Human Rights Violation Hearings — King William's Town — 1997-05-12

CHAIRPERSON: Cecilia Putunywa Ngete.

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: (Duly sworn in, states).

REV XUNDU: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Ms Maya.

MS MAYA: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Ms Ngete, you are going  to talk about your uncle, Mafu Matiwane, who was 74 years of age in 1992 when he was killed.  Could you tell us what happened to him.

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: On the 19th of September in 1992 my uncle left our house to go back home.  He met two soldiers.  They asked where he had come from.  He said he had come from Johannesburg.  Then they said that he had burnt down Makhapela's house.  He said he did not know anything about this.  They took him, beat him up and took him to Mr Makhapela's house.  At Mr Makhapela's house he cried out saying that he had done nothing, he does not know why he is being beaten up.  A little while after he had beaten up he walked out.  The soldiers followed him shooting him until he went through a passage.  As he was going through a passage going home his jacket got caught in a fence and he fell.
 As he was lying there the police kicked him saying that he was pretending that he was dead.  Malule, his brother, came through.  He was watching.  After that they realised that he had died.  They left him there and they went to Makhapela's house.  At home where I stay my sister-in-law came telling me that my uncle had been beaten by soldiers who are staying at Mr Makhapela's house.  I went going home.  When I got home I thought that I would find him and take him to hospital, but when I got there he was, I tested his pulse and touched his eyes.  He was not blinking.  I realised that he was dead.  I wept and I thought to myself, I have no mother, I have no father.  He was a father to me.  What is going to happen to me?
 After that we went to Chief Mbandla's house to report this matter.  Chief Mbandla said he had no phone.  We got a lift to the police station.  When we got there we presented the case.  The police said to us we had burnt down Makhapela's house, but we go back to report the case to them.  Makhapela said the man who is killed is not guilty.  The one police said we must wait, the police vans were deployed, they would come back later.  At eight o' clock a bakkie came, a police van.  They took us back home and they also took us to the corpse where my uncle lay.  It was half past eight at the time.  Mr Jonas took over so that we could bury him properly.

MS MAYA: Do you have reasons that you know of about the death of your uncle?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: No.

MS MAYA: Were there organisations that were in dispute in your community?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: My uncle was an ANC member.  He was killed by soldiers.

MS MAYA: So these soldiers were from Chief Makhapela's place.  Why were they taking him there?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: This is where his house was burnt down.  The house had been recently burnt down.

MS MAYA: Are there people who had been arrested in connection with this matter?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: No.

MS MAYA: Therefore there was no court case.

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: I went to the police station and investigated, reported the matter, gave in a statement.  After that there was a promise that there would be a court case.  In 1995 there was a summons that we should go to court.  As we were in the court yard we realised that they were not calling us in.  I went to the investigators.  Sergeant said I had already left for Seymour.  Mr Ndita was handling the case.  We wanted to find out what was happening.  Mr Ndita told us that Lindile Mashiqa has been, absconded in Pretoria.  He absconded therefore he was not there.  I wondered why they were not notifying us about this case.

MS MAYA: Are Luvuyo and Lindile people that you knew?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: Yes, I knew them.

MS MAYA: Where are they now?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: Lindile Mashiqa is in Qoboqobo, he works there.  He has got a house in Dimbaza.  Luvuyo Matyila, he is at Malamkoma.

MS MAYA: Is  Mashiqa still a soldier?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: Yes.

MS MAYA: In the new regime?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: Yes.

MS MAYA: Therefore the court case could not continue?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: No.

MS MAYA: Did you have representatives, legal representatives?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: No, except an Attorney, Smith, and in King William's Town to whom we gave the case to.

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

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: My request to the Commission is there should be a follow up.  We need compensation and especially because we, the funeral costs were on our soldiers, the Government did not contribute in any way.

MS MAYA: You have talked about education or a school.

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: Yes, I did request that a school be built in our village and be named after Mr Matiwane.

MS MAYA: Thank you.  I will hand over to the Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: When you went to the attorneys Smith and Tabata what was their response?

CECILIA PUTUNYWA NGETE: We just gave in a statement to him.  We, after that, we referred to the investigators.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Cecilia for having given clarity on this case.  You have put this case before us so well.  We will look into your requests.  We are going to be talking  to the attorneys, because you did give in a statement.  Hopefully they can give us direction.  Thank you.