As the inquest into the death of four members of the Cradock Residents' Association (CRADORA) concluded, the deaths of Chris Thandazani NTULI (30) in Natal in April and that of David WEBSTER (44) in Johannesburg in May heightened concern over the vulnerability of opponents of apartheid to assassination.
According to the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, 11 political activists have been killed in South Africa in the past 10 years. In only one case has a suspect been prosecuted.
Attacks on organisations have included not only assassination of leaders but also kidnappings and attacks on offices and homes of members.
CRADORA inquest An inquest into the deaths of Matthew GONIWE, Fort CALATA, Sicelo MHLAWULI and Sparrow MKHONTO, members of the UDF-affiliated CRADORA, concluded that their deaths were brought about by 'a person or a group of persons unknown'.
Their mutilated and charred bodies were found near Bluewater Bay outside Port Elizabeth on 27 June 1985. Post-mortem reports revealed that Goniwe, Calata and Mhlawuli died from multiple stab wounds, while Mkhonto, whose throat was slit, died from a gun shot. The four were returning from a meeting which discussed the safety of community leaders in the light of the disappearance of three leaders of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO) in May 1985 (see FOCUS 79 p.6). Goniwe had a history of harassment by the police. As well as being detained in 1984 he was threatened with a gun by one Lieutenant Fouche and both he and Calata were threatened at a police roadblock early in 1985.
Although the killers of the four activists remained unknown the inquest helped establish that the telephone in Goniwe's home was tapped by police, that he had assured colleagues that he would not stop for anyone except the police, that he had been under police surveillance before his death and confirmed that he had been threatened by police previously. The political activities of the four and their involvement in the UDF was also well known. A lawyer acting for the family said that all these factors put together suggested that their assassination was politically motivated.
It remained a mystery how the four were stopped and killed. There was no evidence of their car being forced off the road. Although the UDF said there was a police roadblock near Bluewater Bay, a police officer said there was no record of a roadblock near where the bodies were found.
At the time of their deaths, police tried to blame the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) for the assassinations. However, evidence submitted to the inquest in the form of statements made to the Black Sash cast doubt on this claim. They pointed instead to the involvement of police and the vigilante leader, Mzwandile Maqina, who was expelled from AZAPO when his links with the police were exposed. According to the police the men who made the statements to the Black Sash later denied them and said they were forced into making them, but no evidence was given of coercion by the Black Sash.
Christopher Msondezi Ndyawe (26) said in a statement to the Black Sash that he and others were told by Maqina that the UDF was killing 'our people' and that they had to kill UDF members. Ndyawe was paid 80 rands a week by police. He referred to an incident when police brought three men, thought to be the three missing PEBCO leaders, whom they assaulted in front of them. He also said four men who were identified by police as coming from Cradock were brought before the group, one of whom identified them as UDF members. After the men were assaulted police took them away accompanied by two members of their group, Sipho Mazwi and Vusi Matyi. The latter returned to report that 'they had finished them off and burned them in the forest' and that 'only us and the police knew about this and we must keep quiet about it'. A similar statement was made to Black Sash by Mazwi Lancelot Bingo.
Murder of Chris Ntuli On 14 April, Chris Thandazani Ntuli (30) an organiser for the Natal Youth Congress (NYCO) was stabbed to death on his way from the police station where he had to report twice daily in terms of a restriction order imposed when he was released from a six-month period of detention. Ntuli, who participated in the hunger strike by emergency detainees demanding their freedom, was released and restricted to the magisterial district of Durban on 4 April. His mother said he had been monitored by unknown persons since his release.
On the day of his death Ntuli was on his way from Inanda police station with his brother. At a bus stop they were confronted by four men armed with guns and knives. They ran off and Ntuli took refuge in a nearby house where his assailants killed him. Neither his brother nor the owner of the house could identify the killers.
A monitoring group said it was informed that a vigilante group, 'Sinyoras', was responsible for Ntuli's death and that the suspected killer was out on bail facing charges on other offences. They gave his name to the police who later arrested four members of the vigilante group and took possession of firearms.
Ntuli's death sparked widespread protest and some former detainees in Natal defied their restriction orders, insisting that such measures left them exposed to assassination. They refused to report to police stations as their orders required. About 20,000 students in the townships around Durban boycotted classes in protest at the killing. Although police placed restrictions on Ntuli's funeral, limiting to 200 the number of people who could attend, over 3,000 people came to it.
Nine people were killed as tensions led to clashes with the police. A number of buses and commercial vehicles were stoned and some were set alight. Bus companies suspended the service to the townships. Some houses of people thought to be collaborators with government were fire-bombed.
David Webster killed On 1 May David Joseph Webster (44), a member of the restricted Detainees Parents Support Committee (DPSC) and a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, was shot dead at close range. He was killed outside his house as he was unloading his car. The killer fired with a shotgun from a car with tinted windows which sped away after the shooting.
More than 10,000 people marched through the streets of Johannesburg singing freedom songs and chanting slogans to attend Webster's funeral. Amongst them were some activists who defied emergency restriction orders placed on them and some who had been in hiding throughout the period of the State of Emergency.
