Right-Wing Groups - South African Government Information

67. Evidence before the Committee confirmed that, even before the formation of
COSAG, AWB groups were working closely with the IFP, particularly on the
KwaZulu/Natal north coast and to some extent on the West Rand. This association
involved mainly the pro c u rement of arms and ammunition, although there
w e re also reports of AWB groups providing training assistance. Joint operations
w e re planned in at least two instances on the KwaZulu/Natal south coast (See
the Flagstaff police station attack below).
68. Former IFP member Walter Felgate testified at a section 29 hearing 2 3 6 that most
right-wing offers for joint operations to pro c u re weapons were declined by the IFP.
69. Amnesty was granted to Mr Gerrit Phillipus Anderson [AM8077/97], an AWB
member whose cell in Natal co-operated with the IFP to pro c u re and hide
weapons between May 1993 and June 1994 [AC/1998/0005]. Anderson was an
adviser on special AWB operations in Natal. He testified before the Amnesty
Committee that the AWB pro c u red weapons for the IFP as it was believed that
the IFP could help the AWB realise its ideal of a v o l k s t a a t. He testified that the
AWB leadership approved these actions. Anderson stated in his application that
the homemade guns were hidden by an IFP member and later handed over to
the Security Branch by a third party.
70. IFP supporter Mr Allan Nolte [AM2501/96] applied for amnesty for planning to
poison the water supply of Umlazi in Durban with cyanide during 1993/4. The plan
was never executed. Nolte testified that he was ‘on loan to the AWB’ for the planned
operation and named other right-wingers who were party to the proposed poisoning
operation. Nolte was later convicted of illegal possession of arms and explosives,
an offence for which he was refused amnesty because it was committed after
the cut-off date [AC/1999/0073] 237 He testified that the aim of joint IFP/AW B
operations was to isolate KwaZulu-Natal from the rest of the country in order to
‘take control of it’.
The Flagstaff police station attack
71. Four AWB members and three IFP members launched an attack on the Flagstaff
police station in the Eastern Cape on 6 March 1994, with the intention of stealing
236 In terms of Section 29 of the A c t , witnesses and alleged perpetrators could be subpoenaed in order to ‘ e s t a b-
lish the fate or whereabouts of victims’ and the identity of those responsible for human rights violations.
237 The initial cut-off date for amnesty applications was 14 December 1996. This was, h o w ev e r, extended to 10
May 1997.
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