Q&A

Thabiso Zulu, a former ANC Youth League leader and key witness at the Moerane commission into political killings in KwaZulu-Natal, says it was a whitewash. CHRIS BARRON asked him …

Why?

People in strategic positions in the commission were supposed to have integrity and nothing that taints them. But, for example, the head of investigations, a retired police brigadier, was the head of detectives in the province before he was seconded to the commission.

So what?

Many of these political killings happened under his watch. They were not solved under his watch. Then he is expected to solve them when he’s in the Moerane commission. The secretary of the commission who we were expected to submit documents to, his company is cited in some of those documents. What is also worrying is you have as the head of the commission someone who led another commission, almost similar to this, where many people were killed over Christmas in the lower South Coast, and that report was never released.

Why not?

We don’t know, but we believe certain people were being protected, as always. Most of these commissions will not release their reports or if they do they will black out certain things. In the Moerane commission they’re not even advocating for anyone to be prosecuted.

Who appointed the members of the commission?

Our understanding is that it’s the premier and his cabinet.

Are you suggesting they had a vested interest in its composition?

I may not say that, but in many commissions politicians will appoint people they have a way of directing where to look, what to look for and what to write at the end.

Is that what happened here?

We never thought so at first. But out of the report that we have, we are very worried. We believe that somehow the commissioners have been compromised.

Who is being protected?

The political killings in this province involve very senior politicians and very powerful people within the police.

ANC politicians?

Obviously, because most of the people that have been killed are our own members as the ANC.

And these politicians are being protected?

Senior people are being protected. There are so many things we told the commission that are not part of the recommendations.

Like?

We said let security companies be vetted, because most of the hit men are hidden there.

Do the security companies work for the politicians?

Most of them. Some are even owned by the politicians. They’re like private armies of the politicians. The bodyguards they travel with during the day are their hit men at night.

So the killings will continue?

The things causing these killings have not been addressed. Issues of corruption, issues of greed, issues of people that are reporting corruption not being protected, and even that corruption not being followed up …

The police minister said they’re closing in on political killers.

A few foot soldiers. Where are the politicians who order them, where are the masterminds?