Human Rights Violation Hearings — Newcastle — 1996-09-10

COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Father Shange, for coming in today.  You are from Madadeni township, is that right?  Osizweni, I apologise, and you're from - was I correct in saying you are from the Anglican Church.

FATHER SHANGE: Before you say your piece could you stand please to take the oath.

FATHER SHANGE: (Sworn, States)   (Speaking English)
Thank you, Mr Chairman, members of the Commission, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.  I am not too sure which language I'll be using.  I think I'll any one that comes in my way, so it will be either Zulu or English.

COMMISSIONER: Mr Dlamini is suggesting that because of the audience to use Zulu if you're comfortable with that.

WITNESS:   Yes, I will be.

COMMISSIONER: And I can follow through the earphones, and those who don't follow Zulu all that well can follow through the earphones.

WITNESS:   I am very happy to get this opportunity to come and give you a brief background as to why we are here today.  As a black person, and a Zulu too, we knew that whenever the men were fighting they would go to the river and try to wash and heal their wounds.  So this is what this is all about.  We are talking about reconciliation, as the Chairman has already pointed out.   Newcastle, or Northern Natal, is a place that is renowned for peace.  I don't know how far true that is, because we had this bad luck that whenever anything happened the media never cared to report whatever was happening here.  But most of the incidents took place in 1984, and before then there was nothing that happened that was quite as shocking as the events that took place in 1984.

COMMISSIONER: I will start talking about the incident that took place in Hlobane.  That is at the end of November.  Then they started COSATU working in Durnacol, as well as at the Hlobane Mine, and there were certain elements who were not satisfied with the operations of the COSATU, and another organisation called UWUSA was made.  That started in 1986, and many people died.  That is when there was conflict between these two organisations, not because the ordinary civilians were fighting.

COMMISSIONER: And we go back to Newcastle.  We know that during that time the then government was involved in oppressing the people, especially the black nation, and we knew that at that time if that did not happen we would not be here today.  And whenever there was a political organisation which was fighting oppression, as well as discrimination, these people would get detained and they would be killed in detention, assaulted, and some were survivors.  That is when there was a mushrooming of a lot of political organisations which were fighting the Government, whereby they felt that they should kill everybody that's got anything to do with the Government so that the people should be liberated.  That is when there was a court in Newcastle, and thereafter the Newcastle Court was bombed, as well as the railway station and Pick 'n Pay, and there was a lot of bombings up to Madadeni Police Station that took place.  They also bombed the police barracks.

COMMISSIONER: But here in Newcastle, despite of all those things that happened, there wasn't even a single day where the Inkatha or the ANC fought each other.  There has never been an instance where the IFP (sic) attacked Inkatha and Inkatha attacking ANC.  But it so happened that some policemen who were known to the community, and who were very hard-hearted, were working in such a way that one organisation would have an altercation with another, and they were creating a crack between the organisations, and there was no relationship whatsoever.  And there were certain names which were mentioned which were called Ebony and Khoyoni.  These were the organisations which started fighting with the IFP together with the police.

COMMISSIONER: And thereafter many people got injured, some got killed, because if we remember quite well when the court was bombed many people were detained.  Some were arrested.  Some even went to Robben Island, but they ultimately came out, but some of the unluckily, or most unfortunately, have already passed away.  We know that the first one was killed by certain gangsters.  The second one was shot by Councillor Nxumalo at Osizweni, and he died on the spot.

COMMISSIONER: I can just put it in this way, that there were certain elements within the organisations which were fomenting the violence.  There has never been an instance where it's the organisations or the structures that were attacking people

COMMISSIONER: As I had already mentioned the Hlobane incident I shall come back to the Madadeni matter.  We want to commend the councillor in Madadeni for his wisdom, because when the UDF started being formed he invited the UDF as well as the community, so that the UDF could get an opportunity to explain to the community as to what the UDF was, and what was its main objectives.

COMMISSIONER: At Osizweni things started getting sour when we were going towards 1990, when certain members or youths at ward five had a fight with Councillor Nxumalo.  That's when the violence started, because even the schoolchildren got involved at that stage.  At that time he helped and contributed in the signing of the Peace Accord in September 1981, and that is when all the reverends, as well as Father Stephen O'Kerr, who had gone back to Kenya, they convened the town council of Osizweni and wanted its opinion as to what was going on in that particular place.  They called ANC as well to come and voice its own opinion.  They also called IFP to come and contribute as to the solution of whatever was taking place, because they wanted there to be negotiations as well as a reconciliation.  And at the time all the political organisations were convened, as well as the chairman, Father Stephen O'Kerr.   And at that time a significant incident took place.  Whilst Minister Sithebe was speaking one youth stood up and spoke whilst he was speaking, and there was an altercation until such time that there was gunfire.  And at that time a youth from Shabalala Osizweni died.  But luckily, because the political organisations had come together, Mr Khumalo, the IFP chairman, as well as Makhosini Hadebe, who was the chairman of the ANC.  We went to the family of the bereaved, and somehow the violence was quelled.

COMMISSIONER: I believe that the coming together which took place between the political organisations did contribute somehow.  Harry Gwala came and spoke, and all the people were united despite the fact that the political organisations at that time now were cracking.  I know that by saying these things I will be opening up some wounds, but we have to because that is where we come from, and we know that many of you don't have houses.

COMMISSIONER: And, referring to the Chairman, it's quite a painful situation that some people don't know, or were not informed as to when and where to give their statements so that they can possibly appear before this Commission, because there's far too many people who got involved and who were affected by the violence.  I would be happy if they would be given a chance to come and give their stories.

COMMISSIONER: There were certain police who were extremists and who were contributing to the violence.  I know there are some people referred to as right-wingers who are existent here in Newcastle, but I don't have any testimony or any information with regard to that, but I know that at some stage they went to stay next to Pick 'n Pay, where they were keeping a vigil.  I know one who is still there, staying in a right wing area.  That is people who hate black people.  We do get that there were two consultation rooms whereby there would be blacks getting in there, and a separate one for whites.  We still get this even in surgeries in Newcastle.