Human Rights Violation Hearings — Heiderveld — 1996-04-23

CHAIRPERSON: This is our next witness, Joan Mantombi King. Please come up.  
JOAN MANTOMBI  KING Duly sworn states

CHAIRPERSON: That is David,  David Motlale.  Mr David Motlale are you also going to speak in English?

MR MOTLALE: I'll speak Tswana.
DAVID MOTLALE Duly sworn states

CHAIRPERSON: In telling your story you will be assisted by Denzil Potgieter.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you Chairperson. Good afternoon Ms King and Mr Motlale.

MS KING: Good afternoon.

ADV POTGIETER: Welcome here. Your case relates to the death of your husband?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: In December of 1976.

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Under circumstances which my colleague Mr Ntsebeza next to me here has earlier so eloquently sketched.  In fact the man we heard looks like Mr Barnard, but your story in fact deals with a different level of that situation and that was the conflict between the migrant hostel people.

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Who were also referred to as "wit doeke"?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: And they were permanent residents of Guguletu and Nyanga?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Now you were married, is it correct, to - during his lifetime- to Henry Kwisomba?

MS KING: Yes, I was.

ADV POTGIETER: Are there children born of that marriage?

MS KING: Yes, I had three children.

ADV POTGIETER: Three children?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Can you give us their ages and their, their sex- the gender?

MS KING: At the time of his death my daughter Smongile, sitting there, she was 10 years old.

ADV POTGIETER: Take your time Ms King.

MS KING: And my son Boldwin was 8 years old and my baby Victor he was 18 months old.

ADV POTGIETER: And is it correct that you were living in Guguletu at that time?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Now what was the situation like in Guguletu towards the end of 1976?

MS KING: There were always a lot of problems because there was a lot of shooting going on at that time.  There were problems with the students, and when you come home from work then you always wonder where the children are, because I don't know whether the children, they always are attracted to places where there are problems. I suppose I don't know.
     Then you must always run down the streets and look for your children.  So then as it was nearing the December holidays, we decided that I would take a break with the children and go to my mom's family up in Harrismith.  So I left a week before Christmas and I came back on the 6th of January 1977.

ADV POTGIETER: So you left (I am sorry to interrupt you), you left with the children?

MS KING: Yes I left with the children.

ADV POTGIETER: And your husband what happened to him?

MS KING: And he stayed behind and - in the house.

ADV POTGIETER: At the home in Guguletu?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: And you say that you only returned in the new year.

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Of 1977?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: And then what - what happened?

MS KING: I remember on coming back that day, it was on the 6th of January, and as we went into Bellville( I had R1,00 in my pocket) and there was a boy selling newspapers on the corner. And as this car was standing at the robots, I still wanted to buy this newspaper, the Cape Times.
     And then I checked myself again and I said," Bongi" (that is my daughter), I said to her " I am going to keep this R1,00. I am not going to buy this paper after all ,in case  when we get home there is no bread. Then I can buy you some bread with this R1,00."
     And then we went home, and only when we got home I found my younger sister there who stays out in Hammanskraal now. Then when she saw me, she sort of got a shock. I don't think that they were expecting me home that day, because I went up with a lift and came back home again with a lift.
     And then she said, "Ooh! I don't know where the aunties are of the street".  I said," Why?"  And then she said, "No, they said when you get home I must call them so they could be here when you get home".  I said,  "Now, what is wrong?"  So - no, then she ran out and then she came back with these people and then it was only then that I heard that my husband was missing since the 26th of December.  This was now the 6th of January and nobody knew where he was and... and they'd been looking all over for him and they couldn't find him in the mortuaries, in the hospitals... and that was that.
     And then I remember later that evening my mother-in-law came with my brother-in-law Les, and they had the same newspaper that I nearly bought in Bellville and my husband's picture was in the front page of that newspaper.

ADV POTGIETER: That was the paper of the 6th, the same day that you returned?

MS KING: Of January ,yes... 1977.

ADV POTGIETER: And did the newspaper write about your husband?

MS KING: Yes, that he was missing from the - from Boxing Day and because there was faction fighting with migrant labourers and we used to call them the "wit doeke" and he just got missing and they didn't know whether - his brother put it in the paper. And they don't know where he is and they've looked all over for him and - and in the paper, I think, they said that the police  said there weren't any shootings in NY78 that evening. The shootings were only in Nyanga, but he was shot at in Guguletu ...in NY78 as I heard.

ADV POTGIETER: Now that was on the 6th - it was the very day that you came home?

MS KING: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: And you then found the situation where the husband is missing and nobody could assist. Nobody could tell you what happened. What did you then do?

MS KING: I went to a neighbour, another neighbour, aunty Mary, because she used to go to church with us. Her sister-in-law was there from Johannesburg.  And [intervention]

ADV POTGIETER: It's in order Ms King, you can take your time.   Are you okay to carry on?