Human Rights Violation Hearings — King William's Town — 1997-05-13

CHAIRPERSON: Boyce Mtyobile and Meyile Malcomeso Siwayi.

REV XUNDU: Mr Chairperson, may I swear them in?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: (sworn states)

REV XUNDU: This gentleman is complaining that he needs some form of hearing aid, maybe he should put the earphones on.  You may stand up sir.

MEYILE MALCOMESO SIWAYI: (sworn states)

REV XUNDU: Thank you sir.  Mr Chairperson, they have been properly sworn in.

CHAIRPERSON: Tiny Maya?

MS MAYA: Mr Mtyobile can I start with you.  You are going to talk about two incidents, especially in connection with the 10th of January 1990, but your story is not clear before us.  Please tell us what happened.

BOYCE MTYOBILE: It was the 10th of January 1990, I was on duty at Nqongweni, that is where we were camping in a tent.  At the time, there were fights.
 The people were against the Headmen.

MS MAYA: Were you a policeman or a soldier?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I was a policeman.

MS MAYA: Thank you, please carry on.

BOYCE MTYOBILE: There were four of us on duty, but when the incident occurred, there was only three of us left.  The one had left and said that he does not feel at peace, he would rather go to Bisho where we worked.
 The others that were left, was sleeping because we would give each other chances to sleep, four hours at a time.  At about 2 am, when I was waking them up so that I could sleep, I heard something being thrown into the tent and when I tried to figure out what it was, something else was thrown.
 I realised that it was a hand grenade.  I just felt something wet on my feet.  One of my toes was sore as if I tripped over, I hid my head behind the bed, I also felt something wet on my thigh.  I could not take much notice of this at the time.  I felt the person next to me, just to see if he was still alive, we held onto each other.
 The noise continued.  The bangs went on.  The dogs were barking.  We realised that as the dogs were barking, the people were running away.   We tried to get out, I told them that it is as if I had been shot.  They ran out.  When I tried to run out, I fell because there as gas that was suffocating me.
 I was dizzy.  I called out to come get me.  The walkie talkie we had, was not working at the time.  We tried to get a house with a phone, we phoned the Control at Bisho to tell them about the incident.  I was then taken to hospital, an ambulance came to fetch me.

MS MAYA: So what was happening, who attacked you?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I do not know who was attacking, however there was a rumour that I cannot be sure of.  That is apparent that it was an inside job, it was the other police.

MS MAYA: Was there a reason why you would be attacked by yet other police?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: These things would happen, they happened at the time.

MS MAYA: What were the reasons?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: So that it would appear as if it was one of the political organisations.

MS MAYA: Had there been such incidents prior to yours?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.

MS MAYA: And at the same place?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: No, other places.

MS MAYA: We will request that you would give us those details.

BOYCE MTYOBILE: There was a bottle store that was bombed at Qoboqobo.

MS MAYA: Do you have an idea?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes, this bottle store was bombed out and then we were called.  Then we found out that it was the police.

MS MAYA: Whose bottle store was it?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Ngwanya.

MS MAYA: Did you know the police that set out the mission?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: We found out when there was a case.

MS MAYA: You said that you felt a dampness on your feet and thigh?  Were you shot?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.

MS MAYA: Did you get help?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I went to Mount Coke.

MS MAYA: For how long?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Two months.

MS MAYA: Do you have the documentation you got from the hospital?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I do not have any with me.

MS MAYA: Perhaps one of our investigators will come and ask for these documents.  Did you eventually find out who it is that attacked, because you said you heard rumours that it was the police?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I don't have concrete evidence.

MS MAYA: Was there an investigation, an inquest?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: No, not as much as I know.

MS MAYA: You mention somebody whom you think was connected to this attack because you said the Task Force was under his authority, who are you talking about?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: The Elite Unit was led by Kwane Sebe and the other by Paulos.

MS MAYA: Where is Paulos now?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I don't know.

MS MAYA: Is Paulos his first name or his surname?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Surname.

MS MAYA: Do you know his first name?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: No, I do not know.

MS MAYA: Do you have reasons for thinking that it was the organisations under Kwane Sebe that attacked you?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.  That is what I was told.

MS MAYA: How did these injuries affect your life?  Are you able to work properly?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.  I did not like my place of work.  I made applications for a transfer even before I was injured.  Things were worse, they deteriorated after I was injured.

MS MAYA: Were there reasons why you did not like your place of work?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.

MS MAYA: Perhaps you can enlighten us.

BOYCE MTYOBILE: My intentions for joining the Police Force was that I would deal with criminals.  Where I worked with the Riot Unit, I did not work with criminals.  I would be woken up in the middle of the night to be asked to go to certain places, it is dangerous, therefore I did not like the job.
 Things were even worse after I was injured.  I requested a transfer, I was not permitted.  I then went to report at Whittlesea police station.

MS MAYA: You would report at Whittlesea police station?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.

MS MAYA: When you say you'd be woken up in the middle of the night, what kind of places would you go to?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Places where there is disorder.

MS MAYA: You said you had been camping to guard Headmen?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.  Because the people of the community did not want that particular Headman.

MS MAYA: Was it a norm for policemen to be deployed to villages to guard Headmen?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: It was the first time I had heard about it.

MS MAYA: Do you have a request as you have come before the Commission?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: First of all, I would like to know the perpetrators because there is still a bullet in my body that could not be removed.  My body has grenade remnants within it.
 Secondly I lost my job in an unclear manner.

MS MAYA: You lost your job as a policeman?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.

MS MAYA: What happened?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: In 1991, as I would go and report at Whittlesea because they would not give me a transfer in 1991, I had swollen up around my knee where the bullet is.  I went to the Doctor at Hewu hospital.
 He X-rayed me.  He said the cause was the bullet in my knee.  If I wanted it to be removed, I would be crippled.  He then gave me a few days leave, sick leave.  When I came back to work, I was taken to trail, they tore the paper from the Doctor and I just sat after that.
 In April 1992 I was deployed to Whittlesea, I worked there a while.  In August the was a board of enquiry, then I heard that there was a call that I had lost my job.

MS MAYA: Were you at the board of enquiry?  Did you defend yourself?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.

MS MAYA: Did you have a legal representative?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I did.

MS MAYA: Therefore you want us to investigate why you lost your job, is that all?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: I want to see the perpetrators.  If the Commission can, they must find out if I cannot go back to work.  I apply and I never succeed because they think that there is nothing I can do because of  my state of health.

MS MAYA: Is that all?

BOYCE MTYOBILE: Yes.

MS MAYA: Thank you.  I will hand you over to the Chairperson.  Maybe he has more questions.  Mr Siwayi, good afternoon.