Human Rights Violation Hearings — Tembisa — 1996-11-28

PAULINA MOGALE: It was on Saturday on the 31st of July in 1993.  I was with my husband and my first born.  We are from home in Soweto on our way to Tembisa.  We got on board a taxi at Noord Street in Johannesburg.  The colour of the taxi was red.  It was at about past five in the afternoon.
 When we reached Tembisa entrance at Mtumbeka section, next to the BP Garage we came across a group of men.  There were many, I can estimate it at about 100 of them.  As we approached these men they came running towards the taxi.  When I tried to look on the left side there was a white private car.  It had already been burnt.  They stopped us.  They said to the driver he must stop the taxi.  We started screaming inside the taxi. Even children started screaming.  We said to the taxi driver please do not stop because they 
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were not that close to the taxi.  However the driver switched off the engine of the taxi.  He took the money bag plus the keys to the taxi.  When I tried to look at this men they had already pulled out their guns.  I took my child very quickly, hid him underneath the taxi seat. I hid my head underneath the seats.  The minute I turned they had already shot my hand.  I heard my man saying we are going to die in this taxi.  Gunshots were fired.  Not knowing whether it was eggs or stone or whatever, you just heard gunshots.  They wanted to make sure that nobody would survive.  I started praying there and then.
 Whilst praying I heard people were already dying.  I started praying what I don't know of.  Whilst praying they left our taxi.  It was clear to them that nobody was alive in that taxi.  I heard one man at the back seat of the taxi saying let us get out of this taxi and run away because these people are going to kill us in the car.  Then he said let me look for my child. Then I started calling my child Silowane, Silowane, get out of the taxi, let us run away.  When I tried to step out of the taxi I tried to pull her legs but she wouldn't come out from underneath the seat because my husband fell on top of me.  Even the bag that I had I pressed it on my legs. It had our identity documents and money, everything.
 When I got off the taxi I struggled to pull my feet, then I carried my husband.  He had already passed away.  I pulled his legs out of the taxi. I leaned against the taxi window.  They had already shot it.  That didn't bother, it fell inside the taxi.  I threw my child outside through the window.  Inside the taxi there were grandsons to Mr Dladla.  They were together travelling with their father.  They 
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started screaming "sister, sister please help us, do not abandon us".  It is true I took them off the taxi, even the brother that I was travelling with.  We ran into the veld near to Mtumbeka Section.  When we reached that place there was a big hole there, we couldn't jump across or over that big hole.  We thought of hiding the children in that hole, or rather throw ourselves into that hole so that we could go to the next site.  We did so.  After having done that we came across some bushes there.  We went through, we nearly disappeared there or missed our road to safety.  God help us we found the right route until we reached the houses in Mtumbeka.  When I tried to look back where we came from the taxi was already on fire.  We knocked at different houses screaming open, open for us, please help us.  They didn't open their doors because they were scared also.  Because on the other side there were attacks launched on these houses.
 Dogs were barking with us.  We jumped a lot of fences with these children.  I was still bleeding on my hand.  Through God's power we met one lady.  She said to us she is from the spaza cafe.  We begged her to take us into the house with the children.  She did so.  We asked her to give us a telephone.  She asked for a telephone from her neighbours.  I phoned at my husband's place. I told them that they must come and fetch us from this lady's place where we were hiding.  Their response was that it is quite bad, we cannot.  We don't have transport.  I slept with my injured hand.  These people, the good samaritans washed the children and wiped the blood.
 In the morning at about 5 o'clock I asked the lady of that house to accompany me to that taxi that had been burnt yesterday.  When we arrived at that taxi I saw these broken 
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legs and burnt bones.  The taxi was already being hauled away.  There was nothing I could do then.  What I had to do was to go to the hospital.  When I arrived at the hospital they assisted me.   The bullet didn't go through my bone.  I was discharged the very same day.
 After being discharged in the company of my sister I requested her to look for my husband through all these wards.  We did so, unfortunately we could not find him.  We came here to Rabasotho.  When we arrived at Rabasotho we asked from the policemen where my husband was.  They said to us we must go to Boksburg mortuary.  One of the policemen, however I was confused, I cannot identify that policeman, said they know what was happening but they cannot speak because they are scared.  I came back to my husband's place.  They decided to go to Boksburg.  They went to Boksburg on that Sunday.  On their arrival they found that the conditions of these people they were badly burned, they could not identify my husband.  They turned back, came home.  As they tell us this tale I got hurt.  
 I emphasise that we go back to Boksburg, maybe there is something that can help me identify him that this is my man.  On Monday I woke up and went to Boksburg.  I prayed God to give me strength because I have never been into a mortuary.  When I arrived there these people have already been packed on the stretchers.  I came across one corpse's leg and intestines.  We tried to put everything in order.  We could not tell whether this was a female or male, you could not tell.  What made me identify my husband was a piece of clothing under his arm which was broken in half.  His right hand was actually amputated. His legs were broken in half.  Some of the ashes of his body were left in the taxi. There TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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was also a piece of underwear that I could identify.
  The way he was burnt that was the very first time I saw a human being's heart and his or her intestines, by those of my husband.  Even today when I pass by a BP Garage I can still remember what happened.  That mark there is not easily removed.  It reminds me of the incident.  That is all I have witnessed.  I thank you.

MR LEWIN: We thank you Paulina very much for that story and for coming forward at this time, it must be very painful for you.  Can you just tell us, I have just got three questions really.  The one is about your child, did you manage to rescue your child?

PAULINA MOGALE: Yes I managed.  I was pregnant at that time.

MR LEWIN: So you were pregnant and you rescued your child and for instance Mr Dladla's grandchildren?

PAULINA MOGALE: Yes.

MR LEWIN: How many children were you able to rescue?

PAULINA MOGALE: Three of them.

MR LEWIN: Three. So the four of you were the only survivors from the taxi?

PAULINA MOGALE: Together with the man that I rescued who assisted me to take the children out of the taxi.

MR LEWIN: And you took them out through the back window was it, or the side window?

PAULINA MOGALE: The side window.

MR LEWIN: Which in itself is a story.  Can I ask you, you must have thought about this a great deal, why was the taxi attacked, do you think?

PAULINA MOGALE: I do not know because I was from Soweto.  I didn't know what was taking place here.

MR LEWIN: You mentioned the other car that you saw on the
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side of the road, the white car that had been burnt or attacked, were there other cars being attacked?  Were there other taxis being attacked?