Veteran anti-apartheid activist Mxolisi Malinga survived atrocities linked to notorious former Vlakplaas askari Joseph “Joe” Mamasela not once, but twice in days.

On 26 June, 1986, the then 16 year old was meant to be the 11th member of a group of slain youths that would later become known as the Mamelodi 10.

Malinga survived Mamelodi 10 and KwaNdebele nine massacres

On the day, hours before the group was due to leave, Malinga’s mother sent him to buy vegetables at Denneboom station, near the designated Masakhane bridge pick-up point.

After completing the errand, he spotted the yellow minibus carrying his 10 comrades.

Behind the wheel was Mamasela.

Tempted to abandon the vegetables and join them, Malinga was persuaded by a fellow activist not to board the vehicle.

“Mamasela promised he would come back for me,” Malinga recalled.

He never saw his comrades again.

Mamasela lured activists with false MK promises

Mamasela had promised to take the activists out of the country to join the then ANC’s armed wing uMkhonto weSizwe via Botswana. Instead, he drove them to a secluded spot near the Botswana border, in the Nietverdiend area.

Security agents were waiting.

The activists were drugged and the minibus rigged with explosives before it was pushed over a cliff.

Days later, on 15 July, Malinga again narrowly escaped a similar fate. He had been selected as part of another group of young activists dispatched to assist other activists against the apartheid-propped KwaNdebele homeland government vigilante group known as iMbokodo.

He said Mamasela had already infiltrated the operation and arrived on the day in a similar yellow minibus, posing as an MK operative tasked with transporting the recruits.

But, again, fate intervened as Malinga was unable to travel because he was suffering from diarrhoea. And, again, he stayed behind while his nine comrades left.

Diarrhoea saved Malinga again

That was the last time he saw them. “They were shot, doused with petrol and burnt beyond recognition,” he said.

The activists would later become known as the KwaNdebele nine.

More than four decades later, Malinga says he never thought he would live long enough to see the men allegedly responsible for his comrades’ deaths in the dock.

That moment arrived yesterday when Mamasela, 74, appeared before the Benoni Regional Court with co-accused Michael “Tebogo” Macitinga, 66.

“I never thought I would to see this day. Now I want to know why he did it. They were innocent kids. I am glad he will pay for what he has done. It is also important for closure,” Malinga, now 56, said.

The pair face multiple charges, including 15 counts of murder, arson, kidnapping, unlawful possession of explosives, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and defeating or obstructing the administration of justice.

Murder, arson, kidnapping

The Hawks further allege the victims were deceived into believing they were joining liberation activities before being murdered by operatives attached to the apartheid security apparatus.

According to investigators, Mamasela and his accomplices allegedly operated from the notorious Vlakplaas counterinsurgency unit under the command of former police colonel Eugene de Kock.

Mamasela was released on R5 000 bail, while Macitinga was released on warning.

Conditions include surrendering their passports, remaining in Gauteng and reporting once a month to the Moroka and Benoni police stations.

The case has been transferred to the High Court in Johannesburg sitting in Benoni, where the two are expected to appear again on 1 February next year.