Human Rights Violation Hearings — Nelspruit — 1996-09-03

CHAIRPERSON: The following witness is Thoko Lindiwe Mhlabane. Good afternoon Mrs Mhlabane, can you hear me alright?

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: Yes I can hear you.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Mhlabane, who is with you? The man sitting next to you, who is he?

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: He is my father, real father.

CHAIRPERSON: We are very glad to welcome you Sir.  Thank you for coming with your daughter, it's very important that you should be there next to her. It's not an easy task to come before the Commission, but with you next to her, she's going to be very relaxed, feel very comfortable and she's just going to tell us the story.  Before she can tell the story though, she has to take the oath and that oath will be administered by Yasmin Sooka.

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: (sworn states)

DR BORAINE: Mrs Mhlabane, you were shot in 1985.  We would like to hear your story as to how it happened, why you think it happened, who did this, just tell us your whole story in your own words and take your time.

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: During the year 1985 in June on the 10th, it was round about half past seven in the morning. I was on my way to work.  Many people were in the street going up and down because there was a strike. But I was waiting for the taxi because I was supposed to report at eight at work. Some school pupils were throwing stones and police
NELSPRUIT  HEARING TRC/MPUMALANGA
2 MHLABANE
were standing on the other side of the road.  I was standing there waiting for the bus to come, with my own    ticket and the police were chasing around the school children.  I stood there as I was waiting to go to work. I was working at Cocopine in Barbeton.  After they'd left these children I remained there as a person who was innocent.  The police came back, white police.  I was pregnant by then, that was my eighth month. It was my ninth month.  The police came back and came right to me where I was standing and the police actually wanted to shoot me. I had to turn around and then he shot me at the hip, I could not fall.  He shot me for a second time and I fell down.  I remember the black police actually throw the tear gas at me and I fell down and then the white police had to beat me. When I regained my consciousness, I was already in the hospital. I just remembered vividly that there was a bakkie which actually transported me to the hospital.  As I was checking myself here on my hip, they said no i should not touch, but I could feel that I was wounded, and at the hospital the whole ward was full and I was unconscious.  I remember very well, when I gained my consciousness, I saw a lot of police surrounding me.  White policemen.  There was only one black police officer.  And the doctor said to me, they should go because I am already critical, because already the baby in my womb, and then they said they'd leave but they'll come back.
 After they left the doctors were busy giving me treatment trying to check whether the baby is still breathing well or not. At the hospital I was there for almost three weeks.  On a Monday police came. They said I must write a statement.  I said to them, there is nothing 
NELSPRUIT  HEARING TRC/MPUMALANGA
3 MHLABANE
that I can write, the one who shot me should give the statement and they went back.
 And then I was at the hospital for almost three weeks. On the fourth week they discharged me from the hospital.  On my arrival at home, before long, police arrived.  They came and fetched me.  They came with a yellow vehicle from the police, they took me to the police station.  They took me to a place where I could give a statement.  They said I should write a statement.  I said to them, "No there is nothing that I can give you, the person who shot me should write a statement, I want to know, why did he shoot me?
 Thereafter, while we were still there, at the police, there came one person who was actually giving us assistance, a Mr Soko and his arrival they were about to release me, taking me back home.  At home they told me that I should go an appear before a court of law, the following week.
 At the court they called me in, they said to me, my case has been remanded.  I went back home.  As I went back home, I travelled by bus.  That bus was actually full of people who were giving support to me. As we were going back the police stopped us on the way.  It was just next to the hospital.  The bus had to go via the bus stop from the hospital and the police wanted to check whether we all paid and they threw tear gas inside the bus and most of the people went out through the windows. We went home. 
 On our arrival at home, and I think I've been to the court for over one year six months, going to the court time and again.  At the court there it took me almost one and a half years, I think I've been to Nelspruit twice and the other court I attended while I had my child.
 My child is not healthy enough. If my child breathes, NELSPRUIT  HEARING TRC/MPUMALANGA
4 MHLABANE
actually that child cannot breathe well and  I (weeping)

DR BORAINE: Just take your time, it's very distressing to think of your child.

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: I get back to my child before the case was actually completed.  I've got that child but whenever I look at my child, that child cannot breathe well, she gets disturbed through breathing.  Even myself, I cannot work well at my work place because I cannot stand for a long time, because all these pellets which were shot at me, I feel them on my body. I don't know whether perhaps these pellets will even touch my heart.

DR BORAINE: Thank you for sharing that story with us. First tell us a little bit more about your child.  The child is now about ten or eleven years old?

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: He turned 11 on the 10th of August this year.

DR BORAINE: What is his name please?

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: Nolwazi Prudence Mavuso.

DR BORAINE: Thank you very much for telling us about her, I'm very pleased that she survived, because it must have been very very difficult to be so badly wounded and carrying a baby of eight months old.
 Now you tell us that it was about half past seven in the morning and there was a lot of disturbances and you were waiting to catch your taxi or your bus to go to work in barbeton.  Can you remember, who was the policeman who actually shot you? Did you know him, had you seen him before, can you remember his name?

THOKO LINDIWE MHLABANE: The police who actually shot me was
together with the white police, but I don't know his surname, but if this person can come I can identify him NELSPRUIT  HEARING TRC/MPUMALANGA
5 MHLABANE
because at the court he appeared and actually he was asked, why did he shoot me, he said, I manhandled him, and he said, he's got witnesses on this, he was saying this at the court.  He did not bring the witnesses forward, he said, one is from Komatipoort. Up until today nothing happened, no witness has come forward. They said to me, well I must be released, there is no case for me. But since then I have been crippled, nothing came my way for assistance.  Up to now I don't have any source of income besides my parents. And my marriage broke up during that time and up to now I'm just struggling very much to make ends meet.

DR BORAINE: Thank you very much.  Now you say that just before you were shot, somebody or one of the policemen threw tear gas at you, so you had tear gas and then you were shot and then you were taken to the hospital.  And the treatment at the hospital, was that good treatment, did they look after you alright?