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Content
A listing of transcripts of the dialogue and narrative of this section.
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Structure
The list provides the transcript, info about the text, and links to references contained in the text.
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Special Report
Transcripts for Section 5 of Episode 17
| Time | Summary | | | 27:06 | At the last amnesty hearing in Durban a policeman who was also an IFP supporter applied for amnesty. Hendrik Steyn is serving an 18 year sentence for his involvement in the murders of two ANC members who were also members of a gang. The incident happened on the 14th of August 1992 at KwaMbunambi near Empangeni. When Steyn arrived at work at seven o’clock in the morning he and four other policemen were sent to the scene of a shooting incident at Seculu Reserve where the gang operated. Policemen were killed during the shooting. On the way there, Steyn encountered another police vehicle with two policemen, two Defence Force members and the two injured gang members on the back of the bakkie. | Full Transcript and References | | 27:43 | One of these Defence Force people, who later became known to me during the court case as a Mr. Law shouted to us and confirmed that they had just come from the area where the shooting incident had taken place and he also said, here are the bloody dogs that killed the policemen. In the back of the bakkie there were two black people. I immediately recognized the one as Samuel Msweli, the leader of the gang who committed acts of terror in that area. The other person was unknown to me but was identified by Mr. Law as one Michael Mthethwa. I noticed that both of these people were injured and covered in blood. I further was told that they were on their way to Zwelezan Hospital. | Full Transcript | | 28:39 | Steyn was worried that the two gang members would escape from custody, as had happened in the past and so would never be brought to justice. // I told the Defence Force people that they should shoot and if there were any queries about the deaths they should just say that they had died on their way to hospital; that they had died from the wounds sustained earlier during the shooting. At one of the turnoff roads leading to the plantations in the bushes I told the driver to turn off into the bush. After a while I told them to stop and we jumped off from the bakkie, lifted the flap and I told the injured people to get off. Before they could make any attempt to get off the two Defence Force members grabbed each of the injured by the feet and just dragged them off from the bakkie. They landed on the ground and the two Defence Force members armed with R4 rifles, of their own accord and initiative, aimed at the two deceased and injured people. The Defence Force members were very clumsy as far ...more | Full Transcript | | 30:06 | Steyn wanted to shoot them with his own rifle because it could not be traced to the scene of the earlier shooting. // I then at the same distance fired at Samuel Msweli. After the first shot I fired two more shots just to make sure that he was dead. I thereafter fired two shots at Michael Mtetwa, the other deceased. | Full Transcript | | 30:32 | They then went back to the police station. His commander, Col Nel, was also on his way there. // Upon his arrival at the police station I took him to one side and told him that I had shot the injured, I shot them dead. He then congratulated me personally and thereafter wanted to know whether I had shot through the blanket and whether the bakkie and or blanket would have had any holes in them. I would like to say that I am very sorry about the incident. It was most unfortunate. If I think back to it I realise that it wasn’t right for me to commit the act and that it was actually a disgrace. I don’t want to condone what I’ve done. I just want to say that as a result of both the deceased’s actions and my actions there are many families who today are still suffering. I have remorse about the fact that I ever chose the police as a career, and that I became so involved in the political struggle because at the end of the day it wasn’t worth it. | Full Transcript | | 32:02 | Warrant Officer Hendrik Steyn will probably have to wait a few weeks to hear if the Truth Commission is going to free him from jail. The first murderers who applied for amnesty in Rustenburg in May walked out of jail on Friday when the Truth Commission granted them amnesty. Before we tell you their story and what the verdict means to other perpetrators of human rights violations lets remind ourselves of how the process works. | Full Transcript |
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