Human Rights Violation Hearings — Klerksdorp — 1996-09-23

CHAIRPERSON: I see you have somebody accompanying you today.  Could you please introduce the lady to us.

MR GARDINER: Pardon?

CHAIRPERSON: Could you introduce the lady who is sitting with you.

MR GARDINER: I am with my wife this morning.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Majova, could you just repeat that for us, please.

MR GARDINER: It is Dorothy Majova.

CHAIRPERSON: I'm soryr, Mr Majova, we didn't hear what you said.  Can you tell us who is the lady with you.

MR GARDINER: It is my wife, Dorothy.

CHAIRPERSON: We welcome you too.  Thank you.

MR GARDINER: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Majova, you are going to be telling us about your son, Mzwandile Watson Majova.  Commissioner Yasmin Sooka who is sitting at the table over there, will be helping you in telling your story, but before I hand over to her, could you please stand and take the oath.

GARINER MAJOVA: (Duly sworn, states).

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Mr Majova, you may be seated.
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Commissioner Sooka

YASMINE SOOKA: Thank you, Mr Chairperson.   Mr Majova, tell me your story, you have come to share your story with us about your son.  Tell us a little bit about yourself and about your son and then tell us what actually happened to him.

GARINER MAJOVA: We were out at Brandfontein province, where we were working as teachers.  We left Brandfontein and we came over here to Stilfontein.  We were actually transferred by the department.  We sent our child to Cape Town to do the   junior certificate together with the senior.  That was in 1972.
 During the holidays he used to come back home.  But at the end of 1975 he did not report back home.  We phoned over to Hewton University.  The headmaster at Hewton told us that they are not there, that they have left college earlier after the winter holidays.  After the winter holidays.  That was in November when we are making the enquiries.  The headmaster told us that they are not at school, they left school earlier of that holidays.  From reliable sources they had crossed the border into Botswana.   Well, we tried to find out from all other directions, we couldn't find anything.   
 We started getting police coming to our place.  They wanted to know where was our son.  We told them that we don't know, he is missing as from college.  But they told us that we have got to know where the boy is.  
 But after a long time, not knowing where the boy is, being harassed by the police.  In church they would take us out to the house to come and search the house.  But they found nothing. 
 It was only in 1985, I think when we were told that our KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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son is somewhere out in Tanganyika.  We tried to find out how can we get this boy back, but we could not find ways of getting in.
 In 1991 there was a call from somewhere that we must get to Krugersdorp, a place called Kagiso and look there is a library.  In front of the library there is a plaque there and the name of my boy is there.  We went there with my wife and we saw the plaque with the names.  The name of my son was also there.
 Not knowing who wrote the names there, and who put the plaque there, and after reading what was written there, we went to the police.  Because they are not very far from the library.  They referred us to Rustenberg to a place called Thabani.  When we reached Thabani, at the police station, we wanted to find out about the boys.  
 They took their books and went through the books.  They found one book with their names in.  It was written in inquest 13/1985.  It was 1985.12.28.  The names there were four. My boy's name was also there.  We wanted to find out where they were buried. They told us that it was SAFFAS was responsible for that.  We went there.  They only said they had buried them. We did not get the place where they were buried.  Up to today we have not had anybody telling us where the graves are.  
 We will be very grateful if you could get that grave.

YASMINE SOOKA: Thank you, Mr Majova.

GARINER MAJOVA: To give them their rights to bury him correctly.  I am asking the Truth Commission with an idea of getting some help to get the grave of our child.  We want to give him the correct rights of burial.  They told us that it was a pauper's funeral that they gave him.
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YASMINE SOOKA: Tatta, thank you.  Let me ask you a few questions, just to make sure that I have got all the details of your story properly.
 You have said right at the beginning that both you and your wife were teachers. Is that correct?

GARINER MAJOVA: Yes, it is true.

YASMINE SOOKA: You were transferred to Stilfontein by the department.

GARINER MAJOVA: Yes, it is the truth.

YASMINE SOOKA: How old was your son, Mzwandile when he disappeared?

GARINER MAJOVA: He was born in 1958 and he disappeared in 1985.  I am not sure ...

YASMINE SOOKA: You also say that you learnt from reliable sources that a group of boys had crossed the border into Botswana.  Did the headmaster tell you that, who was this reliable source?

GARINER MAJOVA: The headmaster only said that he heard from reliable sources, but they have gone over the boundary.

YASMINE SOOKA: You mention that after that the police started harassing you.  Could you tell us what the form of harassment was.

GARINER MAJOVA: I remember one time they took me out of the church.  We went into the house.   They took me from there into prison.  I slept there.  They choked me that I must tell them the truth.  I was so embarrassed, thinking what are the children going to say about me, being their teacher, say their teacher has been closed in a prison.

YASMINE SOOKA: How long were you kept in the prison?

GARINER MAJOVA: The whole day.  I slept there from - they put me in about 12 o'clock.  I was released the following day at
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four o'clock.

YASMINE SOOKA: Could you tell us what the name of - was it a police station or a prison?

GARINER MAJOVA: Which place, the prison?

YASMINE SOOKA: When they took you where they choked you, did they take you to a police station or did they take you to a prison?

GARINER MAJOVA: Yes, they took me to the police station.  Some water was poured over my body and some instruments were put onto my body.

YASMINE SOOKA: Did they shock you with electric shocks?

GARINER MAJOVA: Yes, they choked me.

YASMINE SOOKA: Did this happen continuously?

GARINER MAJOVA: No, they just did that that time, for about 30 minutes and they stopped it.

YASMINE SOOKA: What happened after that?

GARINER MAJOVA: Later on in the day they took me back in their car.

YASMINE SOOKA: What were they - during all of this, what questions were they asking you?  Were they asking you about your son?

GARINER MAJOVA: They said where is my child, I know where he is.

YASMINE SOOKA: During the time that your son was away, did you ever hear from him?

GARINER MAJOVA: No, he never wrote.

YASMINE SOOKA: So the first time you heard from him was in - you say that you heard that he was in Tanganyika?  That was in 1985?

GARINER MAJOVA: Yes, we heard that he was somewhere in Tanganyika.

YASMINE SOOKA: Where did you hear that from?
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GARINER MAJOVA: From certain boys out at Soweto.

YASMINE SOOKA: Were you searching for him all this time?

GARINER MAJOVA: I was trying to find out where could I really get him.

YASMINE SOOKA: I just want to check one thing with you.  You say that you got a call in 1991 that you must go to Krugersdorp, but in your statement you say 1994. So I just want to check which is the correct date. Was it 1991 or 1994?

GARINER MAJOVA: 1994, I think when we went to Krugersdorp ... I have got it in the statement, perhaps I might be making a mistake with the dates.

YASMINE SOOKA: In your statement it is ... (intervention).