Human Rights Violation Hearings — Witbank — 1997-06-05

DR RANDERA: Can I just ask, is Beryl Harmse here?  No.  Or, Christinah Mkhatshwa?  She is here?  Perhaps I could ask Christinah to come forward because it's an incident related to the bombing.  Can I just explain these boxes to people.  I know a lot of people actually have them already so I won't actually go into too much details.  It's for the interpretation services that we provide here.  English is on two and Zulu is on three.  Thank you.  These boxes please are very fragile, if you can handle them with care and leave them when you go out for tea or lunch and most certainly at the end of the day.  For those of us who have cell phones, can you please switch off your cell phones.  Christinah, good morning.  Welcome.  Christinah, you have come to talk about your father Jacob Masuku.  Your father in fact, was killed in the bomb blast that we've heard already.  Miss Mkhize is going to be helping you as you tell your story but before I hand over to her, will you please stand to take the oath.

MR LEWIN: Mrs Mkhatshwa, if you could please raise your right hand and swear that the evidence you give to-day will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

UNKNOWN: (sworn states)

MS MKHIZE: Christinah, we welcome you here.  I would like you to be comfortable and explain your story to this Commission.  Before we get started won't you please tell us the story of your late father and whether he was politically active.

UNKNOWN: My father was not a political person.  He used to fix radio's and T.V.'s.

MS MKHIZE: I would like you to explain to this Commission how he met his fate.

UNKNOWN: My father left for work in the morning and we told him that we wanted money so we could buy food.  My two kids accompanied him and asked to him to come home early, not late.  That day I was at home drinking my tea which was on the table.  Suddenly, to my surprise the cup cracked and I thought to myself, this must mean something.  I went outside and stood there for quite some time.  My Mom said I should go to the Indian store and buy meat and vegetables.  I didn't feel that I could do that because I'd just heard that there was a bomb explosion in town.  However, I did go to the Indian store and when I got there I heard that there really was a bomb explosion.  I suddenly felt terrible.  When I was walking back home, I met a couple of ladies and they told me that there were people who died in the bomb explosion.  One other lady said some were Black people and I wondered who they were.  We saw a Kombi with policemen in it.  They parked right at my house and I wondered who they were looking for because I'm the only one at home and my Mom wasn't well and we also don't have boys who could have been naughty.  When I approached the police, I asked them who they were looking for and they said they wanted my Dad's I.D.  I asked why they wanted my father's I.D.  It was myself and my Mom and I was adamant and asked them why they wanted the I.D.  They just insisted that we should give them the I.D.  I asked my Mom for it and she gave it to me.  I in turn gave the I.D. to the police.  Suddenly they said, yes, this is the one.   I asked why are you saying this is the one?  I suddenly cried and asked, is there anything wrong?  Is he hurt because we already heard that there was a bomb explosion in town?  I offered to go with them to the scene of the crime.  We first went to Masina's house, the one who died with my father in that same bomb explosion.  When we got there we found that the wife, Mrs Masina was waiting for her husband because her husband had left in the morning saying he was going to the bank.  I was in the vehicle crying continuously.  They did not confirm that my father was dead but I could sense it in one way or the other.  I kept asking them to come out to the surface with the truth but they did not want to do that.  I asked Mrs Masina whether she had information about this.  She also did not have any information.
 We went to the police station instead and I asked, why and where are we going?  They said we should relax.  We went inside the police station building.  When I passed in the hallway, I saw two bodies that were covered and I wondered who those people were.  They took me to this particular White man and he asked me my name and I told him that I am Christinah.  He asked me whether this was my father and I said yes, this is my father.  He then asked for my mother and I told him the state in which my Mom was.  They held me on both sides and one gentleman approached, wearing gloves and opened one of the bodies and I realized straight away that it was my father.  I could tell that my father had died.  I submitted a statement and I could hear Mrs Masina crying as well.   They asked me many questions.  I answered what I knew and what I could.  Some questions were repeatedly asked and I answered as best I could.  I just wanted to go back home and I asked how I would get home because I had no transport.  Mrs Masina had relatives with her and they gave me a lift back home.  They neighbours were also surprised at what had happened.  When I got home, I could not speak properly and my mother was lying down.  I told her that my father was caught in that incident as well as Mr Masina and that they both had died.  We started making funeral arrangements.

MS MKHIZE: Thank you, Mrs Mkhatshwa.  I would like to ask you a few questions so that you can explain and clarify some aspects  on which we are not clear.  After this incident which you've related, maybe one of the neighbours or people of the community had the inside of the story.  Do you know anything about that?

UNKNOWN: What we heard as a family was, that the bomb was planted at the bank or at the clerk.  I'm not too sure exactly where the bomb was planted because those buildings were destroyed.  We just heard that the teachers were responsible for that.  We were called by those teachers in Middleburg.  They wrote a letter to me informing me that I should appear in front of them.  One of the policemen came to tell me that and gave me the letter saying that on a certain date I should go to Middleburg.  We met those two gentlemen.  We attended and the case went on.  The first time I went they showed us a film and we saw exactly what happened as well as the damage that was caused.  We couldn't view the whole thing so we left because we felt that the scars and the wounds were being re-opened.  We were never called after that.  We just heard that the case was over.  How and what happened, we don't know.

MS MKHIZE: What about the bomb?  Was it planted by the teachers or what?

UNKNOWN: No, I don't know their names but we heard that it was teachers who planted the bomb.

MS MKHIZE: When you say you were called and you met them, did you get any explanation from the teachers?  That would help so that the family can know exactly what happened,  who planted the bomb and what was their objective.  Did you gather any information in this regard?

UNKNOWN: I wouldn't know because we just heard that they planted the bomb and the bomb was designated for certain people, not for the bank.

MS MKHIZE: Now that we talk about the past and we're trying to tie the past with the future, how much knowledge do you have about the past and about the bomb?

UNKNOWN: I don't have any knowledge as far as that is concerned.  I think the bomb was planted and designated for the CID apartment flats.  The rumour I heard was that the bomb was not designated for the bank but for the flats, the apartment flats.  Again, I don't have details regarding this.

MS MKHIZE: What about the CID apartment flats that you are talking about?  Are these their offices?

UNKNOWN: No, those were offices of Doctor Clarke who was the neighbour, a furniture shop as well as the CID's offices in that building.

MS MKHIZE: Thank you, I will hand you back to the Chairperson who may ask further questions.