Human Rights Violation Hearings — King William's Town — 1997-05-12

CHAIRPERSON: Is Mr Sikongozi Dumile Sofaka here?  Matongisi Willie Bangeli.  Milile Iven Velakhe.

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: (Duly sworn in, states).

REV XUNDU: You look like you are sulking.  Please smile.

MATONGISI WILLIE BANGELI: (Duly sworn in, states).

REV XUNDU: Thank you.

MILILE IVEN VELAKHE: (Duly sworn in, states).

REV XUNDU: Thank you Mr Chairperson, they have been properly sworn in.

CHAIRPERSON: We welcome you gentlemen from Berlin.  You look angry as if you are about to fight.  May the Digeni people travel safely.  We will hand over to Tiny Maya who is going to lead evidence on behalf of the Commission.

MS MAYA: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Mr Dumile, I will start with you.  You are going to give us evidence about your son who was killed in Mdantsane in 1993, his name Zulani.  How old was he at the time?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: He was 21 at the time, born 1972.

MS MAYA: Was he a policeman, because according to your statement apparently he had gone to fetch other policemen that he was working with?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: He was fetched by police on the 17th of September 1993.  They were being taken to Postdam police.  On the Saturday I went to find out what was happening.  When I got there the police said I must wait outside.  After about ten minutes a sergeant from NU12 came.  They said that there is a man, a Mnoche man who got an accident with two other police.  They were shot.  They took Zulani to fetch yet another policeman.  This is when they got this accident, being shot by people that are not known even to this day.  Apparently there is still no clarity about this case.

MS MAYA: Therefore if nobody came forward, maybe the police gave a bit of clarity.  Do you not know anything up to this day?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: No, I do not know anything.

MS MAYA: Why was Zulani arrested?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: He was arrested because of his own things, not because of political reasons.

MS MAYA: Was there a court case?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: No, on the Saturday I just gave in a statement at NU12.  We then went to the mortuary and they took us to NU1 after that to show us the place where the accident was.

MS MAYA: Did you have any legal representatives?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: Yes, I went to King Street in East London.  I was asked to give a deposit for R300,00.  I paid.  After a while I was given documentation.  They said that I was not worthy of pressing charges on the Government.

MS MAYA: Therefore no claim was made, no compensation?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: No.

MS MAYA: What is your request before the Commission?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: I need the Commission to help me.  I need compensation.  If my son was alive he will be supporting me.

MS MAYA: And the investigation?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: Yes, I need help there as well.  They keep on saying that they are still investigating the matter.

MS MAYA: Do you have more evidence to the Commission?

SIKONGOZI DUMILE SOFAKA: No.

MS MAYA: Mr Matongisi, Mr Matongisi your incident occurred in, on the 21st of September 1985.  You were a member of the UDF in Berlin.  You were then attacked by the police in a gathering.  Could you tell us briefly what happened.

MATONGISI WILLIE BANGELI: Mr Chairperson, on that particular day we had a meeting, a general meeting for both parents and the youth.  As it was clear that we are members of the UDF and also we worked at town and were members of SAWO.  There was water that was taken to the townships.  We were, the Gula village was then not given the water.  We wanted to know why we had not been given water.  They then said that our water should be drilled from the ground.  We had no water.  We investigated the matter as there was absolute disharmony.  Next to Lita there was a dam that was constructed.  We then found out that our village had a right to get water from that dam.
 After we ascertained that we are also supposed to get this water we then called a general meeting for all the members of the community.  We gave this time.  The youth became violent.  The children were angry.  The Ciskeian police were driving around our community and the youth wanted to attack the cars.  We then went to the meeting.  Sebe, at the time, there was something happening in his home.  I do not know whether his daughter was getting married or his son had just come out of circumcision school.  We went to the Inobuthu Primary School for our meeting.  Our children were singing liberation songs in the village.  We got to the school hall.  We realised that the whole thing was out of our hands, there is nothing we could do.  There is a stage just like this at the school.  The children then went onto the stage of the hall.  I also went onto the stage.  
 We started the meeting, we sang the national anthem.  As we were drafting the agenda we looked, there were windows right around the hall and we realised that there were police right round.  The police went in, they started beating us up with batons, also steel batons.  I was beaten right here on the eye.  Some of the batons would go right around the head when they hit you.  We were like young boys asking for forgiveness saying, oh father, forgive us.  It was painful, we were humbling ourselves.  There was nothing else we could do.  After a while there was silence.  We got out.  There were rifles as big as that camera right over there, all  around.  We realised that if that, those rifles were used there would be trouble.  
 They told us to sit down.  We sat down like little children.  What I did, first of all, is I went there where the children were held.  I asked why the children were held, this is before the meeting.  I went there and asked why the children were held.  They denied it.  I tried to hide after that.  I was wearing green, I was wearing green overalls from Murray and Roberts where I worked.  I just lay there as they beat me.  The children were taken to NU12, the charge office there.  There were so many cars there I could not even count them.  The elders were told that they must never do this again, they must just go home now.  We were bleeding, we were injured.  I was the last one there, being beaten by the same police saying, please boetie.  
 The children were taken.  We then went home, it was difficult.  I thought I would not be able to sleep, I must go to a doctor.  We went there to the hospital.  It was full.  There were nurses, there were soldiers, nobody cared.  We were just given tablets.  They would not even examine us.  They told us to come the next day.  We took the tablets and we left.  We went home and I thought, no, this is really painful now.  I persevered the Sunday.  On the Monday I was told that there was a doctor at Anniden.  This doctor took us.  We told him what happened and he could see how injured we were.  We were told that we did not have to pay this doctor, but I paid R10,00 and he took it even though they said we did not have to pay.  I gave it to him freely, because I thought it is only R10,00 after all.  He said that I must come and consult.  
 This doctor asked me if I have legal representatives. I said, yes, Mrs Siwisa.

MS MAYA: Where is she?

MATONGISI WILLIE BANGELI: She is in Highway, Mtanzani.  We went to this attorney.  She was not there.  We asked the interpreter where she was.  Apparently she had been arrested.

MS MAYA: Why was she arrested?