Amnesty Hearings — Palm Ridge — 1998-11-23

SALLY SEALEY: That is correct.  There was also, for example in Penduka section, that's the area nearest the hostel, there were some residents within those, in that particular section that also supported the IFP and it's those residents with the help of the hostel residents, which began what's been termed the colonisation of Penduka, and it's those people for example that sent letters.
	In fact what used to happen is you used to get a little letter under your door: "We would like your house" and residents living in the area knew exactly what that meant and they would immediately move out.  It's only towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year that the original residents of those homes have been allowed to go back home.  All these years they have been kicked out of their homes.  And this happened on both sides of the political divide.  
	In regards to the forced colonisation there was a problem with the police at that time as well because instead of protecting the people in their homes they in actual fact escorted the residents out of the area, so they didn't provide adequate protection.

CHAIRPERSON: Was the result of this so-called colonisation that the bulk of Penduka then became ostensible IFP supporters?

SALLY SEALEY: Ja, up to a certain street it was definitely.  I can't quite recall the streets now but there was a particular area that then - in fact a number of those house were also destroyed so that nobody could actually live there at all, and also furniture and all sorts of things were looted.
	I do recall in 1993, that the Independent Board of Inquiry called a meeting of all victims and there was over 500 people at the meeting.  The sad thing was that the vast majority of those people were old folks that had been living in those houses for 30/40 years in some cases and they had been forced to flee.
	Basically, after they had been forced to flee they left the youth of the township, and particularly in that Penduka area the SDUs are particularly young you know, ranging in age from 14, 15, 16, 17, very young SDU members who were actually left behind to defend whatever was left of the area.

CHAIRPERSON: Just to get an idea, was the most part or the biggest part of Penduka, the residential area, still being occupied by people?

SALLY SEALEY: Ja, basically what's happened now, it's now occupied yes, people have gone back to their homes.

CHAIRPERSON: But at that stage, at the time of this colonisation?

SALLY SEALEY: No, most of the houses were empty, people just left and the houses were destroyed.  Those areas that were closer to the hostel, the IFP then took over those houses and lived in those houses but those that were sort of closer - the houses that were closer to Buthelezi Street, which is coming into the township into the ANC supporting area, those remained, people remained in those houses but there was an intervening stretch where most of those houses were actually empty.

CHAIRPERSON: If you can perhaps just give an idea, what sort of portion of the residential area after this colonisation was occupied by IFP supporting people?

SALLY SEALEY: I'd say about 50%.

CHAIRPERSON: And apart from this particular area here, Penduka, was the rest of the residential area perceived to be ANC supporting?

SALLY SEALEY: Yes, except there were also problems down at Extension 2 Unit F, that's the area that faced onto the Booiefuti hostel.  There again there were attempts to, in fact their houses were actually destroyed, nobody actually, they weren't colonised or anything like that, they were actually destroyed by various attacks.  So those were the two areas that were very close to the hostels.  The rest of the township was perceived as being ANC supporting.

CHAIRPERSON: From the investigation and the research that you done, were there any attacks that were launched on these hostels, the IFP hostels as such?

SALLY SEALEY: Ja, there were attacks on the IFP hostels.  For example, there was an incident where a rocket of some sort was fired into the hostel.  As I understand it nobody was injured in that incident but the property, the hostel walls were actually destroyed.

CHAIRPERSON: I don't know if it's possible but where was most of the fighting going on, was it in the residential area or was it around the hostels, in attacks upon the hostels or what?  Is there any idea ...(indistinct)?

SALLY SEALEY: I would say most of the fighting was taking place - originally in 1990 when you had these mass attacks by men wearing these red headbands and identified as IFP impies, for want of a better word, that's what they were called at the time, the attacks took place around the Polla Park/Beirut area but subsequent to that, from 1991 onwards, the areas like Penduka and Mandela Section which was also very near the hostel were subject to attack.
	Most of the attacks occurred within the township itself, within the residential area, not at the hostel as such.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Mr Sibeko, have you got any re-examination?

MR SIBEKO: None Mr Chairman, thank you.
NO RE-EXAMINATION BY MR SIBEKO

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Would you like Miss Sealey to be excused?

MR SIBEKO: That's correct, Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: Miss Sealey, thank you very much for coming, you've excused from further attendance.  Of course it's a public hearing so if you want to listen you are free to listen.
	One other thing, I see that you've read from notes that you have prepared. It would assist us if it's possible to for us to get a copy of that for our purposes but our staff can make the necessary arrangements with you.  Thank you very much.
WITNESS SEALEY EXCUSED