Human Rights Violation Hearings — East London — 1997-06-13

CHAIRPERSON: Amos Diko.  We welcome you Mr Diko.  Please stand up so that you can take an oath.

AMOS DIKO: (Duly sworn in, states).

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mr Diko.  I will hand over to June Crichton to ask you questions on behalf of the Commission.

JUNE CRICHTON: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Mr Diko can you hear me?

AMOS DIKO: Yes, I can hear you.

JUNE CRICHTON: Mr Diko, have you come with a prepared statement that you want to read or are you wanting us to lead you with questions?

AMOS DIKO: You can, you may lead me with questions.

JUNE CRICHTON: Thank you.  Mr Diko, perhaps if there is anything that we leave out and you want to leave your statement that will be fine.  You can just speak to the people at the table.  Mr Diko, you have come today to tell us about yourself and your wife, Abigail, that you were prison warders during the period of 1985 when this incident happened to you on the 13th of August in 1985.  You have come to tell us about the specific incident of what happened to you in Duncan Village.  Is it correct that you are now living in Gompol?

AMOS DIKO: Yes, that is correct.

JUNE CRICHTON: And the reason that you are living in Gompol is because of this incident that happened on the 13th of August in 1985?  Is that correct?

AMOS DIKO: Yes.

JUNE CRICHTON: I am going to have over to you now to tell us just what happened on that day specifically and then we will continue from there.

AMOS DIKO: Thank you.  Chairperson, on the 11th of August 1985 I was at home, number three, 76, Scay Street in Duncan Village here in East London.  We were mourning for the death of Mrs Victoria Mxenge.  At about five on that particular day people came, they were coming from Victoria Mxenge's funeral.  They were angry, because the police killed Mrs Victoria Mxenge.  There were rumours that the crowd is going to burn police houses, those who were involved and those who were suspected to work, to be working with the Security Branch Police.  At about five the crowd met the police in Duncan Village and there was conflict.  We slept on that day.
 The following day, on a Monday morning, I was driving my car to work.  I left my wife at home with a car and my children.  When I came back from home, from work at about seven, seven p.m., all the roads to Duncan Village were closed by old cars and other objects.  No car would, no car was supposed to go through Duncan Village.  There were a lot of police.  They were stopping cars not to come to the township, because things were being burnt in the township.  I took my car and I kept it somewhere.  The police could not even go in with their caspirs.  I heard people singing freedom songs.  There was chaos, there was no peace.  
 I could see that there were buildings which were on fire, but I did not know who these buildings belonged to.  I managed to go to my house.  After a while one woman from our community, but I do not know her name, came at home.  She told me that the crowd is coming towards our area and they were singing these freedom songs.  They were going to burn the police.  This lady told us to run away, maybe we will also be affected.  This surprised me, because I was not guilty of anything.  I had nothing against the Comrades.  I never disrupted their attempts to fight for freedom, because I also wanted freedom in this country.  I never killed anyone.  
 At about 20 minutes after that other women came, two women.  I do not know their names.  They took my young children, Nonzoezo, Mandla Inkosi and Zoliswa.  They took them with them.  They told us that they were going to protect these children, because the crowd was coming to this house.  My son Napayi who was still very young followed them.  I saw him jumping the fence and running away.  He went to the bush.  I told my wife that we must cover ourselves with blankets and switch off the lights and leave the house.  We then did that.  These people were in our yard at this time.  Some of them saying that we must burn this person.  Others tried to stop saying that this person was innocent.  They argued.  Most of them were against this decision.  
 We covered ourselves with these blankets and we went with them to the street.  They did not recognise us.  Some of them were saying that we must not be burnt down.  We then went to a secure place in the bush.  On that night we stayed there in the bush waiting for what will happen.  On the following day on the 13th, four a.m., we saw that our house was on fire.  We came nearer.  We saw that my car, a bakkie, was also burnt.

JUNE CRICHTON: Mr Diko, I am going to just stop you for a moment, because if we give you too much time we will not have time for our other witnesses.  We have problems with electricity, as you know, so I am going to ask you a couple of questions now and I would like you just to answer me.  First of all, you are saying that your house was in flames, it was now burning, your car was also burnt and at this point you had no idea where your children were.  Is that correct?

AMOS DIKO: Yes, that is correct.

JUNE CRICHTON: Now, you also mentioned that there were some witnesses who saw this.  One Magoba Galana and Kabi, Kolisi Kabi.  Who were these people?  Were they next door neighbours?

AMOS DIKO: They were my neighbours, yes.

JUNE CRICHTON: Thank you.  Was your wife also a prison warder?

AMOS DIKO: Yes.

JUNE CRICHTON: And up till then in the community had there been any harassment of you or your wife, up until that time?

AMOS DIKO: No.

JUNE CRICHTON: Mr Diko, when you decided to come to the Commission, what was it that you were hoping that we would do for you?

AMOS DIKO: First of all, I would like to thank the Comrades in their struggle.  Secondly, the past apartheid Government, if it did not kill the political activists and Mxenge family, Mr Griffiths Mxenge and Victoria Mxenge, our house would not have been burnt down.  I would like the past Government to accept the consequences, because I lost my property.  I would like the past Government to be held responsible for the loss, for the loss of ...

JUNE CRICHTON: Are your children adults now Mr Diko?

AMOS DIKO: Yes.

JUNE CRICHTON: And are you employed now?

AMOS DIKO: Yes, I am employed.

JUNE CRICHTON: And my last question to you is has there been reconciliation with yourself within Duncan Village or have you not gone back there?

AMOS DIKO: Yes, I am working for them presently.  I do not blame them.  I do not blame them at all.  I blame the past Government for killing our leaders, our political activists, I do not blame them.

JUNE CRICHTON: Mr Diko, I thank you and I am going to hand you back to our Chairperson in case there are further questions.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much, Mr Diko, for appearing before the Commission.  I sympathise with you because you lost your belongings.  We have noted your requests before the Commission.  We will forward them to the President.  Thank you Mr Diko.

AMOS DIKO: I have got something else to add.  Sir, I have another request.  I would like the Commission to help me, because next year I will get a pension, I am supposed to get a pension.  I would like the Commission to help me to find a place to stay, because I am not going to be able to afford the house that I am staying in.  Secondly, this affected my health.  I had, I suffered from high blood pressure, because of what happened to me together with my wife.  I would like to get free medical treatment.  I am not asking this for myself only, but I am asking this for other fellow Comrades.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Diko, we have your written requests.  In your statement you have mentioned a request about your house, support of your family, medical treatment, compensation of your house.  We do have your requests.  We will send them to the President.  He will be the one to decide.  Thank you Sir.