. Justice Nevel Sietzman found that the Cradock four have been killed by unidentified members of the security forces. Full Transcript
20:49The Commission had to adjourn for a while when Mrs. Calata broke down during her testimony.Full Transcript
21:02The perpetrators of my husband’s killing, they should not only be exposed, but they should appear in court so that everybody can see them. // And this was when Col Gideon Niewoudt’s name came up again.Full Transcript
21:21They chopped off his right hand. We buried him without his right hand. We don’t know what they did with it. We want that hand, yes we buried him. We heard that it is at the Legransie police station. Full Transcript
21:48At the Louis Legransie Police station I was shown a bottle with a watery substance which had a hand and I remembered that Sicelo was buried without a hand. // Who showed you the hand? // It was Ratinga and there was another one who was charged in Port Elizabeth recently in connection with a bomb blast: Niewoudt.Full Transcript and References
 
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