Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

MR LAX: Please tell us what happened.

WITNESS:   In the morning Sibusiso woke up, and the sister was baking and frying koeksister, and we heard some noise outside and we saw a group of people approaching and having weapons, different kind of weapons, assegais and other traditional weapons.  Sibusiso went out and stood outside the house watching at the people approaching.   ---   One boy was shouting, saying, "Sibusiso, run away.  Those people are going to harm you, are going to injure you."  And Sibusiso said, "I am only a child.  I am only a small boy.  They cannot hurt me or do anything to me."  When he tried to run away they ran after him.  He went into one of the neighbours and he - one man screamed, shouted and said, "Don't close that door you woman," and the lady said, "I won't close the door."  They got inside the house and they took him out.  They pulled him out with an arm, and there were about 20 people present there.  They went down the road to Kaliphas School, where he fell down after he had been assaulted, and he was beaten brutally on his head.  And he fell down on his face and they started stabbing him using assegais.  And they stabbed him all over at the back with the assegais.  There was no place where he wasn't injured.  He died instantly.  One man said, "Let's cut his head off."  Rasta Ndwandwe, the warrant of Umbilo, said, "Now that you have killed him why would you cut his head off.  Just leave him alone."  They left the place.  They went to the other side where there were taxis, and the van was parked there.  Two police vans were parked there, accompanying these men.  They kept claiming that they were killing Amaquabane.  My son was the first one to be killed by an assegai at that time.  They left him there on the spot.  At that time only the Zulu policemen would only pick up the corpse, not the SAP.  One of the neighbours called the grandmother and said, "Come and fetch the corpse lying "down there, because there's no one who's concerned about this."  Sibusiso was taken to Shozi, Edward Shozi, and he was kept there for two hours.  They took off his clothes.  They took out his trousers that were soaked in blood, and he was taken to Gale Street naked, and he was left there.  He was buried on February 4.  When we came back from the graveside at the funeral day there were shootings.  The buses went around dropping people.  They could not take people to their places because there were shootings going on, because they kept saying they were killing - they were in a mission of killing the comrades.  They came home.  Edward Shozi was a believer, was a christian.  He belonged to the Roman Catholic church.  I got home, I gave him a telephone call, and I was in pain.  Yes, he did receive the message.  I asked him, "Why did you kill my child?  Did we have any kind of altercations or so?  Why would you do something like this?"  He said, "No, this was not intentional.  It just happened because people were divided there, the nation was just divided, the community."  He kept saying no, he did not intend to kill my child otherwise there is nothing wrong.  I said, "Listen now what God said after Cain had killed his brother."  I said, "Things will go and pass, but I want to tell you also that the way you did what you did I am not impressed, and all what you have, your cattle and your family, will come to pass and you will suffer just like Cain did suffer."  Exactly what I said it happened like that.  He lost everything, all the possessions he had just disappeared, and I said, "It's because of what you did to my son."

MR LAX: This Mr Shozi, that you've told us about, Edward Shozi, what was his position?  Did he occupy any ... (incomplete)

WITNESS:   He was the leader of Inkatha at Section Z.

MR LAX: You said that there were two police vans accompanying these people when they were going round.

WITNESS:   Yes.  After they killed my son the vans left.   They went down to Shozi, where they had a braai.  They were eating and drinking some traditional beer.  Wellington Sabelo joined also, and that's where they were having fun and they were merry and rejoicing.

MR LAX: And these people in those van joined them in that process, is that what you're saying?

WITNESS:   Those police came from Umlazi, and I believe that they are still there at Umlazi Police Station, the very police who were there leading the whole thing.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... Ndwandwe, was he present?

WITNESS:   Rasta Ndwandwe was an SAP.  He is the one who calmed the situation when they wanted to cut his head off.  He said, "Why would you do that because you have already killed him," and then they could make sense from that, they left.

MR LAX: Do you know whether he witnessed your son's assault and murder?

WITNESS:   It was during the day around eight in the morning when they were killing my son.  Everyone witnessed that.  The neighbours also, and myself, although I could not come close.

MR LAX: Now, just for the record, you have given us a copy of your son's death certificate, and you can confirm that.

WITNESS:   Yes.

MR LAX: Do you know whether any inquest was ever held into your son's death?  An inquest is an inquiry into somebody's death.  It's not necessarily like a proper case, where someone is charged.

WITNESS:   Nothing took place, but the person who was in charge of the case was Goge, a sergeant, the one who left his clothes at Shozi's place.  He is the one who was in charge of his this case, and when he was coming to get the statement he took the statement with and he left everything like that.  He never went on with the case, and one other SAP police went to BB Police Station and took Sibusiso's docket to CR, where it was kept, and nothing after that took place.

MR LAX: Do you know the name of the SAP person who took the docket to C R Swart?

WITNESS:   It was SAP.  He went to Isipingo, although Warrant-Officer Mofokeng, he knows his whereabouts.

MR LAX: Just so I can get it straight, this Goge you said he was a sergeant, is that right, at that time?

WITNESS:   Yes, he belonged to BB.  He is the one who took my child with.   Just listening to it you refer to him as a CID not as a sergeant, but that's okay.  Since that time have you had any further trouble at your house where you were staying?   ---   At that time nothing happened at home.  I was just - I felt harassed and ill-treated, and also I lost my eyesight.  You see this affected me so much psychologically because I could not rest, but always think about things that happened to my son, and that affected  my eyesight.  Even the way I walk, I just - even when I go to places I always take my husband with, the one who is seated next to me.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... you're under medication for hypertension.  Do you get any help with that medication?

WITNESS:   Yes, I go to health clinic for treatment, and after that I was also - I was affected with cancer as well, and at King Edward Hospital that's where I go for treatment and get assisted.  I acquired many diseases as a result of this thing.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... questions.  I hand you back to the chairperson.

KHOZA MGOJO: We are running out of time and this is a pathetic story.  You have been harassed and you went through difficult times.  I want to know about Thulani and Fanfani, where are they?

WITNESS:   Thulani is now married. And Fanfani could have been married now, but he is not working.

KHOZA MGOJO: But he went to school?

WITNESS:   Indeed, standard nine.  I wonder if he is looking for any job and cannot find any job, but he is just not employed, he's at home.  And I think he is drinking.

KHOZA MGOJO: What you have gone through now, did you ever take time to go and see the psychologist, because you have gone through such a traumatic experience?  Have you consulted any psychologist or what?