DURBAN South Africa AP A Cabinet minister in President Nelson Mandela's government on Tuesday told a human rights panel how he organized vigilante groups to protect supporters of the African National Congress. But Jeff Radebe minister of public works told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he had little control over the groups' actions once they were armed. More than 5000 people died in clashes between the so-called self-defense units and Zulu nationalists of the Inkatha Freedom Party Zulu in the several years before 1994 elections ended apartheid. Radebe contends no one died as a result of his actions. ``This place was in flames. Almost every Saturday I used to bury comrades'' Radebe said. Radebe is seeking amnesty for his role in organizing the units which mainly operated in KwaZulu-Natal from 1990-1994. He is the first ANC Cabinet minister to testify at a public amnesty hearing. The orders to set up the units came from the head of the Communist Party the now-deceased Chris Hani and Ronnie Kasrils currently deputy defense minister. The two men were top members of the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe Spear of the Nation. Umkhonto members helped train the units and often fought with them Radebe said. But there was no chain of command leading back to Umkhonto or the ANC central organization he said. However he acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press ``that some of the comrades gravitated toward crime.'' As the elections approached in 1994 Radebe said he was ordered to disarm the units and integrate them into military and police structures. But security analysts say this has not happened and that many members of the units are contributing to the country's soaring crime rate. Radebe's amnesty hearing was held in Durban the main city of KwaZulu-Natal which is located on the Indian Ocean. Top-ranking ANC government officials including Deputy President Thabo Mbeki and Justice Minister Dullah Omar applied for individual amnesties in last-minute submissions before the deadline last year. They were among 37 ANC officials who had been granted blanket amnesty by the committee. The blanket amnesty was withdrawn after a court challenge by the opposition National Party claiming the decision violated the requirement that applicants name specific crimes. The officials had claimed only broad political responsibility for actions taken during the anti-apartheid struggle. It is not clear when or if their amnesty applications will be heard. Radebe applied for amnesty separately from the 37 officials. He said he and his party regret the excesses committed by the self-defense units. ``I think as we are building a new democracy in South AFrica our people ... need to know the truth and to open the old wounds of the terrible time from 1990 to 1994.'' The Truth Commission in October released a report assigning major blame for human rights violations to the National Party apartheid's architect. But it also cited the ANC for excesses. The commission has the power to grant amnesty to those who confess to specific crimes and can demonstrate a political motive a process expected to last well into next year as decisions are made on over 7000 amnesty applications. pr/djw APW19981201.0840.txt.body.html APW19981201.0724.txt.body.html