The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases Inquiry has heard testimony from former apartheid-era crime investigator Andrew Leask.
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
FORMER apartheid-era crime investigator Andrew Leask has detailed the circumstances leading to anti-apartheid activist Nokuthule Simelane’s disappearance and the alleged cover-ups that have plagued the investigation for decades.
Simelane, an ANC activist, disappeared after being abducted and tortured by members of the Security Branch of the South African Police (SAP) in 1983.
During his testimony at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases Inquiry on Wednesday, Leask said upon being briefed about the case, he was able to ascertain, within two weeks, that Simelane had been lured into South Africa, subsequently kidnapped, and taken to the police accommodation at Norwood.
"I was directed to report to the director-general's office at the time, and based on that article, at the time, the article referred to a Mr X, whom I interviewed from there within two weeks. We were able to confirm the involvement of the security police at the time and concluded that Nokuthula had been lured into South Africa," he stated.
In 2001, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC’s) Amnesty Committee granted some of the perpetrators amnesty for her abduction.
However, none of the perpetrators applied for amnesty for her murder. In 2016, a prosecution was brought against Willem Coetzee, Anton Pretorius, Frederick Mong, and Msebenzi Radebe, formerly of the Soweto Special Branch police, for their alleged roles in her murder.
After the resumption of the investigation by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Leask said he was not included in the probe, which led him to believe that the intentions behind reopening the investigation were not genuine.
"When the NPA resumed with the Nokuthula Simelane matter, and I was not consulted as the first investigating officer of the case, I knew it was a box-ticking exercise not meant to move the case forward... I travelled to Swaziland as an investigating officer and found no evidence that Nokuthula Simelane returned to Swaziland as it was alleged. She was last seen badly injured in the car of Colonel Coetzee in SA," he added.
He further stated in his testimony that the person with the strongest lead to help police uncover what happened to Simelane, Adriano "Strong man" Bambo, was killed.
Eugene de Kock, Daniel Snyman, and Dawid Brits received amnesty for Bambo's killing.
Bambo is reported to have been an informer who was shot dead by Vlakplaas operatives near Nelspruit in November 1991, allegedly because he had intimate knowledge about the covert operations of the Soweto Security Branch.
Bambo, a Mozambican citizen, was secretly taken out of custody, but never made it alive, leading to reports that he was killed by the special branch operatives, according to Leask.
"Bambo was booked out of prison on a Sunday, the next thing we know, he was killed. I believe that when an inmate is booked out of prison, the matter needs to go through the court," he stated, questioning the procedure used to book Bambo out.
The inquiry continues.
Cape Times