Human Rights Violation Hearings — Karoo — 1996-10-08

ADV POTGIETER: Do you still feel at present that there are people that are against you in this community - do you still feel that there are sort of hostility towards you as a person in this community in Hanover?

MR NKUMBI: I wouldn't say - I wouldn't answer that because people are so different but I do work with people and I don't have anything against anyone.  But a person can love with you but you will never know what's inside.

ADV POTGIETER: And what I am just trying - I am just trying to ascertain yourself - you yourself how do you feel at present I mean you say you  live in town - and I might have misheard you but I got this sort of feeling that you are not at peace as yet.  And I may add that one of the important aspects of the work of this Commission is the one of looking at this whole thing of reconciliation - looking at patching up and getting everybody to work together positively and move into the future.

MR NKUMBI: Yes I am staying in town the reason for that is that I have a family and that's why I am staying in town.  I would like to say in front of this Commission I am not against anyone, I don't hold grudges, the Bible said that you have to love your neighbour as you love yourself.

ADV POTGIETER: [indistinct] positive attitude and one that I have - as I've said earlier is clearly reflected in the work that you do here as well.  But perhaps we can pursue this - this matter on some other level, but thank you very much.

MR NKUMBI: Thank you.

MARY BURTON: Mr Nkumbi thank you as my colleagues have thanked you I want to thank you to.  And I - I am made to think very deeply about what the task of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is and that's why we are grateful to you for coming to explain what happened and what you witnesses and what you experienced.  
 And I think it's very true  that our communities were very divided as Ms Seroke has suggested possibly deliberately in some cases and that those divisions were often more than political - that other conflicts came in and it was like many layers - feeding on one another to create those divisions.  And they escalated into the kind of attack which led to the dead of your brother.
 Now we often say that we've experienced a miracle in South Africa and in some ways we have - and the rest of the world looks at us and looks at this miracle but miracles are high wonderful moments but they still leave a great deal of work that has to be done to make that miracle of lasting value and I think what you have told us today has made us realise that, that work still has to go on.
 And we in the Commission can do some of that work - we can help to create the platforms so that people can ask the questions that you have asked, we can conduct the search for the truth.  But the search for reconciliation has to go on and it requires work from everybody.
 I ask everybody here to look into their hearts and to remember those times and to think what now  we must do next to built on that reconciliation and one think is we listen to one another with respect - we treat each other with respect and we hear those stories and we go on working at ways at which we can live together in peace and one hopes in due course with forgiveness.  
 And you've taken us a step in that direction so thank you very much.

MR NKUMBI: Thank you.