Human Rights Violation Hearings — Uitenhage — 1996-08-28

CHAIRPERSON: We are going to ask Mr Vincent Lungile Calu 
to come forward.  We are going to hand you over to Ms Maya 
who is going to lead you with questions.

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: (sworn states)

UNKNOWN: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Lungile, how are you?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: I am fine, thank you.

UNKNOWN: You are going to represent yourself and tell us a 
story about the time you were a member of the UDF and you 
say you were arrested several times and tortured in police 
custody, what was actually happening, and what was the 
reason for all of this?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: In 1985, I don't know whether to say that I was 
lucky or unlucky, but I got affected and I became one of the 
members of the structures for the youth.  I therefore had to 
go away from my home in Uitenhage, to I had to go in hiding 
in one of the houses in Nobuhle.  I used to spend nights in 
various places and briefly, I would say that in 1986, one 
day, I was tired of sleeping all over the place, and I 
decided to go and sleep at home and it was on a Saturday and 
yet, I was wrong because these policemen came and it was in 
the morning, very early, at about 300, and I heard my 
mother saying Lungile is not here because she knew that I 
was not sleeping there and she wasn't aware that I was 
there, so these police came and my mother said that I wasn't 
UITENHAGE HEARING TRC/

EASTERN CAPE: 2

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: there and there was three of us sons there.  When they came 
in, they asked for Umhlahla, then I said, no, I don't know 
such a person.  Then they asked my brother, where is 
Umhlahla, my brother denied, and my other brother too 
denied.

UNKNOWN: Who was Umhlahla?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: Umhlahla is me, I am Umhlahla.  Then, these whites 
asked who exactly amongst you is Umhlahla, and everyone 
denied, infact, I wanted any one person who was going to 
point at me, and these policemen were almost tired of asking 
of this Umhlahla and I heard them saying in Afrikaans that 
they should go and call someone from outside, and so this 
person came.
 My brothers at the time, lived in Molapo, and this 
Molapo men came in and said to me, you are Umhlahla, and I 
was discouraged and then I didn't say anything, then these 
policemen said get dressed.

UNKNOWN: Were you arrested?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: Yes, I was arrested.  Outside our house, there 
were a lot of cars and I got into a car, and there was a 
driver sitting in front and a space here in the middle, then 
I was asked to sit there in that space.  Then they asked 
about the gun that they said that I had, then I said that I 
did not have a gun.  They asked this repeatedly, then they 
asked for Lungisile, then I said you arrested Lungisile last 
week, so I don't know why you are asking me about Lungisile. 
 Then they asked me, do you know anything about Bee's?  Then 
I knew about Bee's, but I didn't want to say that I knew 
them, because I was scared that perhaps they meant something 
else.  I didn't answer them.  
 Then, they handcuffed me with my hands at the back, and 
UITENHAGE HEARING TRC/

EASTERN CAPE: 3

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: I was sitting in this space, in this car and they asked 
whether I was going to tell the truth or did I want them to 
bring in the bee's.  Then I said that I don't have any other 
truth, I do not have any gun.  
 Then one other man who was there, there were some some 
people, one of them was Dumse and these people were 
informers and they were there.  So they blindfolded me with 
a towel and they made it stiff so that I was not able to 
breathe.  My whole body trembled and I thought perhaps that 
these were the bee's that they had mentioned earlier and 
some other times they would make this knot loose and they 
would ask me to tell the truth, but I insisted that there 
was no other truth that I could tell.  Then they took this 
thing, and they put it here in my testicles and I had a 
feeling as if my testicles were being twisted and being 
pulled because I kept on saying I don't know, I don't know, 
very fast.

UNKNOWN: As your body was trembling, what were they doing?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: They were administering some electric shocks.

UNKNOWN: Who was administering this electric shock?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: I couldn't see because they had blindfolded me 
with a towel, but I could feel me whole body trembling.

UNKNOWN: How long did this take place?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: For about 15 minutes, but they would give me a 
relief and once again.  Then in this car there was Ngobe, 
there was Nokasi, there was Dumse.  Then they asked why 
Pinkise had been arrested, then they said that Pikinse was 
brother to Nokasi and so ultimately Pikinse was released.  
 Then one White man asked that I should be released and 
then one said Ngashla was the commander of the action 
committee that does this toy toy.
UITENHAGE HEARING TRC/

EASTERN CAPE: 4

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: They took off my hat and then one person was insisting 
that I be released and they asked to release me and they 
asked me to go away and I went home and found my mother.

UNKNOWN: Then, when was the next arrest?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: I want to say what I want to say before that.  It 
was early on a Sunday.  I then consulted Dr Moodley, using 
someones medical aid card because I was on the run.  Dr 
Moodley examined me and asked what had happened to me.  Then 
I told him that the police had electrocuted me and he 
explained to me several things saying that these people had 
exceeded in their administering of the electric shock and so 
Dr Moodley asked me to take out two of my teeth that had 
been damaged, so I had them extracted on Monday.  So I again 
went into hiding and the police still kept on looking for 
me.
 Then in 1987, we had escaped once more and I was in 
Port Elizabeth living in Betram Street.  Then my aunt who 
came from Zwide, and she told me that she was sick and had 
they had not gone to work and she was saying that she must 
consult a doctor.  This whole day, the policemen had been 
moving up and down here in Betram Street, but, I had a hope 
that they did not know me, but I was wrong.  Then there was 
a car facing our house.  It was parked in Matitiba, facing 
our house.  My aunt asked that I should not accompany her 
because there were policemen, but I refused.  Then, as soon 
as I got to Betrom, I saw some cars that were speeding 
towards me and the policemen jumped out and they were facing 
there fire arms towards me.  They searched my whole body, 
they searched me thoroughly, they took a walkie talkie and 
they asked what was me name, and I told them my name was 
Mongezi, and I could see that they were communicating.
UITENHAGE HEARING TRC/

EASTERN CAPE: 5

UNKNOWN: Did you know these people who had arrested you?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: No, I did not know them.
 They took me to the house where I came from and they 
again searched the house.  They did not tell me what they 
were looking for.  Then, this Black man said to me, these 
men are looking for a firearm.

UNKNOWN: Did they get the firearm?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: No, they did not get any firearm from me.  They 
took me to Louis Le Grange.

UNKNOWN: What did they do to you there, did they 
interrogate you there?

VINCENT LUNGILE CALU: No, they said, yes, this is the one.  This is the 
one we are looking for.

UNKNOWN: Who said that?