Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

WITNESS:   Nhlanhla and Zwelakhe had to run away from home, and they went to stay at Mthlizane. When they got there there was nobody there and they were staying all by themselves.  Ultimately they had to come back home.  As soon as we came back it all started again.  We just couldn't sleep.  Inkatha members used to come and we used to hide them underneath the beds, and we used to sit on top of them and hide them beneath so that they may not be seen by the enemies.  Each time that happened we used to hide them, and they used to come continuously.  We used to put them under the mattress space.  Each time they were looking for them we used to do that.  And at some stage they had to run away and stay at Gcaluza, where Ningi and Thenjizwa had also been staying.  They stayed there for quite some time.  We were not very comfortable at home because the Inkatha members used to visit us.  Then in September Inkatha people were recruiting people to join them.  They were speaking through a loudspeaker, and they kept on telling us that, "Even you, Mzolo family, you must come and join us, because if you don't join us we are going to burn your houses.  You are busy supporting Mandela."  We were very confused, we didn't know what to do, and we asked ourselves as to what should be done in this situation.  We decided that we must join, but we were torn apart.  Others said, "We can't join Inkatha," and we were in a state of confusion.  At home we were 42, so we were divided in between.  And now we didn't know what to do, because there were so many of us we couldn't get another place to stay, so we were forced to join Inkatha.  But they always used to come and see because they didn't believe in us as members of Inkatha.  On a particular day, that was on the 17th of November, it was on a Tuesday, it was round about 3 o'clock to half past three, Phuphu came to our place.  His surname is Ngubane.  He came running.  They had gone to attack the UDF members just below our place.  He came running to our place.  He told us that on that particular day they were coming to burn us because the youth of our place they didn't want to join the Inkatha.  Nobody answered him.  He went away.  We stayed and we were devising some means, we were thinking of some plans to combat this.  We decided to go and report this to the police.  We eventually reported this.  We phoned the  police.  The police told us that they would be coming.  We went back home.  Round about 6 o'clock to half past six people starting filling in the yard.  They came to attack us.  They burnt down three houses, including our house.  They started from one direction, and the others started on the opposite direction.  My sister, Nomonde, was inside the house.  Whoever got a chance to run away would run away, but Nomonde was left inside.  When she was making an attempt to escape she was actually accosted.  She had to go back into the house.  Each time she tried to get out her attempts were thwarted.  At the end of the day they said she must come out, because if she didn't come out they were going to burn her inside the house.  When she ultimately came out she was stabbed, but luckily she survived.  On the following day we were quite scattered. Each and every one of us was running into different directions.  We went to meet at Latha's place.  When we realised that there were some missing, my son Andile was missing, we ran into the road with my sister, Nomphumelelo, as well as my other sister.  We stood there at the street just looking around, trying to find out whether we could see my son.  We saw policemen and we asked them to give us a lift so that we can go around checking for my son.  They did give us a lift.  As soon as we got home we looked for my son.  We looked in the burnt house, but we just couldn't see Andile.  We went around the whole place.  We went to the neighbours' places to try and find out whether they had seen him, but we just couldn't get Andile so we went back without getting him.  We went to the police to report the matter.  The police went, as well as the mother of the child, they went to  Mhlongo's place, where it was believed Andile was taken

MR DLAMINI: to.  When we got there the police didn't go into the house to search for Andile, they just stood at the gate.  They spoke to the people in there, but they never went inside to search for him.  We went back home and we went to report the matter to the police.  But there's nothing that happened despite the fact that we had reported the matter.  They took them to another place, but the matter was being heard at a totally different venue.  Then all of a sudden we were told that the matter had been over and dealt with.

MR DLAMINI: Weren't you ever called to come and give testimony?

WITNESS:   No, we weren't.

MR DLAMINI: Who's Coetzee?

WITNESS:   He is a CID.

MR DLAMINI: Which police station?  Is it Plessislaer?  Are there any documents that you have regarding the case?

WITNESS:   No, we don't have any.

MR DLAMINI: We will try to find out at which police station is he.  Whose son is Andile?

WITNESS:   He is Nomonde's son.  He is Nombheko's son.

MR DLAMINI: Did you ever get anything, any green light as to where the child was?

WITNESS:   I met a certain gentleman and asked him as to why he had taken my son.  He said he is not the one, but Mhlabonzima Shange said the child was taken by Bonga Mhlongo.

MR DLAMINI: Was Bonga Mhlongo the man who was staying at Mhlongo's place where the police took you?

WITNESS:   Yes.

MR DLAMINI: Are they still staying wherever they stayed, the Mhlongo family?

WITNESS:   No, they are staying at Mphumuzi.

MR DLAMINI: Thanks very much.  We quite sympathise with you that a four-year-old could be abducted in such a manner and there's absolutely no clue as to where he had been taken  to.  We'll try and make some efforts, but we can't promise

MR DLAMINI: you anything.  We'll do whatever is in our power to try and find out as to what happened to your son, whether there's any information, any evidence that we can get that leads us to the recovery of your son.  This is a very painful experience, especially where you tried to protect yourselves and join the Inkatha, but even then it just didn't help.  I'll hand over to the Chairman.

UNKNOWN: Hawugile and Nombulelo, I just want to ask a little question to clarify a certain matter.  Let's just go back to Nhlanhla, who was burnt by his girlfriend.  Was this girlfriend a member of a political organisation or not?  This girlfriend who burned your brother, was she a member of a political organisation?

WITNESS:   She was a member of the UDF.

UNKNOWN: And what about Zwelakhe?  Who stabbed him?  Was he a member of any political organisation?

WITNESS:   Yes, he was a member of the UDF.

UNKNOWN: Now, according to your opinion, after having sacrificed and joined the Inkatha, trying to protect yourselves as well as your family, why now do those people turn around and attack you after having joined their organisation?  Let me just repeat the question.  You joined the Inkatha out of fear, because you were fearing for your lives as well as your children's lives.  Now, what puzzles me is why would they go out to attack you after having joined their party?  What was the reason?  What reason?

WITNESS:   It was because our brothers were believed to be UDF members.  All of us had joined the UDF, even our brothers. Did they join, but run away at a later stage?   ---

UNKNOWN: Yes, that is true.

UNKNOWN: In your statement you talked about a child that was abducted by Themba Mhlongo, but in your present testimony you just quoted another name.

WITNESS:   Themba is the father of the boy that abducted the child, but the one who took the child was Bonga.

UNKNOWN: Thank you, I just wanted you to clarify that little aspect.  The mother of this child, who is she?

WITNESS:   No, it's Nombheko, the one sitting next to me.