Special Report Transcript Episode 99, Section 1, Time 00:28

Hello. Welcome to a special edition of the Truth Commission Special Report. During the last few days several reports have been published in South Africa alleging Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s involvement in the killing of Dr Abubaker Asvat at his Soweto surgery on 27 January 1989. The main source of these new reports is Nicholas Dlamini, presently serving a life sentence for the murder of Dr Asvat. Dlamini has applied for amnesty from the Truth Commission. The claims in his statement about the murder of Dr Asvat are similar to those made by Katiza Cebekhulu. Cebekhulu was supposed to be a witness at the trial which followed the death of teenage activist Stompie Seipei in 1989. But Cebekhulu disappeared and resurfaced later in Zambia. This afternoon a book called Katiza’s journey by British journalist Fred Bridgland was launched in Cape Town. Cebekhulu’s earlier statements that Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had ordered the murder of Dr Asvat are repeated in detail in Bridgland’s book. This afternoon Mrs. Madikizela-Mandela held a press conference in ANC headquarters denying any complicity in the murder.

Notes: Max du Preez; M&G: ‘Winnie hired me to kill Asvat’