care at his parsonage in Soweto, which was near Madikizela-Mandela’s
house. Magashule was concerned for Seipei’s safety, as he had been
recently apprehended by the security police and risked re-arrest. Verryn
agreed to take Seipei in.
But shortly after he arrived in Soweto, members of the Mandela
United Football Club kidnapped Seipei and three other youths from the
parsonage. They were taken to Madikizela-Mandela’s house, where
‘Mama Winnie’ and other club members viciously assaulted them and
accused Seipei of being a spy for the security police, according to the
testimony of one of the surviving youths at the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC).^13 A week later, Seipei’s body was
found near Madikizela-Mandela’s house. His throat had been cut.
Jerry Richardson, one of Madikizela-Mandela’s bodyguards, later told
the TRC that he had ‘slaughtered’ Seipei ‘like a sheep’ after
Madikizela-Mandela had ordered him to do so.^14 While Madikizela-
Mandela was later only convicted on charges of kidnapping and
accessory to assault, she will forever remain a key figure in the story of
Seipei’s murder.
Is it possible that Magashule, who had all but delivered his young
comrade from Tumahole to death’s door, felt guilty about his role in
this dark part of our history? It might explain why he was all too
willing to absolve Madikizela-Mandela of any apartheid-era atrocities,
especially concerning Seipei.
Magashule did not speak directly about the incident during his ANC
Oral History Project interview, but he addressed, in broad terms, the
killing of innocents who had been accused of collaborating with the
apartheid state. ‘They say in any struggle obviously there would be
victims,’ he said. ‘A lot of people, I think, were innocent. I know even
nora
(Nora)
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