Petrus Nzima Nyawose and his Wife Jabu Brutally Murdered

Petrus Nzima Nyawose and his Wife Jabu Brutally Murdered

On 5 June 1982, The New York Times newspaper published an article that on 4 June 1982, Petrus “Nzima” Nyawose was driving with his wife Jabu when they were killed in a car bomb explosion outside their flat in Matsapha, near Manzini, Swaziland. Two passengers in the car, Thokozane Mkhize and Siphiwe Mngomezulu, were seriously injured. The explosion and murder of their parents was witnessed by the Nyawose’s three children.

This incident happened the day after Nzima had met with Ronnie Kasrils the night before, on 3 June 1983, to discuss the increasing harassment of undercover African National Congress (ANC) operatives by the Swazi Police. Actually, Swaziland had begun hardening its attitude towards the Movement’s cadres following the signing of a secret South Africa-Swaziland security agreement on 12 February 1982, which was endorsed by Swazi Prime Minister Mabandla Fred Dlamini in a letter sent to apartheid Prime Minister P.W. Botha on 17 February 1982.

Intelligence-gathering and surveillance for the assassination was done by Dirk Coetzee, Almond Nofemela and David Tshikilange for which they applied for amnesty from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). According to Eugene de Kock, the murder of the couple was authorised by Brigadier Willem Schoon. The operation was performed by the then commander of Vlakplaas, Captain Jan Coetzee, assisted by Colonel Paul Hattingh of the Police’s Explosives Department and Captain Paul van Dyk of the Ermelo Security Branch.

Nzima had a formidable history with the liberation movement. In the 1970s, Nzima spent most of his working hours at the offices of the Black Allied Workers Union (BAWU), where he chaired the workers’ committee that managed the Durban BAWU branch, but it was his wife Jabulile who was the real unionist. Gradually, BAWU moved closer to the Freedom Charter and the Congress Movement. By this time, Nzima, Ivan Pillay and his brother Dhaya “Joe” Pillay, had been drawn by Sunny Singh into an underground unit of the African National Congress (ANC). Singh had just been released from Robben Island after serving eight years. Nzima was then tasked to be the contact between the Pillay’s unit and another one headed by Shadrack Maphumulo, also an ex-Islander.

Among this cell’s tasks was the escort into exile of leading ANC members, and it was Nzima who took them over the border into Swaziland. The underground cell was also involved in distributing leaflets and painting slogans. In Joe Pillay’s name, the underground cell purchased a number of vehicles and a smallholding which they intended to use to accommodate trained Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cadres. He was also responsible for the transporting of Mac Maharaj to Swaziland on 1 July 1977 following his release from Robben Island prison in December 1976, as well as Stephen Dlamini into exile, who was the honorary president of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), which was in exile at the time. Dlamini had had to leave South Africa to rejoin SACTU in exile in 1976, as its last elected president, immediately throwing himself into the work of SACTU abroad.

Nzima operated in the same underground cell with Shadrack Maphumulo, Russel Maphanga, Mdingi and Judson Khuzwayo, who were beseeched by the Movement to leave the country on 12 July 1977. However, on 14 July 1977, Maphumulo was arrested. Following Maphumulo’s arrest, Joe Pillay and Nzima left South Africa on 16 July. Two weeks later, Ivan Pillay had to leave the country for Swaziland, as it was feared that the documents captured during Maphumulo’s arrest would implicate him.

In Swaziland, following his military training in Angola, Petrus “Nzima” Nyawose began working with Stanley Mabizela, who was the ANC Chief Representative in Swaziland. He quickly gained access to the high levels of the Swazi government security establishment, including their Special Branch. This enabled the ANC to influence decision-making and to get early warnings of hostile activity. Unbeknown to many, Nzima had been recruited into the ANC’s Intelligence and Security. From time to time, Nzima would brief the ANC’s Intelligence and Security on the security situation, informing them of the activities of those who were informing the apartheid Security Police about those in exile and further attempts to infiltrate the ANC. Using his network of informers Nzima often protected ANC members from attacks and kidnappings, by giving them early warning.

Sources:
SAHO, “UMkhonto weSizwe (MK) in Exile”, South African History Online, 07 Nov 2011.
Howard Barrell, “Conscripts to Their Age: African National Congress Operational Strategy, 1976-1986”, D.Phil. Thesis in Politics, Faculty of Social Studies, University of Oxford, Trinity Term, 1993.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, “Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report”, Vol. 2, 29 October 1998.
Thula Simpson, “Umkhonto we Sizwe: The ANC’s Armed Struggle”, Penguin, 2016.
Joe Pillay, “Taking Up the Spear: Shadrack Maphumulo’s Struggle Against Apartheid”, South African History Online Lives of Courage Series, 2024.

Castro Khwela
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