Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietersburg — 1996-07-19

MASHABELA MARULE KLAAS: (sworn states)

THOMAS MANTHATA: Could you please tell us about your incident at Chief Masha's place?

MR MASHABELA: Sir, my house was burned down, everything in it was burned by Chief Masha and his people and I did not know what I did, I was just surprised when these people came to burn my house.  We ran away from the place and they were killing people but I was away from home, I was at work, and I went away because I couldn't even get water from that place. They used to sell water to me and I realised that I didn't have enough money so I decided that I should have work, be employed, and that was the time they decided to burn my house.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Please continue, because in your statement you talked about the school committee and the elections at the time.

MR MASHABELA: Before my house was burned, this man just came to our place. We had been in the place before him under different chiefs.  When this chief arrived, in response to our questions, Maruteng people told us that we should know that they brought Manangani to us who will trouble us, so we were surprised by this kind of person.  We didn't bother at the time because we thought them to be just human like us.  When we were ploughing we were sometimes surprised because he would just take a place without letting us know.  He took our fields and he removed all our names and ploughed all our fields, so that it could all be one big field and he said he was the one who was in control and he made us pay money to plough our own fields.  We didn't like that, so when we were supposed to report there to our chiefs, they told us that we should just pay our for own fields because they were also surprised by the fact that the government didn't tell them anything about that. We paid for a long time but were not given the chance to plough our fields. He was the one who was ploughing our own fields, then we realised that we should leave the place and go and work for our keep and when I left the place, my houses were burned.  Everything inside, the furniture, I lost everything and there was no one to help because I was away from home. My wife and kids were also almost burned in the house but because God is great, they was able to run away.  They ran away because they saw people coming with litres of paraffin to burn our house in the evening.  In the morning people just found our place burned.
 Having lost everything I moved from the place and went to stay at Gangwana. I ran away at the time when my house and my furniture and my kids' place was burned. All the clothing of my three kids was burned in the house.  I was confused and frustrated but I'm thankful now because God helped me not to retaliate.  I used to think day and night how I could go and burn their houses and burn their houses too, I thought of burning all their houses but God helped me not to do it. None of the chiefs helped with anything. That man never came to my house to apologise.  Until today nothing has happened and I was relieved when I heard about this investigation and the Commission, and I went there thinking that they might help me and find those people because I want to see them, I want to know those people who did those things just want to find our who these people are, they are so terrible, they are just like witches who would kill even an infant. I was just an old man, I don't know what will actually relieve me. I would like the investigations to cover it all because I lost everything, I don't know if I will be compensated or what they are going to say when they appear before the Commission about all that they have done to me. I don't know what I can depend on, because this man never came to apologise.  He's acting as if he just killed an animal and you cannot apologise for killing an animal.  Up to this day he is resting with his family, having burned my and my son's property and the money that we paid him, he doesn't care about all that. I don't know what I can do, as I'm really broke.  When I see him I get angry and don't know how really to come to terms with this issue.

THOMAS MANTHATA: I understand, it is really difficult for you. Before this man came to you earlier, because you say he settled there in 1951, who was the chief of your area?

MR MASHABELA: Because it was in a farmer's place, the people chose a person among themselves to be their leader.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Were you still deciding on the farm when this man was brought to rule over you?

MR MASHABELA: When this man came he found us working in our fields together with our foremen who were elected to tell us everything that was from the government and we were told that this was a person who was sent by the chief from Gosheng, he wants us to cooperate with this person so we should please give him our support, and we didn't realise that it was trouble coming our way.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Had you asked for this man from the chief or did the chief just send him without your knowledge and concern?

MR MASHABELA: No they just brought him without any consultation, we just saw him coming.

THOMAS MANTHATA: That is why my earlier question was, were you just a community which used to choose its own leaders or were you at that time under a specific chief?

MR MASHABELA: Our chiefs resided outside, we were at a scheme and would come to work every time and the farmers said to us that we would have to choose a person from among ourselves who will represent us, and every time they had a meeting he would brief us on the issues that they discussed with him. But the person who was in charge in that area was Chief Muchalabia Maloto and he was the representative, and we would go to his place to come..... (end of tape 1)
(gap in the recording)
(stare of tape 2 ....   I found that there were people crying inside the police station , I was surprised because they didn't take me out of the van, I was inside a van, I didn't wear anything.........  
(the above paragraph appears to be disconnected to the context of the above testimony and breaks off at this point)
(tape 2 continues in a more logical pattern now)
......to the field to come and plough so that we can eat.

THOMAS MANTHATA: So you didn't know why you were never consulted when they sent this man, that is Masha, to rule lover you?

MR MASHABELA: No they never consulted us, we only saw him arriving.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Did they attack just your village or your house or all the communities that were on that farm?

MR MASHABELA: They chased away all the people who didn't want to adhere to his rule.  We wanted to be under the leadership of our chiefs but on this day of the attack, he attacked all the people he found there.  Only himself and his followers were safe and he called his families who shared the fields amongst themselves and they are still in that area today, still ploughing, eating and reaping the fruits of our toil.

THOMAS MANTHATA: All of you who were attacked, have since scattered around or are you still together where you have run to?

MR MASHABELA: We scattered around because it was difficult, we wanted to hide ourselves.  When I came back from where I went to get alternative employment, I discovered that my children were staying in another man's house.

THOMAS MANTHATA: So I see here that you are asking for a plot to settle on.  Will this mean a plot for all the people who ran away from Masha?

MR MASHABELA: I'm staying at Gangkwana, I have a shack there, but this man chased us from this place because he was a fierce man.

THOMAS MANTHATA: All through this time what did the Lebowa government say to your plight and the plight of some of your community members?