The bullet cartridges picked up in the aftermath of the May 1993 Highgate Hotel massacre were “stolen” from a post office more than two years later.
The inquest court has heard balaclava-clad gunmen stormed into the men’s and ladies’ bars in the hotel on May 1 1993 and opened fire. Five people died and seven were wounded.
The cartridges, along with the case docket, were allegedly stolen from a post office while being posted to Cape Town, according to evidence heard in the Special Tribunal court this week.
The formal inquest into the massacre was one of the matters referred to the National Prosecuting Authority by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and follows the decision by Eastern Cape director of public prosecutions Barry Madolo to be held to determine if anyone could be held criminally liable for the attack.
Royce Michael Wheeler, 46, Derek John Whitfield, 42, Stanley Hacking, 65, Deon Wayne Harris, 26, and Douglas William Gates, 56, died when the gunmen sprayed the bars with AK-47 bullets.
The seven survivors — Neville Beling, Karl Andrew Weber, William Freddie Baling, Megan Nadine Boucher, Nkosinathi Alfred Gontshi, Doreen Rossouw and Charles John Bodington — all sustained life-altering injuries.
On Tuesday, advocate Howard Varney, for the victims and the families, instructed by Cliffe Decker Hofmeyr, put it to ballistics expert Colonel Victor van der Merwe that without the cartridges there was no prospect of using the police system to track linkage.
More than 50 cartridges were picked up at the scene.
Varney further put it to Van der Merwe that had the cartridges been available, tests would reveal where the bullets had been made.
Varney said the theft of the cartridges meant it was possible they had been stolen to prevent any testing and examination of their origins.
Van der Merwe said: “If that is the truth then it means it must have leaked out before [the cartridges were] posted.
“That means somebody in the lab must have tipped off or something and I hope and pray that is not the case.”
Van der Merwe said older cases were not uploaded onto the system used by the police today. He was not sure if they could be uploaded.
Earlier, Van der Merwe said one of the shooters who opened fire in one of the Highgate bars “knew what he was doing”, and knew how to handle a firearm.
According to his ballistics tests, two AK-47s had been used that night, one in the men’s bar, and another in the ladies’ bar.
“If he was just shooting he would have, at some stage, missed people and hit other obstacles as well. He knew what he was doing.”
Another witness, ammunition specialist Charl Naude, testified that a hand grenade detonated in one of the bars was probably a RGD-5, a device that damaged the lungs.
Survivor Roland Parker testified he had visited the pub for the first time that night.
He and his cousin, Neville Beling, arrived 15 minutes or less before the shooting. He lost consciousness during the attack, and when he came round the establishment was in “darkness and misty”.
The more he rubbed them, the more his eyes burned. He said he was alone inside the bar. He ran outside and the gunman shot in his direction.
He ran back inside and hid for a while. He did not get a good look at the shooter.
Parker said he still had nightmares from the traumatic experience.
“It has changed my whole life. It has made me very withdrawn and facing situations differently. I’m petrified of guns.
“My clothes were covered in blood. I don’t know why this [inquest] didn’t happen sooner when our memories were still fresh. It has added a little bit to the trauma.”
The inquest continues.
Daily Dispatch
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