Human Rights Violation Hearings — Nelspruit — 1996-09-02

NONASWAZI BANDA: Then we started making arrangements for the funeral.  We went back home.  On Friday during the vigil service and people were sitting outside around the fire and the police came and they tear-gassed the people there, throw tear-gas, people ran away, some went inside the house and the house was so small and some other people fitted themselves inside the wardrobe and they came in, they ransacked the house.  And unfortunately the doors which we  were using, they were made out of corrugated iron.  This is what I can say so far.

MR LEWIN: Thank you very much, Mama.  If I could again just ask a few questions.  How old was your son at the time when he died?

NONASWAZI BANDA: He was 21 years of age.

MR LEWIN: And did you ever report the case, was anything ever done by the police or by lawyers to help you?

NONASWAZI BANDA: There is nothing that was done.  I did not even bother myself to go and report this to the police.  Some was advising me that you should approach the Human Rights lawyers but because we don't have money I couldn't afford it.

MR LEWIN: And one last question before handing back to the chair, could you  tell us your son, Richard, how many other brothers and sisters did he have?

NONASWAZI BANDA: There are three.

MR LEWIN: Thank you.

COMMISSIONER: Any other questions?

YASMINE SOOKA: I would like to ask Skhumbuzo a question please.  Could you tell me whether you and Temba were members of any
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political group.  Were you members of the UDF at the time when Temba was shot?   Skhumbuzo, can you hear me?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: Yes, I can hear you.

YASMINE SOOKA: Were you or Temba Ntimane, were you members of any political organisation at the time when Temba was shot?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: Yes.  I was a member.

YASMINE SOOKA: Could you tell us what you were a member of?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: I was a member of the ANC.

YASMINE SOOKA: Could you tell us about some of the activities that took place on that particular day when Temba was shot.

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: Unfortunately I was no longer available, I ran away.  I don't know what happened thereafter.

YASMINE SOOKA: Before the shooting took place, what was happening in the township?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: Actually on that day it was just busy and people were just being beaten and you know there was that people going up and down.  There was no settlement.

YASMINE SOOKA: Did something happen with the police before Temba was shot?  Why was there such - why were there so many things happening on that particular day?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: As far as I can remember from the morning that day there was nothing - nothing that happened.

YASMINE SOOKA: Thank you.

MRS MKHIZE: I will request from you Mama Banda so that you can tell us in shortly that when your boy grew up how was he?  Can you tell us exactly besides going to church maybe he was aligning with certain political organisations and maybe he was involved with other things.

NONASWAZI BANDA: He had just arrived.  He was working somewhere and then he arrived on Thursday and then he went to the vigil service and then he had to ...    No, he didn't have
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anything, he didn't even have a gun.

MRS MKHIZE: I thank you.

<UNKNOWN>: Skhumbuzo, I want to ask you a question that is very similar to the one that Commissioner Sooka asked you.  You are the survivor.  Now tell us broadly about the meeting that you attended because as a Commission we have to see to it that these people were not intending to do any criminal activities.  They were really involved in politics.  Just tell us a bit about your organisation.  Now when you were stopping the buses what were you actually trying to achieve?  What were your main objectives?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: It was because of the apartheid.  We didn't like any oppression at all and we decided to take that similar action.

<UNKNOWN>: Now this issue is very similar to actions that took place in different areas around June 16 day.  Now were you fighting the police maybe as an organisation?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: No, we were not fighting with the police.  We were just standing, we were looking at them and we saw the movement down and we did not actually know where they were heading to and then we were just standing there and we knew very well that when they said to us we must stop we had to run away.  Unfortunately I did not actually get shot.  I don't know what was the reason of them being shooting at me. As I have said.

<UNKNOWN>: Skhumbuzo, if you can assist us and explain, give more details, what happened actually?  What was the view point of your organisation?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: There is nothing that I can say there and we did nothing and myself I had to leave this place and I went to another place.  I did not actually want to involve
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myself.  I went away from Matsulu.  I don't know what  happened thereafter.

<UNKNOWN>: As of now did you not return back home?  According to you, Skhumbuzo, according to you, what must we do to assist you as a Commission, people who were actually attacked, actually not having done anything.  What must we do?

SKHUMGUZO MASHABA: I don't know actually what you can do to us, something that can sort of - because this thing worries us very much and I did not actually hope that this thing would be like this and the person who passed away was the person whom I loved very much.

COMMISSIONER: We want to thank you very much, Obed, Skhumbuzo.  We normally say to the people when we sort of give them condolences that many things bad happened but here we are.  We are here today, we are now free.  We know very well this freedom, we did not just get it easy.   Something happened here because people actually gave their lives to be actually - they gave their lives.  Here we are now, Temba and Richard, young people as they were, they got killed.  They are not the only victims, we know in many places also there were people who died and their blood was lost.  There is nothing that we can do ourselves in order to return these people who passed away but we know very well that we can thank God Almighty that through their giving in of their lives that today we are here now, we have got what we wanted.  Because of the apartheid that has now been done away with.  We are now a united people, we are one nation.  We want to thank those fallen heros.  By saying so may God give his holy spirit and comfort you.  More especially to you, mother who actually lost a son and you Skhumbuzo who
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lost a friend and Obed who lost a brother.  I hope you will be comforted by knowing this, that death it was actually the rise of the nation.  I thank you.