Human Rights Violation Hearings — Upington — 1996-10-02

CASE NO: CT/00178

TESTIMONY FROM: XOLISWA STELLA LUMKWANA [sister]

MR POTGIETER: Mrs Lumkwana, good afternoon.  Can you hear the translation?  Can you hear the Xhosa translation?  Okay now I am going to ask the briefer to assist you to turn the wheel to number three on your... okay, you should be able to hear now.  Well welcome, you've got somebody with you on your left-hand side.  Would you like to tell us who that is?

MS LUMKWANA: She's my cousin.  She's my cousin.

MR POTGIETER: Welcome to her as well and thank her for coming with you.  I am going to ask you to stand and take the oath before we listen to the evidence.
XOLISWA STELLA LUMKWANA Duly sworn states

MR POTGIETER: That's one of the advantages of being last but thank you for coming.  Your case was originally for tomorrow but we have been able to actually take it today to assist you but all the same, thank you for being here.  The case that you want to talk about concerns your brother, Elliot Mbulelo Jonga who had been shot on the 31st December 1985.  Is that correct?

WITNESS:  Yes it is so.

MR POTGIETER:  Is the translation okay, can you hear over the headphones?  If you have a problem then you must take the other one.  Just see if that one is better, if it is on number three.  Is that one better?

WITNESS:  Yes it is better.

MR POTGIETER:  Very good.  I am just going to repeat - your evidence concerns your brother who was shot on the 31st December 1985 is that correct?

WITNESS:  Yes it is so.

MR POTGIETER:  To tell us what you know about the incident.

WITNESS:  It happened - [There is a problem on the translator's desk] [Interpretation can resume]

MR POTGIETER:  So we're going to proceed, are you still all right there?  You can still hear the translation?

WITNESS:  Yes I can.

MR POTGIETER:  You were saying that it happened on 31st December 1985.  Would you like to tell us further?

WITNESS:  Matambomtini arrived at my home in the morning to tell me that Mbulelo was shot and I asked as to where was he shot and where, and who shot him.  He said to me, Mbulelo was ... [indistinct]  by ... [indistinct] in Brown Street.  Then I asked her if you did see him.  Yes he said I did see him in a van.  From there on I went to confirm this with his friend that he was with and I asked his friend when was the last time he saw Mbulelo.  He said to me he last saw him last night when they parted, and I didn't see which direction did he go.  On my way back home, when I got home I relaxed for a while and somebody else arrived again and I told this person that - and this person confirmed the same story but that where, I would only be satisfied if I can get to where he was lying.  Yes I only saw the blood stain and I went back home.  As I was sitting at home I realised that sitting won't help me, I stood up and went to the police station.  When I got to the police station I met a certain gentleman, Mr Rooimajoor.  I told him that I was enquiring about Mbulelo Elliot as to he's not here because we have been looking around and we can't find him.  His asked me as to when was the last time I saw him.  I told him that I last saw him last night.  He said well we cannot be able to answer you, you will have to come back on Monday because we'll, we cannot help you, you'll have to come back on Monday.  Therefore we went back home.  As time went by, Monday arrived, my brothers went again to the police and they, and they took them to the mortuary.  On arrival at the mortuary Mbulelo was really there, dead.  He was killed by whoever the killer was.  On their way back they came with his clothes.  When they had, we had to make arrangements for a funeral.  They came again whilst we busy arranging.  They said they don't know where he is.  They wanted to control as to when must the funeral be and what must be done.  As things were going on, we told them that we won't be able to have the funeral during the week because we must wait for our family.  They told us that we cannot do that, we must bury immediately.  We tried, during the days of the night vigil, they were controlling and patrolling and observing everything and wanting to know who is coming through, they were monitoring the whole situation.  They used to come and throw teargasses.  On the last day  ... [indistinct] they threw teargas and people toyi-toyied and ran away.  It was a terrible situation, we were left alone.  After having thrown this teargas they came on the day of the funeral with one of them that I didn't know his name but he is a captain as well.  He asked me exactly what time are we going to have the funeral.  We told them the time, they gave us their own time and he wanted to know who the reverend who was going to conduct the sermon.  We told him the name, he told that the corpse won't come to the home, it will go directly to the church.  We just sat and we waited around.  They told us that at a specific time we must go to church, the corpse will be there.  When we, on arrival at the church the corpse did arrive as well, and there as well, they were controlling and they were determined the number of people who should attend the funeral.  After the whole procession we came back.  They were controlling as to how should we move and no people should join in.  People who wanted to join by the, for the procession.  On our way back from the funeral people were not even allowed to enter their yard, they just had to wash their hands and they chased away.  They waited for everybody to leave before they could leave as well.  Thereafter, the one thing that didn't satisfy me was the fact that they shot my brother.  Having shot him they decide when to bury him and where and as to how must he be buried and yet they are the ones who were wrongdoers.  That is one thing that made, that shortened the lives of my parents.  As I is sitting here my parents passed away one after the other, thus I'm asking the Commission to enquire from Oupa Links as to why did he shoot my brother and bury him the way he did as a dog because we don't know what happened to the matter.  We only heard that Oupa is going to the Court a certain date and when my brothers went there they were told that Oupa won the trial and that made us not to be very happy.  This disturbed us because Mbulelo was very helpful and at the moment I don't have anyone who is helping me.  I don't have parents and I've got my sister's children who are at standard 10 who cannot further their studies because there is no one who can help me.  I'm not having a work, I'm just doing temporary jobs.  If just the Commission can just enquire from Oupa Links as to why did he do that.  I will end there, thank you.

MR POTGIETER:  Ms Lumkwana, Oupa Links what does he do?

WITNESS:  Oupa Links was a policeman.  His duty was, he was a policeman.

MR POTGIETER:  Is he still a policeman?

WITNESS:  That I'm not aware of but all I know that I still see him around but I cannot say exactly what does he do now.  What I know is, he is working for the State - as a policeman I'm not sure.

MR POTGIETER:  The case that you spoke about, where was that held?

WITNESS:  It, this case was in Upington Court but we only heard through people that he will be going to Court at such, such a day but I did not want to go but only my brothers went there.  They were not called but they went there due to hearsay and all they heard was that Oupa won the trial.

MR POTGIETER:  Good.  When was that, was that - Mbulelo was shot in December 1985, was this case during 1986, the following year?

WITNESS:  I don't want to lie but the case followed shortly in 86.  What I cannot recall clearly is the date.

MR POTGIETER:  It's good enough, it helps.  How old was Mbulelo when he was shot?

WITNESS:  When he was shot he was 21 years old.

MR POTGIETER:   ... [Indistinct] he doing?

WITNESS:  He was working.

MR POTGIETER:  For the, for your home, for the parents?