Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-30

WITNESS:  I have never gone to the police, but I know that they are planning something behind my back, because as from that time I was in Lamontville we were not in good terms up until now.

DR RANDERA: In other words you say that they are not involved.

WITNESS:   They are involved.  They have a hand in my brother's death.

COMMISSIONER: Mr Mthetwa, thank you very much ... (inaudible) ... today.  As Dr Magwaza has said, the story that you have told us is not a new story in our country.  There's a long, long list of people who fought against apartheid and who died in detention.  I can think of people like, in the sixties, Immam Haroon and Ahmed Timol, Joseph Mdluli, who we heard about today, Steve Biko, Neil Aggett, Dr Hafferjee in Pietermaritzburg, and there are many, many more, and the police gave different reasons for how they died, ridiculous reasons.  They jumped out of windows, they fell over chairs, they slipped on pieces of soap.  But we know that they didn't die in those ways.  Most of these people were murdered by the police.  You've said that you believe that your brother was murdered.  We'll never ever actually know for sure.  It is even possible that he committed suicide, but we must ask ourselves what drove him to commit suicide, what caused him to commit suicide, if indeed he did commit suicide?  So it's not really important whether he was murdered or whether he committed suicide, because if he committed suicide things must have been so terrible for him in detention that he was forced to take his own life.  And it is the system that killed him one way or another, and if he had not been detained without trial he would have been alive today, and we must never - we must guard against that sort of system every being introduced in this country again, where people are detained without access to their families and lawyers and doctors.

COMMISSIONER: We will try and find out what happened to your brother.  You have mentioned an inquest.  Which court did that inquest take place at?

WITNESS:   I don't remember quite well which court it was, but I did get an attorney, Shezi, and Shezi has got all the details.  He was working with the Mxenge family.  I think it's Khubeka, not Shezi.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible)

WITNESS:   That is correct.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible)  ... thank you very much for coming and sharing the story of your brother's death with us.  Thank you very much.

COMMISSIONER: Good afternoon, Mrs Msomi.  We welcome you here today.  You are from Inanda, and you have come to tell us about the death of your husband.  You have someone with you today on the stage.  Is that your son?  (Pause)  Can you hear me?  Can you understand me?

MAVIS MSOMI: Yes, now I hear.

COMMISSIONER: You have somebody with you here on the stage.  Is that your son?

MAVIS MSOMI: He is my son, Bhekithemba Ngcobo.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible) ... welcome him here today.  Before you tell us that story can you please stand to take the oath.

MAVIS MSOMI: (Sworn, States)   (Through Interpreter)

COMMISSIONER: Dr Mgojo will help you now.

KHOZA MGOJO: Good afternoon, Mrs Msomi.  Please be relaxed.  Mrs Msomi, I will ask for you to give us a brief picture of your family.  It's you, and how many are you?  Don't tell me about your brothers and sisters, I am talking about your children and your husband.

WITNESS:   Oh, it's myself and three children.

KHOZA MGOJO: What are the names?

WITNESS:   Sibongumusa, the first one.

KHOZA MGOJO: How old?

WITNESS:   He was born in 1979.

KHOZA MGOJO: What standard is he?

WITNESS:   Standard six.  The second one is Pretty.  It's a girl.

KHOZA MGOJO: What standard is she?

WITNESS:   Standard five.

KHOZA MGOJO: When was she born?

WITNESS:   1983.  The third one it's Happy, was born in 1986.

KHOZA MGOJO: It's a girl obviously.

WITNESS:   Yes.

KHOZA MGOJO: What standard is she?

WITNESS:   Standard two. What is your husband's name?   ---   He had many names.  (Pause)

KHOZA MGOJO: Let me remind you.  Is he Stephen?

WITNESS:   Yes, he is Stephen.

KHOZA MGOJO: At the time when Stephen died how old was he then?

WITNESS:   I don't remember, because I have forgotten our marriage certificate.

KHOZA MGOJO: Oh well, it doesn't matter.  I find out that at Inanda there were two groups, especially during this year of 1980-something.  Was your husband one of the members - or which group did he belong to?

WITNESS:   Inkatha.

KHOZA MGOJO: Did he have any position?

WITNESS:   Yes, he had a position.  He was a high-ranking official of the IFP.

COMMISSIONER: Please let the witness continue.  Please don't be disrespectful to her.

KHOZA MGOJO: What is the blowing of trumpets you were talking about?

WITNESS:   It's the trumpet that has been blown to gather all the men of the area.

KHOZA MGOJO: So that means he was quite intelligent.

WITNESS:   Yes, he was the only one blowing the trumpet in the area, not any other person.

KHOZA MGOJO: Were you one of the members?

WITNESS:   Yes, we were together, both members of this group.

KHOZA MGOJO: What was happening at Inanda around that time?

WITNESS:  Houses were being burned and people were being killed.

KHOZA MGOJO: Who were burning the houses?

WITNESS:   That was ANC.

KHOZA MGOJO: And who were killing the people?

WITNESS:   The ANC.

KHOZA MGOJO: Tell us what happened in 1989 to your husband.

WITNESS:  It was Tuesday morning he woke up.

KHOZA MGOJO: What month was that?

WITNESS:   January the 6th 1989.

KHOZA MGOJO: What happened?

WITNESS:   He left, he went to work, and late in the afternoon one Inkatha police came and said, "Mlambo will be involved in a fight."

KHOZA MGOJO: Who was Mlambo?

WITNESS:   Mlambo was sort of a leader in the community.

KHOZA MGOJO: You mean the eye of the chief?

WITNESS:   Yes.

KHOZA MGOJO: Go on.

WITNESS:   In the afternoon my husband came, and I told him that Mlambo was here, telling us that everyone should go to war and to fight.

KHOZA MGOJO: Where was that, and what was that?

WITNESS:   That meant the fight between IFP and ANC.

KHOZA MGOJO: What was the cause?

WITNESS:   We don't know, and we didn't know what the cause was.  The ANC came from on the other side, and we will go and put our inquiries to the chief, and we will be asked to pay some money, and we gave some money, R5,00, R10,00, R15,00, and that money was taken to Ulundi.

KHOZA MGOJO: What about the money?  Who were paying this money?

WITNESS:   No, the community people.  It was community people who were taking out this money, giving the money.

KHOZA MGOJO: From what organisation was that?  A must, a matter of must?

WITNESS:   Yes, we were obliged to.  We paid out that money, and it was a lump sum.  It was quite a big amount.  So one day one man came and he had altercation and he was fighting with the wife, and we were there, and this other gentleman was busy tearing apart the envelopes.  And he was chased away, and he said, "You go away."

KHOZA MGOJO: Who is the one who says go away?

WITNESS:   That was Mlambo chasing the man who was fighting with the wife, because the man came there for help.  So it looks like he was busy with the money, with the envelopes, tearing the envelopes apart, getting some money from it.  So he was disturbing, he had to chase him away.  We found out that Mlambo was the one embezzling the funds that we kept paying.  The money never went to Ulundi.  They insulted us ... (intervention)

KHOZA MGOJO: Now, before you go any further let's stop right there.  When you heard that it was never sent to Ulundi, but it was used by the people there, did you know about that?

WITNESS:   Yes, but we could not say anything towards that.  We had to keep quiet, and there was no man who could stand face to face with that man.  That man was being feared by every member of the community.  Now, one day Msomi was shot, and came home and said, "I almost died, my wife."  I asked him why.