Human Rights Violation Hearings — Bisho — 1996-09-10

MS MAYA:  Do you get any treatment from the doctors?

WITNESS:  Yes.

MS MAYA:  I am sure that you have a request to put in front of this Commission.  What is your request?

WITNESS:  I have a request because I am not working at the moment.  I would like the Commission to help me.  I have a son who is still at school.

MS MAYA:  The other two requests in your statements, you said that you want people to investigate what happened to this money and you also requested the Commission to build the community hall.  You requested the Commission to build the community hall.

WITNESS:  No I don't know about that.  I only asked the Commission to investigate about what happened.

MS MAYA:  Is that all you want to say in front of the Commission?

WITNESS:  Yes that's all.

MS MAYA: Thank you and I give this opportunity to the Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION: BISHO MASSACRE - DAY 2 - 10 SEPTEMBER 1996

CASE NO: 15

UNKNOWN: NOKUZOLA LETITIA MENE [brother]
NOKUZOLA LETITIA MENE Duly sworn states

MS MAYA: You are going to tell us about your brother, your younger brother Jongile who came to the march and he didn't return home and his body was found in Greenfields together with other corpse.  How did you hear about this?

WITNESS:  Jongile came to the march on Monday and he didn't return back home.  On Tuesday we went around asking people whether they didn't see him and others said they just saw him when he was going there.  I went together with my mother and my father went to East London.  My father found him on Wednesday.  He was injured in the head.

MS MAYA:  Did you go to any attorneys to claim?

WITNESS:  No.

MS MAYA:  What about that big [indistinct] centre, did you go there?

WITNESS:  Yes the lawyers used to go and [indistinct] to go at my home.

MS MAYA:  Did you get any compensation?

WITNESS:  Yes we got compensation.

MS MAYA:  When your brother was injured was he a student or was he working?

WITNESS:  No he was working.

MS MAYA:  Did he have any family?

WITNESS:  No he didn't have family but he was helping his father to support the family.

MS MAYA:  Do you have any request in front of this Commission?

WITNESS:  Yes.

MS MAYA:  Please, can you please say it.

WITNESS:  I would like the Commission to help Jongile's father because he was, he looked forward to Jongile to support him.

MS MAYA:  You have other requests concerning the rights of Jongile.

WITNESS:  It is work.  I would like to get money from his work because he was employed.

MS MAYA:  Did you see the means to get the money?

WITNESS:  We tried but the problem is that we can't find his ID.

MS MAYA:  What about the death certificate?

WITNESS:  We couldn't get the death certificate, we only have a copy.

MS MAYA:  Where did you get the copy, why didn't you get the original?

WITNESS:  My father found the copy in King William's Town.

MS MAYA:  All in all, your request is to get the money from the work but you can't get that money because you don't have his ID.  Do you have any other thing to say in front of the Commission?

WITNESS:  No.

MS MAYA:  In your statement you said that you don't know the employ, the name of your brother's employers.

WITNESS:  He was working in the Red Island and he got another job but I didn't know the name of that company.

MS MAYA:  You don't know what.

WITNESS:  It's the contract company but I'm not sure about the name.

MS MAYA:  Thank you.  Is that all?

WITNESS:  Yes that's all.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION: BISHO MASSACRE - DAY 2 - 10 SEPTEMBER 1996

CASE NO: 17

CHAIRPERSON: Order please!
MPHITHIZELI NTULELE POTYO Duly sworn states

MS MAYA: How are you Ntulele?

WITNESS:  I'm fine thank you.

MS MAYA:  You got injured on the 7th September during the march.

WITNESS:  Yes.

MS MAYA:  What actually happened, when, how did you get injured?

WITNESS:  It was, I was one of the marchers and there was the late Mr Hani and as we were moving up Jungle Road, Mr Hani gave instruction that we should sit down because they were still talking together with the Ciskei chiefs, so we sit down.  So we moved on with the march and we went through the gate but just before I get into the yard I waited outside talking to one marshal that I knew.  As I was talking we saw a helicopter flying out and then thereafter I didn't know what happened.  I just saw people coming out of the stadium.  They were running and I heard some gunshots.  In fact I wasn't even sure of the sounds, what sound it was.  It was rain of whatever and then I saw a lot of people running away.  Just before I turned, watching and looking at what was happening and I was facing the police station and I could see that there were people on the grandstand of the stadium watching and it was an extremely hot day, so I just felt something hitting my leg and I fell down but I struggled and jumped up.  I was dressed in this very attire I'm wearing and I tried to cover my face but I noticed that I couldn't use my leg and I could hear the noise, it was continuing, so as I was running there was an instruction that we should crawl, so I rolled and I became dizzy but I felt this was of no help to me.  Then there was shooting on the way then I tried to run away then I rolled and I went into the forest and I drank water and I found that there was blood in my shoes and I, the people were still running and I could see that there was war.  So I ran towards the forest and met a certain man and asked for assistance and this man decided to leave me as soon as this helicopter came back, so I decided to run as fast as I could so I met some men who were soldiers there and they asked what was happening.  Then they said there was nothing wrong.  Then one of them shot me at the back, then I decided to tell them that I was injured.  Then he instructed me to lie on my stomach.  Then as I was resisting, then a policeman came.  It was a white man and he was armed.  Then I lifted my hands up and I said to him I've been shot already and he held me and only to find that these were members of the Red Cross and they took me into a van together with another one and they left the door of the van opened and they drove to a certain field and put us there and I was so scared and my leg was getting swollen.  Then a certain lady who I think was a member of the ANC gave me some tablets to swallow and as I was still intending to run away, I saw some soldiers who were on guard and then there was this helicopter that was hovering over the, all the time.  Then as I was trying to run away I was held and I was asked to lie down.  Then they promised to call for an ambulance which came and was sent to Gray Hospital and it was full there.  I couldn't trust anyone and I decided to hide under a bed.  Then as we were getting in I could see some bodies that were covered with white sheets and I was worried about my family and didn't know what to do.  So as soon as I got discharged from hospital - Where exactly did you get help? ---  I got, at Gray Hospital they just stitched my wound and later the day they referred me to East London which is my home.  That is where I was admitted for a day and in the morning I was attended to by the doctor and I was discharged because the hospital was full.  So I went to look for my relatives and I was followed once more by the soldiers and I was afraid and I tried to escape.  I ran to the forest and I was helped by other men there.

MS MAYA: Excuse me Ntulele, what happened after they had taken out the bullet?

MS MAYA: ---  No it's still there, they did not take it out of my leg.

MS MAYA:  At the time you were injured were you working or were you attending school?

WITNESS:  No I had a temporary job.

MS MAYA:  Did you heal completely so as to be able to work?