Police stoked political strife

YOUR article “How political violence in KZN was vanquished” (April 27) oversimplifies the nature of the violence in KwaZulu-Natal from the mid-1980s since it does not mention the main contributor, the role of apartheid-era operatives in fuelling it, as documented in Truth and Reconciliation Commission and high court records.

Nor did the peace talks, which took place from the 1980s, have much impact on violence levels. By the time relations between the IFP and ANC had thawed enough for peace talks to start between the leaders in 1997, the worst post-election violence, which had raged on the lower South Coast and North Coast between 1994 and 1996, had decreased significantly.

It was the work of a small detective team under former Goldstone Commission investigator Mandla Vilakazi that led to the conviction of warlords and hitmen who had killed hundreds of people in Mandeni and Mtubatuba.

A substantial dossier of statements and affidavits confirmed the involvement of members of the Mtubatubabased Internal Stability Unit.

It was the Shobashobane massacre in December 1995 that threw the spotlight on the conduct of police, who had been warned of the impending attack.

Coincidentally, key warlords, implicated in violence in Izingolweni and nearby KwaXolo, were killed, and peace slowly returned.

In addition to the conflagration in Richmond in the latter 1990s, political violence persisted in many areas for years. Apart from certain areas, including hostels around Durban, it has decreased in the past decade.

MARY DE HAAS

Durban