Carl the toy soldier? Niehaus fails Umkhonto we Sizwe credentials test

He may have a penchant for donning military gear, but Carl Niehaus was apparently never really trained as a freedom fighter in the ANC’s Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) military wing, despite having served time as a political prisoner.

This revelation comes after Niehaus apparently failed a military veterans’ verification test on Monday.

Former military generals from liberation movements are criss-crossing the country, verifying former combatants listed in the Department of Military Veterans database.

The veterans verification panel is chaired by retired General Enoch Mashoala, who confirmed to The Citizen that Niehaus failed the verification test on Monday in East London, Eastern Cape.

“The verification test is done to determine whether an individual in our veterans database was a member of the MK military wing. Carl Niehaus has failed, he couldn’t tell the panel about his military credentials. He was never part of the MK and was never under any battalion or command.

“He agreed with the panel on the outcome, and we gave him a letter that says he will be included in the department’s database as a former political prisoner,” Mashoala said.

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‘Verification of former combatants‘

The panel is verifying all former members of liberation movements military wings, including members of the PAC’s Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Apla) and Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Azanla) of the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo).

All military wings were incorporated into the SANDF in 1994.

Mashoala said the ANC in its heydays of fighting the apartheid regime had four components – the mass democratic movement, ANC underground activists, the international branch consisting of members working for the party overseas, and the armed military wing, the MK.

“This is an open verification process to make sure that all former combatants are in the database, and not non-trained soldiers. The fact that there are people in the department’s database aged between 30 and 40 has led us to this process.

“One of the question posed to them is to find out how old they were and where were they when the armed struggle was suspended in 1994, and when combatants were incorporated into the SANDF,” he said.

The panel’s next stop after the Eastern Cape is Limpopo.

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‘I spent 10 years in jail during apartheid’

An angry Niehaus accused The Citizen of “pushing propaganda” when questioned about the outcome of his verification.

“Who told you such? I will not talk outside of the veterans… I must now answer to leaks? Go back to those who told you that and ask the questions,” he charged.

“You want to write a negative story? I take offence to the fact that my credentials are now questioned.”

After some persuasion, Niehaus said he regards himself as an MK veteran. He said the letter he was given by Mashoala stated that he would remain in the veterans department’s database and, according to him, was therefore an MK ex-combatant.

He then said an agreement was reached in the government that all former political prisoners would fall under military veterans.

“The structure is simple – all political prisoners who were jailed on charges including terrorism were recognised as MK veterans. I had a disagreement [during the interview] with Mashoala. We discussed the issue of military training… I disagreed with him.

“I spent 10 years in jail fighting for this country, and now I am being questioned?,” he asked.

Later on, Niehaus called The Citizen, saying the verification panel was biased against him.

“The manner in which I was interviewed, in my view, had an agenda from the beginning to humiliate me. My court records show that I was a political prisoner for 10 years. This is an emotional issue for me, especially after all that time spent in the struggle against the apartheid regime.”

‘Complaint to defence minister’

Niehaus sent through a letter to The Citizen dated 9 March 2022, and addressed to Defence Minister Thandi Modise. In the letter, he complained about the interview processes that he was part of at the East London military base on Monday.

“On my arrival at the Buffalo Volunteer Rifle Military Base I found several other applicants, most of them being military veterans of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), waiting to be interviewed. We were all placed in a hall. A young officer (whose name and rank I unfortunately do not have) addressed us in a very condescending manner.

“I found this unnecessary, and humiliating, for people who were much older than the junior officer in question. In fact he could have been the grandson to most of the elderly people who were gathered in the hall,” read his letter.

A video played for the interviews ahead of the verification had a poor sound, and Mashoala’s address was in a condescending tone, he added.

The panel’s questions to him on what military training he received and operations he was involved in “were intended to subject me to an interrogation with the pre-conceived purpose to try and humiliate me, and to prove an entirely subjective perception that I lacked proper training.”

‘Niehaus cannot attend elective conference’

The late Kebby Maphatsoe led the MK Veterans Association (MKMVA), seen as a mouthpiece for former president Jacob Zuma. Niehaus, a staunch Zuma supporter, is the association’s spokesperson.

He often dons military gear at events held to lend support to Zuma. Niehaus was also at the forefront, leading MKMVA members at Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal ahead of the arrest of the former president for contempt of court last year.

The ANC suspended him last year for lambasting the NEC after it dissolved the MKMVA. He was then later fired as an employee at Luthuli House for allegedly making false statements about the governing party.

The self-styled soldier was criminally charged for violating Covid-19 regulations. His case was heard in the Estcourt Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal.

The two veterans organisation in the ANC, the MKMVA and the MK Council were dissolved in 2021.

A task team was appointed lead the ex-combatants to an elective conference, scheduled to take place between the 24th and the 27th of this month.

According to Mashoala, Niehaus cannot attend the conference because he is not party of the military veterans community.

A defiant Niehaus said he will take part in the conference.

“I am going to that conference, and I am going to fully take part. No one, not even Mashoala will stop me.”

A source at the veterans department said there were thousands of people who call themselves former trained liberation soldiers on its database that are not supposed to be there.

“Most of them cannot produce proof of where they trained and under whom. It is for this reason that the department is cleansing the database to ensure that deserving former liberation soldiers get the benefits they deserve and are looked after properly.”

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