Human Rights Violation Hearings — Umtata — 1996-06-20

MEMBER OF PANEL: Mr Chairman, I would like to call upon Mrs Ntombifikile Mposelwa to the stand please.  Deputy Chairperson I would like to introduce Ntombifikile and I would like to welcome here on behalf of the Commission.  Mrs Mposelwa you are here today because you would like to express the pain that you had experienced so that you can reconcile with the perpetrators.  Most of the people who have come here have come for the same purpose and I think when you have relieved yourself of this burden that you have been carrying for quite a long time and I am sure you had bitterness, but we believe that you will be able to reconcile with the perpetrators and you will not be bitter anymore.  Before you can continue with the giving of this statement I would like you to stand up so that you can take an oath.

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: (Duly sworn in, states).

MEMBER OF PANEL: Thank you very much.  I am handing over to the Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  We would request Pumla Gobodo to lead you in your evidence.

MS GOBODO: Thank you very much Mr Chairperson who is deputising for the Chairperson.  Ntombifikile, I would like to welcome you again.  I just wanted to explain here that you have come to give evidence about your son, but you also
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had a wish that you can also present a case in connection with your husband who was shot dead in 1994.  He was a member of the PAC and nobody was traced and nobody ever knew who was responsible for his death, but unfortunately the Commission is supposed to consider only cases which took place from 1960 to 1993, but unfortunately the incident in connection with your husband took place in 1994 which is after the deadline, but we would like to state and advise you that there is a Committee of the Human Rights and we would like you to please approach it.  It is not that you will not have anybody to listen to your story regarding your husband, but there is somewhere else that you can go.  Presently we would like you to give us information about your son.  Could you please give us information about him.

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: Thank you very much Sis Pumla.  He was Samora Siyasanga Mposelwa.

MS GOBODO: How old was he when he was killed?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: During the time when he was gunned down, he was born on the 25th of January 1977.  He was 16 years old at the time.

MS GOBODO: What were the circumstances around his death?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: On the 16th in October in the evening, I think it was about seven in the evening.  I was together with my husband and our family as a whole.  Bantoen and Kand who are my children.  We were at Port St Johns.  Whilst we were staying in the house we heard that our car was being reversed and it was revved so strongly.  We could see that it is somebody who knows how to drive this car and who knew the direction.  We looked around and we saw that it was Samora who was driving the car.  We stayed for a long time waiting that he would come back, but he never did.  We slept UMTATA HEARING EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE
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whilst still waiting for him, but at five am my husband felt that he should wake up.  I did not know what to do.  We were together with my brother Mlolalimin Nombi.  He went out, he ran around the house and in the nearby area.  I was in my room.  He was still searching for him.  
 He came back after a few minutes and then he said I have walked quite a distance and I could hear people talking and I also hear that they were talking about Samora and they said our brother has saw him.  I pretended as if I did not hear them, but I was eavesdropping.  Mr Gaba came in and when he came in he said we must pray.  I asked them why should you pray very early in the morning?  There must be something that has happened.  They openly stated that Samora had committed suicide.  I did not believe what they said.  I was surprised.  How did he commit suicide.  It was said he shot himself.  What do you mean?  No, his uncle found him.  They stated that there was a revolver, his father's revolver in his right hand, but I am not quite sure whether it was in the right or the left hand.  
 You know when you are shocked you become so shocked to the extent that you would use abusive language.  That is what I did because I was cursing, why did this have to happen to me.  Let me just explain this again.  My husband went to the police station.  My brother says he took the gun from the child's hand because he was fearing that somebody might come and take it.

MS GOBODO: What time was it?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: I think it was half past five.

MS GOBODO: Was it in the morning?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: Yes, it was very early in the morning.

MS GOBODO: Was the gun in his hand?
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NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: Yes, the gun was in his hand as they said.

MS GOBODO: Where was the car?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: He was in the car, in the passenger seat, but there was the difference because he had a wound and you could see that this bullet wound was from the right through the left.  On the left side you could see that there was a bullet hole in the car.  My husband then stated that they went to the police and then they reported the matter to the police and two policemen went to see the accident.  It was discovered that there were cartridges which were found behind the car.  We were also taken to the scene and then we were crying all of us.  My child was half naked.  The t-shirt that he was wearing was at the back of the car.  We did not see the bullets or the shells or the cartridges, but we could see that he was already experiencing rigours.  You could see that he was bleeding.  He bled severely and there was a pool of blood in the car.
 During the day when we went back to our place the nurses from the Port St Johns Hospital, because I was working there also, visited us and they came here to pay condolences.  They stated that the saw a girl who is admitted in hospital.  It was said this girl was Lungiswa Mwanda.  The girl reported that she was with Samora and this was witnessed by the other people, but it is said that she had poisoned herself.

MS GOBODO: What is the name of this girl?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: It was Lungiswa Mwanda.

MS GOBODO: Who discovered this and who gave you the information that she was together with your son?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: It is said he is, he, she who stated that he was together with my son.  I confirmed that because the
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nurses said we are together with one of Lungiswa's friends, Miss Bolo is having a shop there, she is a general dealer and she has come to visit her friend and she has also come to visit me.

MS GOBODO: What I am trying to get at is what did she know about the cartridges which were just behind the van?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: Nobody asked her anything.  We did not even see her because after she was discharged from the hospital she disappeared.  We have never seen her ever since.  When we made enquiries about the others from other people somebody said she went to Cofimvaba.

MS GOBODO: Could you please inform us about the investigation?  What did the police discover about in their investigations?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: I do not have much to say except that Nombeli who is the uncle to Samora was taken.  They also forced him to give false information that he should admit that he is the culprit.  He came back and he was crying bitterly because he did not want to admit that he did so.

MS GOBODO: Was there any follow-up in the matter about this girl, Lungiswa, about all what she knew about what happened?

NTOMBIFIKILE MPOSELWA: No, we did not hear anything about the investigation with regard to Lungiswa.

MS GOBODO: How did you view this because somebody who was present during your sons death was supposed to have been investigated also.