1993 raid on Mthatha
Open-knowledge reference entry
On 8 October 1993, Mzwandile Mfeya (12 years), Sandiso Yose (12 years), twins Samora and Sadat Mpendulo (16 years) and Thando Mtembu (17 years) were shot dead in a South African Defence Force (SADF) raid on an alleged base of the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), the Pan Africanist Congress' military wing, at the Mpendulo family home in the Northcrest suburb of Mthatha. The house belonged to a PAC member Sigqibo Mpendulo, the father of Samora and Sadat. According to PAC and police sources in the Transkei, the five victims were killed in their beds. The raid was authorised by President F. W. de Klerk.
Background
In the early 1990s, APLA conducted a series of attacks on civilian targets from operational bases in the Transkei. Operations in the Western Cape had particularly strong links to APLA structures in the Transkei. Weaponry was also sourced from some members of Transkei security forces. For example, the Amnesty Committee heard that the hand grenades used in the St James' and Heidelberg attacks originated from a batch of grenades supplied to the Transkei Defence Force. Transkei also provided refuge for APLA operatives after operations. In most cases it was APLA personnel from the Transkei that were deployed to execute attacks, in conjunction with locally trained operatives.
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