Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

WITNESS:   As my brother, Sipho Gabela, had already explained, there was a youth group which was not in agreement with the decisions that were being taken, and they started boycotting.  Then at 10 o'clock one evening we were told that my brother had died.  He had been killed by Ngubane, who belongs to Special Branch.  Then we came back and we were told that he was shot in the street.  We don't know who actually killed him, but we only got to know them when we were being told by Sikhumbuso.  When he died we made funeral arrangements.  Then there came a Mr Vabani, who asked us as to what we knew about my brother's death, and he told us that the funeral should be restricted, we should only have 200 people attending.  But we told him that we just couldn't restrict people from coming to the funeral.  Then they arrested - they wanted to arrest my father and I, but we ran away and we were able to bury my brother.

MR LAX: You said a person came, a Mr - I didn't catch the name very clearly.

WITNESS:   There came his friend to tell us that he had already died.

MR LAX: Somebody came to tell about restrictions for the funeral.  Was that a policeman?

WITNESS:   It was Vaba.

MR LAX: Move on to the next incident, which was the death of your father, Alfred Ntombela.  Is it correct his full name was Denge Alfred Ntombela?

WITNESS:   No, he's Ginga - Ginga Alfred Ntombela.

MR LAX: Because I took that name off the inquest record.  There's obviously been a mistake there.  Can we please just swap the earphones for her.  Can you hear me better now?

WITNESS:   Yes, I can.

MR LAX: I was explaining to you that the name I quoted you was the name I was able to get from the inquest documents which I was able to recover, so I will make sure the records are changed properly.

WITNESS:   That's fine.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... know about your father's death on the 12th - or rather the 5th of February 1990.

WITNESS:   It was on a Saturday, Saturday afternoon.  We never used to sleep at home over the weekends now.  On that particular Saturday when we were from burying four brothers - we used to go and bury our brothers at other people's places, and I was tired on that particular Saturday.  And there was no boy at home.  My father said he would rather sleep in the car because there was a car that was in the garage, the other one was in the gate.  So he said he wanted to see whoever was coming.  He slept in the car.  I was so very tired I just slept early, round about seven.  I woke up at night being awoken by gunshots.  I remembered that my father was outside.  I opened the door to try and see if my father was still alive.  I discovered that they started by shooting him, and they had surrounded the house now.  When we opened my father told us that he had been shot.  Then he fell into my parents' bedroom.  At that point I phoned my sister to let her know what had happened.  I phoned another white person.  They used to help us when we were in trouble.  I phoned them and told them what had happened.  At that time we had opened the doors, and we saw a kombi.  This kombi stopped at the gate, and my mother and my sister, who were standing at the door, they were telling us that they just heard gunshots.  At that point the gunshots started again, and my mother was shot on the head.  They got into the house.  I didn't have anything with me, I wasn't armed, but somehow I felt I had the strength or the courage.  Then I let my mother in, and I heard guns going out.  I told my brother not to come because they were going to shoot him, so he can just keep on contacting us by phone, but he mustn't come personally.  This white person came from ... (inaudible) ... just a few minutes thereafter policemen came in, quite a number of them, a lot of policemen came in.  They asked what we were and what relation we were to the people living in the house.  I told them I was the daughter of the house and I was the daughter of the man that was shot, but I further told them that that was none of their business because that's not what they came there for.  Thereafter this white person came and he wanted to take my father to the hospital.  The police refused and said he is not supposed to take my father, we thought that place was ours, we had control over the place.  They said my father should wait for the ambulance.  The ambulance came at that time.  They took my mother and my father to the hospital.  At the hospital they were not quick to attend to my parents.  We decided to leave my father and go away.  On a Tuesday we heard that my father had died.  Because I knew who had killed my father, it was our neighbour, I went to my neighbour and said he must also finish me off just as he killed my father.  I called on him.  When I got there there were Inkatha members and the house was full.  When they tried to shoot me there's another person who came over and he tried to negotiate that they mustn't shoot me.  There is another gentleman who was a member of Inkatha, I don't know what his position was in Inkatha.  They said I went to harass an Inkatha member and I needed to be dealt with.  At the time when my father was injured we went to report to the police station.  That was myself and Monica.  We had the empty gun cartridges.  The gentleman who wanted to arrest me had a gun, and at that time there was testimony that he was there at the time that my father was shot.  It was this man and his friend.  So he was arrested, I wasn't arrested, so I came back.  After some time we were called to the Supreme Court.  We were told that we were going there with regard to my father's death.  We never got inside.  One policeman came out and told us that the case is over, we should go home.

MR LAX: (Inaudible)

WITNESS:   No, we never did.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... can tell you is that I have managed to trace the inquest that was held in respect of your father.  Did you ever get notice that there was going to be an inquest, an inquiry into your father's death, which is different to a case?

WITNESS:  No, we were never told anything.  We were never even told there was an inquest.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... say that the Magistrate who heard the inquest found that Zakhele Bhengu and Bigboy Madlala and other people were responsible for your father's death.  Were you aware that that was a finding that was made?

WITNESS:   I do know that because I had seen them, but there was no case that went on.

MR LAX: Where is Mr Bhengu now?

WITNESS:   They say he is living in Westgate.

MR LAX: Madlala?

WITNESS:   He is staying at a hostel.

MR LAX: Which hostel?

WITNESS:   In Imbali.

MR LAX: Do you know whether they have ever been charged before?

WITNESS:   I know absolutely nothing.

MR LAX: I have no further questions, Mr Chairperson.

DR MAGWAZA: The Dlungwane family, what we want to say on behalf of the Truth Commission is that we take into consideration what happened or what happens to the family after the trauma.  Now, I'll start by addressing Mrs Dlungwane, who lost her husband at quite a tender age in 1990.  You've got small children.  If you can just tell us briefly as to how this whole incident and harassment affected or altered your life, how your children were affected.  We would just like to know.  Tell us whether you are working, how do you make ends meet?

WITNESS:   I am not working, I am staying at home.  My second son is working because he realises that we couldn't keep head above water.  What about your children?   ---   They are attending school.

DR MAGWAZA: Are there any who were affected by the harassment?

WITNESS:   The one who was affected was the son.  He got injured after his father had died.

DR MAGWAZA: Can you just briefly explain as to how he got injured.

WITNESS:   He was with other boys, his peers, and they just heard gunshots, and he got shot on the shoulder and he was admitted for a month.