Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

MRS GCABASHE: You've already pointed out that you wanted to get your house back.  Is there anything else that you want the Commission to do for you?

WITNESS:   If the Commission would be able - I have never been to my grandfather's grave.  I could not go there because they wanted to kill me there. And some of them are now in prominent positions, they are in Government positions, but they are the killers who were involved in eradicating some members of the community.  And some of the people who were involved in those killings still have inherent powers even presently.  So I would like this Commission to collect all those people to come forward and tell the Commission, as well as the whole world, as to why they wanted to kill me.  And I want justice to be done, because at that time the law was on their side.  Now I want the law to be on my side.

MRS GCABASHE: You have already told us your pathetic story.  This story is very much similar to others that were brought before this Commission.  We shall take your requests and file them in a report and pass them to the State President for his resolution or decision.  I shall hand over to the Chairman.

MRS GCABASHE: We have a problem in that we are running out of time.  There's a lot of things that we wanted to ask to clarify certain issues and to reveal the truth.  Can you tell us about one of the people who are now occupying high positions who was involved in the killings?

WITNESS:   Yes, I do know of one, especially the chief, Chief Nxumalo.  He was one of the killers at that time.  They were planning strategies at the chief's house as to how they were going to attack the members of the community.  His name is Mhlabunzima Luthuli - Mhlabunzima Muthuli.

MRS GCABASHE: Now what about Ngcobo, where is she now?

WITNESS:   She is staying at Extension C, where I was evicted by the thugs.

MRS GCABASHE: What was your house number?

WITNESS:   I do have the title deed.  The number is there.  It was 192 at Ntuzuma.  My house was at Ntuzuma.  They called it Extension C.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible) ... Self-Protection Units and Self-Defence Units, and there's no doubt that if we lived in a normal society these organisations would never have arisen, and you would not have found yourself in the position that you are today.  As we heard earlier on, Self-Defence Units were set up because communities which were oriented towards the UDF and the ANC were under continuous attack from the police and members of the IFP, and they set up defensive structures in order to defend those communities.  However, it was inevitable that these structures would soon become uncontrollable, and that the members would start committing serious crimes themselves, and that's exactly what happened, and they became little more than vigilante groups.  And with regard to the Self-Protection Units, there doesn't seem to be much evidence that they were ever intended to be protective or defensive.  In fact these people were sent on military training, which was paid for by the KwaZulu Government and the South African Defence Force, and they were always intended to have a very offensive capacity.  There is no place for these sorts of organisations in this country today, in our new democracy, and we have to ensure that we insist on the building up of a proper, professional police force that will defend every citizen of this country, otherwise the sort of situation that you have described will happen again.  So, no matter whether it's SDUs or SPUs, or PAGAD from the Western Cape, we don't have a place for these sorts of institutions in our society.  As Mrs Gcabashe has said, we are not in a position to assist you directly.  We've heard how you have suffered, how you have lost your house, but we will be making recommendations to the Government as to how you, and other people like you, should be assisted.  So we thank you for coming in today and telling us your story.  Thank you very much.

COMMISSIONER: Good afternoon, Mrs Khumalo.  We welcome you here today.  You are from Umlazi township, and you will tell us today about the death of your son, Mfanafuthi Khumalo.  Now, you are here today with someone on the stage.  Who is that with you?

MRS KHUMALO: It's Mafuthi Khumalo.

COMMISSIONER: Is that a relative?

MRS KHUMALO: My son.

COMMISSIONER: That's your son.  I see.  Oh, sorry, it was - your son didn't die, Mfanafuthi, he was shot by the police.  Now, before you tell us that story can you please stand and take the oath.

THERESA KHUMALO: (Sworn, States)   (Through Interpreter)

COMMISSIONER: Just briefly some background about your family.  Do you have more than one son?  This is your son with you here, Mfanafuthi.  How many children do you have?

WITNESS:   I have six.

COMMISSIONER: What is the age of Mfanafuthi?  What is his ... (incomplete)

WITNESS:   21.

COMMISSIONER: And the others, are they older or younger than him?  Are they all younger?

WITNESS:   This is the second one.  My first one was killed in 1990.  This is the second-born.

COMMISSIONER: Are you working at the moment, Mrs Khumalo?

WITNESS:   I am not working.  I am self-employed.

COMMISSIONER: Could you tell us about the shooting of your son, and just give us some background as to what happened prior to his shooting.  You said that from 1991 to 1993 he was continuously harassed by the - victimised by the police.  Could you just tell us what happened leading up to his shooting.