The Golela Episode
On 20 April 1993, a strictly confidential report undersigned by the then Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Chief of Staff, Siphiwe Nyanda (aka “Gebhuza”) was uncovered, which was presented on 2 March 1993 by the African National Congress (ANC) and titled “Brief Summary of Findings of Inquiry into Golela Incident”.
The report was based on interviews conducted as part of an internal investigation with the persons arrested in connection with the Golela Incident. The inquiry unearthed evidence of systematic arms smuggling implicating senior leaders of the movement. The document noted that it became clear from the interviews that at least five trips had been undertaken to Maputo to smuggle weapons into the country. This was referring to the link between the Southern Natal Command of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and Bafana Cyril Dlamini (aka “Edwin Ndlovu”), MK’s Ordinance Chief in the Mozambican capital. The numbers suggested that MK Comrades had relied on a good infrastructure and had access to resources.
It all began in February 1992, when Jeff Radebe, the ANC Southern Natal Chairperson, briefed Chris Hani about the conflict with Inkatha in his region. Hani advised him to get involved in the establishment of self-defence units (SDUs) in his area. In March 1992, Jeff Radebe approached “Edwin” Dlamini and raised the hardware requirements of the ANC in southern Natal. Following the meeting between Jeff and Edwin, the latter met Aboobaker Ismail (aka “
