Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-05-08

INTERPRETER: And now your children, you say they are no longer at school.  What classes are they doing, even the one who is continuing?

WITNESS:   The elder one he was doing B Ped.  That was going to be his second year.  The other one he's at the technical college.  He was doing management at technical college, personnel management.  But he is still trying, but now he is also going to stop because he doesn't even have books.  He will try to look for an employment so that he can still further his own studies once he is working.  But he is still at school now.

INTERPRETER: Mama, if there was any kind of assistance what kind of assistance would you request from the Commission?

WITNESS:  I would like to request - because I have got difficulty about these children.  These are the real children I am worried about, because they are at home, because if I take my little pension and give it to them then we die from hunger.  I am just at home.  All those things are on my shoulders because I never know what to do.  The house which was attacked when they attacked your home, have you rebuilt it?   ---   No.  We are not able to rebuild it, we just put card boxes around, because I was also at home.  That's how the home still is.  We haven't managed to rebuild it.  I thought once my children had finished schooling we can all start rebuilding our house together.

INTERPRETER: Thank you, Mama.  Could I ask Musawenkosi to say something, if you would like to add anything, because you were there when there was this attack, so that the Commission can get a full picture.

WITNESS:   It was on the 24th in May in 1986.  I was asleep at home at night.  I was fast asleep.  When I woke up I thought there was thunder and lightning, but when I got up - I was woken up by stones being thrown through the window, and then I got up.  When I looked through the window I saw a huge crowd of people.  The whole house was surrounded by people.  When I looked towards the door - I got out of the room where I was sleeping, I went towards the dining-room, and I was trying to escape and run away and see how I could escape there.  At that stage I was very confused.  I could also hear some other one chopping the door.  The dining-room door was being chopped off.  When I went to the kitchen I saw the door wide open, but there was just a small gap.  They didn't manage to open wide open, but those who were outside didn't realise that the door was already open.  I could hear them talking.  Another one said - another one was saying, "No, let's go.  There's nobody in this house."  Another one said, "No, I heard people speaking inside the bedroom.  I think there are people inside the bedroom."  I realised when I looked through this gap inside the door, I realised that I couldn't manage to escape, I will not be able to escape through this crowd of people.  I said, "Let them kill me inside the house."  So I went back to the bedroom where I was sleeping, I hid myself ... (incomplete - end of Side B, Tape 7) ... the bed I kept quiet.  I could hear this bed I was sleeping on, they picked it up.  Another one said, "Ag, but there is nobody who can hide under such a small bed."  The opposite bed in this room there was a small boy, my sister's boy, was sleeping there.  They took this boy outside, and I thought he's going to say, "Ay, there's another one hiding on the other bed."  He also kept quiet.  They said, "Dress up, let us go."  Another one said, "No, bring the gun here, let's finish him off right inside the house."  The other one said, "No, let's take him away. We're going to burn him."  And they said, "Dress up."  He got dressed up and he was crying.  They took him, and I was also under the bed, but I could hear these people talking.  I couldn't see at them.  But I then - and the other one said, "But where is the man of this house?"  During that time they had already killed - they had already killed my father.  It seems like they didn't know it was my father that they had killed.  They were asking, "Where is the man of this family?" and they took this other boy with them.  And I kept on hiding there until it was quiet, and I got out.  When I woke up, when I tried to come out of the dining-room, I saw our property was upside-down, and cushions of sofas and windows were broken.  When I looked through the window I could see those people.  They were coming through another road on the right-hand side front in the front of our house.  They were wearing the Zion clothes, and others had their stick of the Zion Church.  The other said, "Are you still here?  Move away, because they are still there."  That's how I managed to escape through the back door, and I went to hide at one of my friends.  I only went back at home and it was dawn.

INTERPRETER: Thank you very much, Musawenkosi.  I would like to ask two questions to clarify.  Your sister's child, Thembinkosi, how was he?  Are there any of those people you identified who attacked your home?

WITNESS:   Thembinkosi was only 14 years old.  Those who had come to attack us I didn't know because I was under the bed.  I could only hear their voices.  It was only later on when I saw them, and I saw them far off in the street, what they were wearing.  So I don't know who they were because it was at night, and I was also just trying to escape and save my life. Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Mama, I do not know what to say.  This is a shocking situation.  When you're listening to this you think - when you're listening to this you realise how terrible the situation in the past on all sides.  There was evil.  It's like we were embraced by this evil, all of us.  We'll ask God to be with you.  We ask God to soften your hearts that are painful, and help you to come through and give you strength.  We hope through this Commission - perhaps God will make use of this Commission to heal all the evils that was all over in our country.  May God through His grace be with you.  Thank you very much.

DR BORAINE: May I welcome you both to the witness stand on behalf of the Commission.  I thank you very much indeed for coming.  I understand that, Gary, you will be talking about your brother and his wife, your sister-in-law, and -I am not sure if I should call you Kasavan or Terence.  Which would you prefer?

GARY GOVINDSAMY AND KASAVAN TERENCE ARENGASAMY: Terence.

DR BORAINE: Terence.  You are the son of the couple who were killed.  Fine, thank you very much indeed, and we are very grateful to both of you, and I am assuming that both of you will speak.

GARY GOVINDSAMY AND KASAVAN TERENCE ARENGASAMY: (Sworn, State)

DR BORAINE: Thank you, please be seated.  Now, you have been here and you have listened to other witnesses telling their stories, and you will know that one of the Commissioners or committee members is appointed to help in the questioning and telling and the unfolding of the story.  That's my job today, and I am very pleased to be able to work with you on this occasion.  The story that you will tell is a story of a couple who were simply walking along the Esplanade and were killed in a bomb blast.  It was the 3rd of April 1984.  I wonder if you, Gary, would - or who wishes to speak first?

WITNESS:   I'll speak first.

DR BORAINE: Fine.  Why don't you take up the story and tell us about it?

WITNESS:   I have prepared a - or I have written up something.

DR BORAINE: That's perfectly all right.

WITNESS:   And I'd like to read it if I may, and perhaps later the Commission can ask a few questions.

DR BORAINE: Of course.  Please go right ahead.   ---