self-protection units (SPUs)

After getting in contact with some of the Self Defence Units there - by that time I was still staying in the township but sometimes I went to Polla Park because Polla Park is not more than five kilometres from where my brother resided in Thokoza.

MR VISSER: The house has been divided into two units where two different families can live in.

MR OOSTHUIZEN: No, simply because I also knew that there was an overlap of work between the Murder and Robbery Units and the Security Branch at that stage in the country.

MR BERGER: Mr Mthembu, you told the Committee last week that you were not targeting the residents generally of Boipatong but that you went to Boipatong to kill the members of the self-defence units, am I right?

MR ZEELIE: Before I joined the Security Branch, I was involved with the foundation of the Unrest Units in Diepkloof, Soweto, and it was the beginning of 1970 until July 1976, and July 1976 I joined the Security Branch.

Colonel Vorster in this meeting stated that he issued the self-defence units with firearms. They were called SDUs. He stated he also issued firearms to the indunas. He stated that when he issued the firearms he issued letters of authorisation from his office. Colonel Vorster said that the IFP SDUs ...

MR FRANCIS: And that's now to be of assistance to the various units, including Murder and Robbery?

... the Compol building was of such a nature that there were security guards who were on duty 24 hours a day and there were also other members of other units who were entering and exiting the building regularly during the day and night. As I have already stated, I saw potential in this person to ...

MR MNISI: I wouldn't know about other units, but in our unit it was Vusi and Dumakude.

MR NOTUNUNU: Now, it is common cause Mr Nyembezi, that you were a member of what is known or was known as Self Defence Units, having been trained by MK cadres, is that the position?

All of us who left Pretoria went through Grootfontein and there we were divided amongst the various units, amongst the various hospitals. Some of the people who went with us were sent straight to Unita, to be medics for Unita, particularly one chap who used to sleep in the bed next to me in ...

MS VAN DER WESTHUIZEN: Now during those violent years, did the IFP members or hostel residents, did they form self-protection units that you know of?

... case of SWAPO their bases in southern Angola were so situated as to make maximum use of the protection of the MPLA facilities, infrastructures and units as well as sophisticated Soviet air defence. ...

MR DE KOCK: Chairperson, I do not know of other units and groups, but my group never attacked people who were not involved in acts of terror.

... on Tuesday, they said yes, they had indeed called up - I think they had said that the Carbineers had just been called up, that there were other units deployed now, and he said that he is ready and able to go and assist. Now obviously, and if we talk about a war zone now that stretch over ...

... which the incident took place saw increased political activity and violence, particularly as we heard, in the Soweto area, that there were various units and MK units operating in that area and those units were mentioned by Pretorius in Exhibit B, page 5, paragraph 18, where he set them out. He ...

MS MTANGA: Okay as an MK member to which units were you attached?

... and with great respect, Professor Terblanche does not, that business can never be classified as a homogenous entity. It is made up of individual units, large and small, with many differing policies, objectives and characteristics. It must be remembered too that during the period under review, ...

MR CHASKALSON: Did you have any specific dealings with one or more of these units?

MR MTHEMBU: I just heard you now mentioning defence units, could you just in brief explain to the Committee what role the defence units played at the time?MR MONYAKE: The role played by the defence units by that time was to defend the community of Maukeng, the community as a whole against the ...