'Army' in court
Tanya
Waterworth
OVER 300
self-proclaimed
members of the
‘South African
Unintegrated Forces’
appeared in the
eManguze Court on
Monday.
Police confirmed
that the case has
been remanded until
12 February 2007.
The group, claiming
to be former members
of uMkhonto Wesizwe,
APLA, SANDF and
Inkatha SPU’s, as
well as new
recruits, made the
trip to the northern
Zululand court from
Amatikulu where they
had been gathering
over the last few
weeks.
However, police said
that the group, who
have been monitored
massing at Amatikulu
Sports Grounds, has
dwindled from about
2 000 to below 400.
The movement of both
men and women to the
Mozambican and
Swaziland borders
first took root at
the beginning of the
month when they
gathered near eShowe.
They moved to King
Dinizulu Hall in
eShowe where the
crowd ‘toyi-toyed’
until the early
hours of the
morning, when 10
buses arrived to
transport the men to
the border posts.
Observers in both
areas said both
groups appeared to
have had military
training.
The group in
eManguze on the
Mozambican border
were arrested for
illegal gathering,
while the group in
uPhongola, near the
Swazi border, moved
onto a local sugar
farm, before also
being arrested for
trespassing.
Both groups appeared
for bail hearings in
eManguze and Ubombo
courts before making
their way back to
Amatikulu.
KZN MEC for
Transport, Safety
and Security, Bheki
Cele said leaders of
the group had met
with the Minister of
Defence, Mosiuoa
Lekota, but a
statement on the
issue has yet to be
released.
