- Courts confirm ANC operatives Njakazi and Madondo were murdered by apartheid-era forces.
- Perpetrators are named, but amnesty protects them from prosecution.
- Judgments bring long-awaited closure to the victims’ families.
On 28 January 1991, Mthunzi Velemseni Njakazi was shot in the legs and chest at Warwick Junction taxi rank, Durban, mere metres from Berea police station.
A committed ANC and Umkhonto weSizwe operative recently returned from exile, Njakazi was allegedly targeted by askaris, former ANC members turned state informants, under the command of the apartheid-era Natal Security Branch.
Though Durban City police called for an ambulance, the Security Police allegedly delayed his transport to the hospital. He died from his injuries. Police claimed he was attempting to steal a white woman’s handbag.
Eleven years earlier, in the latter half of 1980, Oupa Ronald Madondo, born in Sophiatown and relocated to Dube, Soweto, was kidnapped shortly after his release from detention. A known ANC activist, Madondo, vanished without a trace.
In 1996, five men applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for amnesty for the kidnapping and murder of a person known only as Scorpio/Scorpion. The TRC granted amnesty, but failed to confirm the victim’s identity. The case was referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further investigation.
Inquests reopen apartheid wounds
In both cases, amnesty shielded key perpetrators. Tjaart Van der Walt Fourie and Johannes Hendrik Cloete were granted amnesty for their role in Njakazi’s killing. Johan Martin van Zyl, Donald Spence Gold, Schalk Jan Visser, Gerhardus Stephanus Schoon, and Disre Carr received amnesty for the murder of Scorpio, whose identity remained unconfirmed for decades.
In 2021, the NPA and DPCI TRC Units in KwaZulu-Natal reopened both matters at the request of the victims’ families. Prosecutor-guided investigations led to formal inquests, with Njakazi’s held at Durban Magistrates’ Court, Madondo’s at Pongola Magistrates’ Court. The proceedings were exhaustive, drawing testimony from family members, ANC comrades, acquaintances, and former Security Branch operatives.
Naming the dead, exposing the system
On 21 January 2025, the Durban court found that two askaris and another individual were responsible for Njakazi’s murder. It further ruled that Cloete and Fourie, along with handlers Spykers Myeza and Andy Taylor, were accessories after the fact. Their conduct during the apprehension was deemed criminal. Myeza and Taylor were later confirmed deceased.
On 27 August 2025, the Pongola court confirmed that Scorpio was Oupa Ronald Madondo. He had been kidnapped, murdered, and his body detonated near Jozini Dam. The five amnesty applicants were found to be the perpetrators. Though immune from prosecution, their actions were formally acknowledged in court.
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