Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-29

WITNESS:   I am not sure because I was not there.

MR LAX: Okay, we can investigate that further for you.  Now, with regard to your house, you've told us that there are some people who are living in your house.

WITNESS:   That is correct.  They have been staying there all those years.

MR LAX: Do you know who gave them permission to stay there?

WITNESS:   I don't know, but I hear rumours that - no, I did not hear rumours, but I was told by the police who were investigating the case that when they went there, thinking that I was still staying there, they were told by the occupants that they were put by Mr Mkhize, who was a councillor and my neighbour as well.

MR LAX: This Mr Mkhize was involved in some harassment of your family before this massacre.

WITNESS:   Before the massacre.  I think it was in December.  It was towards Christmas.  It was in 1987.  A youth was shot from the Mkhize family.  Not Mkhize my neighbour, but another Mkhize within the area.

MR LAX: You told us in your statement that his name was Thulani Mkhize.  Do you confirm that?

WITNESS:   That is correct.  On the very same day in the morning - excuse me, it was in the evening, because I remember my husband was working night shift.  Mkhize, my neighbour, came to me and he said he had come to tell me that Victor had looked at him - had looked down upon him, and the people around looked at Mr Mkhize, and when he dies he will know that we were involved in his killing.  I told him that, "Victor was only a child and you are an elderly person.  Whenever something happens you should come and approach us as parents, and we should call victor."  He said he is not going to discuss the matter any further because he had gone to report to Nyosi.  But this came as a surprise to me as to why he had not gone to the police, but he had gone to Mr Nyosi.  And he went out at that time.

MR LAX: Who was Mr Nyosi?

WITNESS:   Nyosi was a leader of Inkatha in that region, but I do not know what position he held within the Inkatha.

MR LAX: Mbusi has a story to tell us about his own situation with Mr Mkhize, and we will come to that shortly, so if we don't dwell on that for the moment.  Now, you've told us that Victor had had some troubles previously when all this harassment happened.  He had to stop his schooling.  He then continued his schooling, and by the time he was shot he had got his matric.  Do you confirm that?

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: Now, what was he doing after he'd got his matric and before the time that he was killed?  What was he doing?

WITNESS:   He told me that he had been given some equipment so that he could type.  He had been given a typing machine, and he was going to start working ... (incomplete - end of side A)

MBUSI NTULI: (Previously sworn, States)   (Through Interpreter)

MR LAX: Thank you.  If we could move to you, Mbusi, and if you could just briefly tell us - time is quite short, and we still have a lot of people to get through.  If you could briefly tell us about what had happened between yourself and Mr Mkhize, and as far as we can see it started in December 1986.  You confirm that?

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: You've indicated that there were two groups in that area.  There were the people from Nyosi area, and there were the people from Section 18, or 18 Section, as it was called.  Now, the Nyosi people were IFP people.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: The Section 18 people were predominantly UDF.

WITNESS:  No, that was not it.  The Inkatha Freedom Party felt that all the members of the football club were members of the UDF because they were youths.  We were youths and members of a certain football club.  Most of the members in the football club were UDF members, so probably they took it that all of us were UDF members.  At some stage we went on a camp because we were going to play football on the following day.  We had a tournament.  We went to camp.  As I have already said that Mkhize had realised that everybody who belonged to the 18 Football Club was a UDF activist.  We went to the camp, and at night whilst we were still sleeping we heard some noise outside, and when we woke up they were breaking the windows.  And they continued breaking the windows and they gained entry through the kitchen.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... sleeping.

WITNESS:   We were inside the house.

MR LAX: Which house was this?

WITNESS:   It's a certain house called izimpohleni.  It's a bachelors' residence.

MR LAX: Is it a hostel?