Thulisile Mapongwana
One of the seven Highgate massacre survivors, Karl Weber, said he suspects the "Hammer Unit" to have been behind the shooting that occurred at the East London Highgate Pub and Hotel in May 1993.
Weber was testifying at the East London Special Tribunal in Vincent on Thursday, where he was asked by his legal representative, Advocate Howard Varney, who he considered the prime suspect.
Survivors have understood for decades that APLA, the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress, was not involved in the attack, despite earlier allegations.
Weber explained that another survivor, Neville Beling, who testified on Wednesday, had reached out to APLA commander Lepatla Mpahlele, and they had a meeting years ago.
“The commander said they did not operate like that—they did not use AK-47 rifles. He explained to us how their operations were carried out,” Weber recalled.
Following that meeting, Weber said they became very close to the PAC commander. “We even became members of the PAC, fully convinced that APLA was not behind that particular attack.”
Weber described himself as a regular guy who worked for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) before the incident.
On the night of the shooting, he was out with three colleagues: Megan Boucher, Doreen Roussouw, and Douglas Gates, whom they picked up at the airport and checked into his hotel.
They settled at the hotel briefly before realizing that there were ants in the sugar.
“We decided to leave, and because I lived a few kilometers away and was a regular at the Highgate, that’s where we went.”
“We got inside, I went to the bar, ordered a drink, and as I came back, we heard something like crackers,” Weber said. “I suppose it might have been the gunfire from the other area of the pub where Beling was sitting.”
“I turned around and saw a guy standing by the door wearing a balaclava. The first thing that caught my eye was the blue police combat boots he wore. He also had gloves on.”
“Immediately someone shouted, ‘Get down, fall flat!’ And being in the National Service for two years, it was basic instinct to fall flat,” Weber continued.
Weber said he was about five meters from the gunman and could clearly see him holding what appeared to be an AK-47. “He just kept firing. I think the magazines were taped together because this was an automatic firearm,” he added, noting that the gunman did not stop to reload.
Advocate Varney concurred that a firearms expert had mentioned that some rifles can hold about 30 or 40 rounds of ammunition. He pointed out that 56 cartridges were found on the scene, with an additional 17 found elsewhere. Varney agreed that the magazines might have been taped.
Weber continued his testimony: “There was a blood smell from the people who were lying there. I turned around and saw that Doreen was lying next to me. She had a huge hole in her left leg, and I stuck my elbow in to stop the bleeding. I was lying there when I heard something rolling towards me.”
He said the object rolled toward him and exploded like tear gas. “The smell was very strong, I can still remember everything.”
“The gunman was still standing at the door. I think he realized that some people were still moving, so he kept shooting. I sort of prayed and lost track of time for a couple of seconds. Then I realized what had happened—people had been massacred.”
“And this guy wasn’t in a hurry; the intention was to kill everybody there. I think whoever they are, they never expected survivors to testify and tell their stories.”
Weber said that, terrified, they stayed down because they feared the gun might still be there. While they lay there, two men who lived nearby came into the bar and helped them after hearing the shooting.
“I told them I couldn’t move and just said, ‘Take all my clothes off.’ They stripped me down to my underwear.”
The fire brigade arrived first, wearing masks, and later an ambulance took him to Frere Hospital.
“I don’t remember much from there for the next three or four days,” Weber said.
When he woke up, he didn’t know the extent of his injuries. “I was told my arm had been amputated 72 hours after the shooting. I was shot just below my elbow, but the bullets had gone through both arms. I have 40% use of my right arm.”
“I couldn’t believe it. A young guy who had a future ahead of him…” he said, reflecting on his life before the tragedy.
Weber spent two years in rehabilitation, during which time he lost his job, his house, his car, and his relationship with his daughter.
The Investigations
He later applied for reparations with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), receiving a private nurse for a month. “Then I received R30 000, but it didn’t last long with all my treatments. In a month, it was gone.”
Weber also testified at the TRC, but after giving his statement, he said, “I never heard from them ever again.”
Both Beling and Weber expressed frustration over how their case has been handled over the years, particularly since they had to conduct their own investigations.
“We were scared to go to Highgate for the memorial in 2007. We went to the government and police asking for security, but the PAC was the only group that provided security—no one else,” Weber explained.
Weber suspects the Hammer Unit was responsible because someone approached him in Makhanda, giving him the names of three people who could have been involved.
He said he was however directed by “Advocate Coltman” of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to investigate the possible suspects on his own. “I was very upset, and I still am. I think if the investigations had been done properly, most of us would be at peace.”
Theresa Eldmann, spokesperson for the families, got involved with the case in 2005 when psychologist Francois Morris, from UCT in the UK, collaborated with Professor Pumla Goboda-Madikizela to mediate a meeting where they met with Mpahlele, who confirmed that APLA did not authorize the attack.
“We’ve been told it was APLA for years, but we’ve known for 20 years that it wasn’t them—it was somebody else. We’re feeling like we’re getting closer to the truth,” Eldmann said.
She added that after the meeting with the PAC, Beling made an effort to locate the other survivors. At the time, Eldmann was running the NGO Spirals Trust.
“We managed to get hold of Darrel Els, the original investigating officer, and in 2006, we organized the first gathering of everyone at the Kennaway Hotel in East London,” she said.
“We then decided to do two things. Firstly, we asked the NPA to hold an inquest and open the investigation. That was in 2006. Then, in 2007, we held the first memorial at the Highgate Hotel.”
Eldmann expressed that despite the 32 years since the incident, the families still held hope of finding those responsible.
“There's always hope. We realize that, as with other unresolved TRC cases, the people involved in the attacks, torture, or murders may have died. We might not be able to confront them face-to-face, but the truth is coming out more and more,” she said.
Eldmann praised the current investigating officer, Captain Vaughn Peterson, who testified on Monday. “He has verified everything we’ve been saying for 20 years.”
She continued; “We’ve been told we were grasping at straws, that we were talking nonsense, or having fantasies, trying to pin the blame on a third force, security police, or military. But to have this inquest, and to have already established what we have… I’ve watched the survivors walk taller and taller every day this week as they finally feel vindicated. I feel the same way.”
Eldmann is expected to take the stand after Weber concludes his evidence.
