Human Rights Violation Hearings — Nelspruit — 1996-09-02

MRS MATHEBULA: I was welcome back in prison,
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because I tell you I got a very warm welcome because the people in the prison knew my situation, they knew my conditions.  Since that day I have never been a healthy person any more.
I spent those years in prison as they charged me but before even six months that I spent in the prison I was attacked by high blood pressure and I fell sick and I lay in bed. I was taken to the doctor and he  ken to the doctor and he diagnosed me as having high blood pressure and he ordered them not to disturb me in any way.
I was undergoing treatment very often.  I spent three years in prison.
 They said, "Because you have been charged with public 
violence, we are not going to cut your years, you are going to spend four years in prison. And when Mr Mandela was released, I was given mercy, one year was cut off. I was released on the 22nd of July in 1990 and I was released. But when they released me they released me with this terminal illness in me. 
 When I went back home I kept on attending medical treatment. I was attending Bobitt before I was taken to prison, I went to Sally and he was the person who was really getting the cure of what was taking place in my life.  Even today I still feel that there are parts in my body that are not well and I just go to him, I'm a regular customer now.  I cannot work, I cannot do anything.  If I try to do anything the hand is painful.  When I try to do 
anything, the arm is hurting, the leg, my stomach, everything.  I went to him and he checked me. He used a machine to check me and he said there was a hole in my bladder and I just looked at him as he was telling me this.  He said, "Please do not get disturbed by what I'm telling NELSPRUIT  HEARING TRC/MPUMALANGA
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you now".  And I kept quiet. He was telling me this and there were things that I could see on my body.  There were bullets on my body and I was scared to go to the hospital to let them be removed. I told  myself that this was something from God, I had to accept it. God raised his hands and he protected me.  He didn't want me
to leave this earth but I must tell you the pain is still with me and my body is damaged. I am well today, tomorrow I  am not.  Even at work, where I am working, because I realised that I was at all times sick. My employer said, I'm now going to reduce the days.  I said to him, "Well that will be the way I have to accept, I lost my family, I lost my house, I lost my belongings, I lost everything. When I came back from prison, everything, my future was destroyed and this is disturbing me a lot.  People have places of their own where they can sleep when it's cold. I cannot sleep, I don't have a house, I don't have a home. I was innocent. I went to a funeral of our neighbour, Duty Embata. We wanted to bury her son and that is where I met my fate. I cannot carry on. I will end here.

MR LEWIN: Gladys, thank you very much.  Would you turn that mike off please. I think you have shown us that you can carry on. We would like to thank you for coming and telling us this story. Just to make it a little bit clearer, could I ask one or two further questions please?
 One is, you mention that Duty Embata's your 
neighbour. Their son had died, this was the funeral that you went to and that he had been a member of the UDF, is that right?

MRS MATHEBULA: Yes it is.

MR LEWIN: But you yourself were not involved in UDF activity?
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MRS MATHEBULA: Not.

MR LEWIN: And can you just confirm for us, on your way back from the funeral, just before you felt this shot in the back, in the shoulders, you hadn't been doing anything you were just returning from the funeral?

MRS MATHEBULA: Yes.

MR LEWIN: You mention after you were charged, I get the impression that you were charged on your own for this public violence, for throwing stones. Or were the original five, you said there were five of you arrested.  What happened to the other four, were they charged with you?

MRS MATHEBULA: The other one was sentenced to four years, he was a boy, I forgot his name. He was sentenced to four
years together with me and the other one was sentenced 18 months if I remember well and this other boy and the other two were just discharged.

MR LEWIN: You mention in your statement that there was R750 that was paid by your family for the appeal.
What happened to that?

MRS MATHEBULA: When I was taken to prison, they said the money would be taken back to the family because I was now going back to prison and that I was sentenced to four years.

CHAIRPERSON: And then when you were told that you, as you've told us that they would not reduce the four years
because it was public violence, can you explain a bit further about that? Did they explain anything further to you?

MRS MATHEBULA: I do not understand your question Sir.

CHAIRPERSON: It's about them refusing to reduce your sentence, or to give any remission, or to let you out under a normal prison condition.  Was that explained to you at all, why they were doing this?
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MRS MATHEBULA: They never explained anything to me.

MR LEWIN: My last question's about the treatment which you have now have. You say you need to attend or see the doctor every month.  Can you give some details about what the treatment is and how much it costs?

MRS MATHEBULA: I cannot give you the estimation because my husband had a medical card.  He was a teacher and I used to attend the treatment using the medical card. But after that then, my family is taking care of me with their medical card and it will be difficult to estimate as to how much do I pay for the doctor.  Sometimes I go once a month to the Doctor, sometimes I go twice, it depends on where I am.

MR LEWIN: Thank you Mr Chair.

<UNKNOWN>: Mrs Mathebula, I'd just like to ask you a few questions, how old were you when you were sentenced to this term of imprisonment?

MRS MATHEBULA: I was 33 years old.

<UNKNOWN>: At the time when your family paid the R750, was that for bail pending an appeal being lodged against the sentence?

MRS MATHEBULA: Yes.

<UNKNOWN>: Did you have a lawyer who was assisting you
with the appeal?

MRS MATHEBULA: Posa was my legal advisor or was my attorney and he left and I was then transferred to a Mr Majaphelo.

<UNKNOWN>: Also during the time that you were in prison, at any stage did any magistrate visit you?

MRS MATHEBULA: Can you please repeat your question?

<UNKNOWN>: In prison, the three years that you spent there.  At any time when you were ill, did any magistrate or NELSPRUIT  HEARING TRC/MPUMALANGA
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district surgeon visit you in the prison to check on your health,  your condition?

MRS MATHEBULA: I was taken to the prison doctor.  He used to come on certain days and I would be taken to him for check-ups.

<UNKNOWN>: One last, two questions. Did you have any children from the marriage and did your marriage break up when you came out of prison or while you were still in prison?

MRS MATHEBULA: After I was released from prison there was no marriage at all. I didn't have even any furniture in the house, I didn't have clothes to wear, I didn't have
furniture, I didn't have a pot to cook. My husband is not staying at home any more. He doesn't even take care of me even if I'm a sickly person.

<UNKNOWN>: Do you support yourself now?