Human Rights Violation Hearings — Soweto — 1996-07-25

MR LEWIN: This was about midnight, you say?

SHADRACK GOVENDER: This is round about midnight now.  We had parted round about six, just after six that evening, it was winter, it was July. I mean six o'clock it was pitch dark.  From there I got into the - upon closer inspection, I did not touch anything in order not to disturb evidence that could have been there, but upon a closer inspection I did notice that Joe could have indeed been dead by then.  The post-mortem does point out that he had died by then, the period of death.
 I then proceeded to the Minister of Security's office in Harare, Emma (indistinct) who was a very close colleague and friend to Comrade Joe, or in the sense that he shared the same political views and similar political views and similar security concerns.  His security was closely discussed with him in particular.
 We then drove his security people to seal the airports and the border to try to, in order to watch out for - and reported the matter that Joe Gqabi had been assassinated.  We drove to the house.  From there the next morning we were taken, I was taken to Lusaka along with the Zimbabwean Prime Minister then, who was on a trip to Lusaka, to report the matter.
 Subsequent to that there had been lengthy investigations going on and the investigations were seemingly disturbed by a number of things.  At the time 
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Zimbabwe itself had problems pertaining to its security forces being interfered with by South African security forces as well.
 I recall that there are other people, some of whom were in this case, in the investigation case of Joe Gqabi.  Amongst names I can remember there was a person called Colin Evans, whom I believe was subsequently arrested by the Zimbabweans on a suspicion or on a charge relating to spying for South Africa at that time.  He was a man who was heading the case or who was looking at the security, the ANC security at Harare at that time.  
 We were interrogated there by the CID, called MacCallum who was not sympathetic to our position to what we had just experienced at that time.
 I must point out that I was also closely, I was personally affected because I had been closely - I was very close to Comrade Joe from the time that I left the country, from the time that I joined Umhonto weSizwe up to that time.  At that time they did actually arrest one of the women who was staying with us, Geraldine Fraser, who was kept in detention for about two weeks.  No other progress was done on the case concerning successful investigation.
 We have or up to - I remained in Zimbabwe until 1985 when I left for overseas.  Up to that time I don't, up to that time, up until the time of my departure from Zimbabwe I had never been able to and I never heard the end of the investigation of this case.  But there was no doubt in my mind that Joe Gqabi had no enemies other than the State at the time, that could have had so much power to have - to kill him in the manner that he was killed.

MR LEWIN: The South African State not the Zimbabwean State.
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SHADRACK GOVENDER: No, no, I am talking about the then South African State, yes.

MR LEWIN: Thank you very much.  Could you advise us, I mean, what line of investigation you think we can follow-up as a Commission?  For instance, in some of the more recent cases in Zimbabwe, has there ever been a reference to the '81 shooting?

SHADRACK GOVENDER: The hearings that occurred in Zimbabwe, occurred after I Had left the country, after I had left Zimbabwe for overseas, and there are people, a lot of people who were actually convicted and I believe some South Africans were convicted for spying for South Africa, who some of them are still languishing in Zimabwean jails.
 I would really like to urge the Commission to follow up  Joe Gqabi's assassination and investigate that who killed him and under whose orders.  You know, in this case I think the significance is more of who directed, who issued the orders, who signed his death certificate as such or his assassination certificate as such, because they may well have used agents that were of Zimbabwean origin.
 Also I think that that will satisfy a number of or that will help the healing process, if we get to open the truth, we know what was the situation, we get to know that these are the people that were in Joe's case.  We can face them, we can actually take a position as to whether to accept their apologies and all that.  But with this thing under a veil and us pretending that life is normal and there is not, the process of healing is impaired, is substantially impaired.
 I must say that I am also feeling personally affected by that, because in both cases, in the case of the bomb, if 
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I were there,  I would have died in that car bomb.  In case, if we didn't have the contacts that we were meeting that evening, I would have been killed in that attack.  Even if I had an AK-47 in my hand, the silent thing would have been fired first.
 It is a thing that is still paining me, it is a thing that disturbed me, it disturbed my life in Zimbabwe, after it disturbed personal relationships as well.
 I would like to talk on behalf of the family and I would leave that to Mr Gqabi to talk, but I would like to point out that having known Joe Gqabi for that period or that length of time, he was a selfless man and him and Orelia Gqabi who is sitting next to me right now, had spread nothing.  We used nothing in helping young people in the struggle.  
 Things that were said about Comrade Joe's role during June 16 and all that, I was also amongst one of the young people that he helped shape at the time when I joined Umkhonto weSizwe. I would like to point out that this family had children also.  We used to come there as - in large numbers, and ate everything that was in the house.  We hae a situation now that Joe Gqabi is dead.  
 Mrs Gqabi who is retired qualified nurse, she is living out of a very small income. She has children and grandchildren that are also facing and dependent on her.  That is a very difficult situation for a person whose life had been disturbed so many times, by leaving the country, going to live in Botswana.  Before he could settle in Botswana he was advised by the security there to leave.  The family had been actually separated, and gone to Zimbabwe, and until he returned now. It is a pain that is not that
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visible to everybody but it is a pain that people out there in the cold live and face. In this case it was not just by a natural accident.

MR LEWIN: Thank you very much, Mr Govender.  Could I just ask two questions in relation to what you talked about. The one you mentioned the four sub-machine guns and Beretta, is it?

SHADRACK GOVENDER: Yes, a Beretta.

MR LEWIN: With a silencer.  How did you know that those guns were there?

SHADRACK GOVENDER: I am a trained MK cadre, I have trained in both the Western and Eastern bloc, so I know them.

MR LEWIN: Sorry, did you actually see that?

SHADRACK GOVENDER: Yes, I saw them.

MR LEWIN: Were they left?

SHADRACK GOVENDER: I saw the one that was - let me explain further.  In the car the sub-machine, or the machine that was used I assumed was actually thrown inside the car, and plus the Beretta, so I could see.  I could see that it was clear.  There was a big hole in the window and it was holed already with bullets.  Whoever might have used it, might have used it and threw the thing into the car.

MR LEWIN: Why would they do that?