Human Rights Violation Hearings — Sebokeng — 1996-08-08

ABEL PHELE: Molefe was schooling at Matebotsebo High School in 1990.  He was doing standard 8.  He went to Tanzania in the middle of 1990.  He came back to South Africa in 1991.  he belonged to the Pan Africanist Congress.  When he came back in 1991 it was in the middle of the year and I took him back to school in 1992 to go and repeat the standard 8 so that he can complete it.
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 On the 15th of May in 1992, it was about 9 o'clock in the evening he was together with his friends at a filling station, Trek filling station in Masheshwe Street.  A car approached, it was a white City Golf.  They were still together with his friends, and the car drove and it shot at them and they took different directions.  Each one was taking his direction, and he went to the Trek filling station to hide himself.
 One of the people in the car saw him as he was hiding and he went to take him out.  And he said to him get out of here.  They were three in number.  They were the police.  They assaulted him.  And they took him to Houtkop police station after assaulting him. It was on a Friday.
 On Saturday I went to Houtkop to ask him why had he been arrested.  He was badly injured.  His face was swollen.  They said they don't know why they arrested him. I bailed him on Monday, I had to pay R300,00 bail.  He was going to school, on the other side going to the court case, and every time it would be postponed.  Three times the case was postponed.  On the 22nd it was the fourth time, it was in the same year in 1992, in the month of October the case was conducted. He came back home.
 The next day at one o'clock in the night a Hippo stopped outside.  Many police were inside the Hippo. They got out and they surrounded my house. I was peeping through the window.  Some of them lied on the grass and they pointed their long guns at my house.  Some of them knocked at the door, I opened the door because I had already seen them.  Two of the policemen got into my house and I asked them what do you want, and they said they wanted Frans.  They said is he staying here?  I said yes.  They said who are you?  I 
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said I am his father.  Why do you want him?  Where do you take him to?  They said to me he did not appear before the court on the 22nd and a warrant of arrest has been issued.  We have to come and pick him up.  I said to them you are lying.  I was with him in court, the 22nd that you are referring to I was personally at the court and he will be appearing again in court in January.   The magistrate said he should come and complete his examinations and he must come back in January.  They didn't take me into consideration at all.  They said man, we are here to pick him up.  I woke him up.  I said Frans tell them, they might understand you.  He came to them.  He explained to them what I had told them before.  He said on the 22nd I was at the court and I have to appear before the court of law again on the 25th of January.  I am not going anywhere with you.  They forcefully took him.  I tried to stop them but they couldn't listen to me.
 I said to them produce the warrant of arrest so that I can see.  They refused.  They said what do you know of a warrant of arrest.  I said to them you cannot come here and pick a person to arrest him without a warrant of arrest.  You have to produce the warrant of arrest first before you could arrest the person.  They forcibly took him.  It was one o'clock in the night.
 At about 3:30 I prepared myself to go to work.  The Hippo stopped again.  It was now the next street to mine.  It was in the tarred road.  A few minutes I saw him coming in.  I asked him what have they done to him.  He said they kept me in the charge office.  They were pointing at me saying this is the one, this is the dog.  I said there must be something wrong here.  I called Mr Mavundla because he 
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was handling the case.  I told him that the police are busy hunting my son.  He said I should just leave them, he will see to the matter.
 In December, on the 31st, midnight, he was still in the yard.  They were busy lighting the crickets together with his siblings, the hi-fi speaker was outside, they were listening to music.  I was in bed because I wasn't feeling very well.  They were together with their mother outside. At 12:30 I called their mother to tell them to come into the house to sleep because I don't trust anything at night outside.  He was among the other kids and they all came into the house.  When I asked his mother whether they were all inside she asked his sister where is Molefe, and the little sister said Molefe has gone to Zone 13 because he's going to give my brother's child a R20,00 note because he was working on weekends.  But then I was told that he would be back within a few minutes.  And I asked my wife how could you give the permission to the child to leave.  She said to me no I didn't give him the permission to leave.
 At about 12:45 the child came in, his friend telling us that Molefe had been shot at the passage.  I had to wake up in those conditions to go and get him where he was lying. When I enquired from his friend what had happened they said they saw this car coming, this white car drove past but they couldn't realise who the occupants were.  These two friends were standing in the passage, he was not there at that moment, but when he came back from Zone 13 he said to them guys I am going to a picnic this morning and I have to go and sleep.  And they said to him there's a car driving around here.  At the time they were telling me the car approached from the other side and it stopped right at the 
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passage.  There were three now in number and they started shooting and he was the one who was shot. 
 I took him to the hospital.  He was not dead at the time.  We arrived at the hospital at about 2 o'clock.  I left him there, he was admitted.  He couldn't say a word.  They shot him at the left buttock.  At about 8 o'clock the next morning I went to the charge office to report the matter.  The police said to me I should bring the two people with whom he was, the people who witnessed the whole incident because I do not know anything.  I went back home to get his friends Tabo and Mdala were their names.  I wanted them to go and tell the police what they saw with their eyes.  Their statements were taken.
 While we were busy writing the same car stopped outside and one of them said to me, there's the car stopping outside.  I looked at the car and I saw the registration number.  It was a white City Golf with the registration PHV 175 T.  When the police got out of this car I took a good look at them, and I didn't say anything. 
 At about 3 o'clock I sent my daughter to have a look at her brother.  At about 3:45 she came back and she said we were wanted at the hospital.  We were told that he had passed away.  Together with his mother we left.  Now in the ward where he was admitted there was an office.  We were then taken to the office and we were told that your son has passed away.  He passed away at 10 o'clock in the morning.
 This case went to the court of law but it was postponed on several occasions.  On the 15th of October there was an inquest.  It was in 1993.  The case was started until in 1994 on the 27th of July where the magistrate told us that those people were guilty but he will never charge them.  
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They will be charged by the Supreme Court.  Until now the case is still on.  I don't know the outcomes of the case.
Those policemen are still in the police services.  It's Constable Mohapi and Constable Nzo and Constable Gabayi.  I will stop there.