Human Rights Violation Hearings — Johannesburg — 1996-05-02

MRS S MLANGENI: I was at work during that time, it was about half past three in the afternoon, I got a call, he was on study leave as he was going to write some examination and he phoned and he asked why I was at work when I was supposed to be at home. I replied that I had gone to sort something out at work and he requested me that we should meet at Carlton Centre that afternoon because there was a movie which he wanted us to see. He found me waiting for him at Carlton Centre, we went inside and we saw the movie, the Reversal of Fortunes, where they were they were showing how lawyers were arguing and all those kind of lettered things, but he just wanted to check out because the main character there wanted to kill the wife.  He wanted to see the argument and the whole plot in court and to see if that character would be arrested.
 From there we went to a tea room where we sat down and he took out this parcel which had almost been unwrapped and there was a small box with cassettes, on one of which was written, Evidence, Hit Squad.  He said he had received this parcel and one might see that there was no evidence here that they are talking about, probably nothing in the cassette. We then went home in a taxi.  When we arrived there, he didn't even stay, I was undressing, as he connected the earphones .....(witness very upset)

YASMINE SOOKA: Take your time.

MRS S MLANGENI: I saw him connecting these earphones, he didn't hear me because the last thing I said to him was why didn't he connect it to the hi-fi, so that I could also listen.  I don't even think he even heard a thing of what happened, what was in the cassette, within seconds I heard a big explosion, a big noise, I thought it was a gun.  I ran away, I tried to get out of the window and then I couldn't get out of the window and I came through the door and the last thing I saw was him falling down slowly... (witness very upset)

YASMINE SOOKA: Sepati do you want to rest a while, or do you feel you can carry on?

MRS S MLANGENI: When I ran away I ran inside the main house and I was calling out.  When I went to mum's room I don't know if I found her asleep because I was just shouting, I just said he was in the garage, in the garage and I started running away and one gentleman held me and I ran back home and police were there looking for a statement, I just saw two ambulances and I began to hope.  I was confused, I thought he was also in one of those ambulances, when I went inside...... (witness upset)

YASMINE SOOKA: Stop for a while.

DR BORAINE: Mrs Sepati I think it might be a good idea for you to just spend a few minutes, there's no hurry, don't even think of starting, just sit quietly for a while.

YASMINE SOOKA: Sepati, why don't you go and have a cup of tea in the meantime and we can take you back after tea? Rather take some time for yourself, okay?  I think we'll take a tea break and we'll come back in fifteen minutes.
 Sepati, I'm not going to ask you to go over what happened because I think it's very very painful for you, but you've come to the Commission to tell your story and we'd like to hear from you about what you want the Commission to do for you.

MRS S MLANGENI: With regard to my issue, the person who did this has been found.  I want this person to come out, and this person is already on trial, it's Eugene de Kock, what I'd like the Commission to find out from him, I'm not clear how Bheki's name got involved as a sender int the parcel.
 Another thing that's not clear in my mind, when they sent this parcel to Dirk Coetzee as it was Eugene who claims it was in order to kill Dirk Coetzee who was an expert in making bombs, when we read about letter bombs, how could he have sent Dirk Coetzee a parcel bomb, as clever as he is, an expert, didn't he know that this thing could come back to Bheki? What I do want to find out, how did they get Bheki's name involved in this.
 Other issues that I have been getting from newspapers is that Eugene de Kock says he's going to ask amnesty from you.  I contest this. Eugene, when he did what he did, he knew that somebody would die.  Today I'm a widow, I'm an outcast in our society because I'm a widow.  In our community and our society you are associated with all sorts of things when you are a widow because of a person who didn't think through when they were doing this, so that when this person comes to you to ask for amnesty, how do you forgive such a person? If I can find an answer to this question, how do you go about forgiving this person who is a cruel murderer, who killed a defenceless person who'd never killed anyone, to a person who'd never raped anyone, a person who never committed any crime, who was just fighting for peoples' rights but without carrying a gun? I would love the Commission to assist me there.

YASMINE SOOKA: I want to say to you that it is true that people apply for amnesty.....(end of tape 16)
(start of tape 17 but a gap in the recording)...for telling us your story, and I thank you for the courage with which you sit here and tell it as well.  Mama Mlangeni I'd like to come to you now please, would you tell us what you'd like to have from the Commission please?

MRS MLANGENI: I would also like to request the Commission to find out from this guy who committed this deed, what his intention was, what had Bheki done to him?  Because now he's created so many orphans in this country, why, why did he do such a thing? Bheki had children all over but he loved them and took care of his children.  If the Commission could find out from him what is he going to do about these orphans that are all over because of him?

CHAIRPERSON: I don't know if there are still any of my colleagues will ask questions but I think they said no. There are no words we could say to you, when we try to console you it just sounds like hollow words from people who didn't incur this suffering, but I do hope that you know, you saw his funeral, even the way when people heard about this issue they were really touched by this, many many people, even those who did not know him, who had not seen him personally, many people suffered and felt this pain, maybe this can help in putting oil on your wounds.
 We know to you it's a nightmare, because if you think back you ask yourself why you didn't stay longer at the bus stop and why did you go to work, because if you had not gone to work, as a person who was studying, he would not have gotten that parcel, but we are all saying those things after such things have happened.  This Commission is a Commission that says our people here in South Africa, all of us must remember the atrocities that happened with an intention of working towards seeing that these things never ever have to happen again so that children are made orphans after only two months of marriage and make widows of people, so that these things never happen again in this country, for those people who fought for this country so that change comes about.
 We do not have words to console you but as you saw, it was as if there was nobody inside this house as because they were listening,  As the English says, you could even hear a pin drop because people were very pained.  May God bless you.  May God strengthen you!  Siabonga.