Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

WITNESS:   It's Busiso Xaba.  Now my life was becoming even more unbearable.  My wife was working in Durban during those years.  She was working at Dalbridge, and she used to travel to and fro in the morning and come back in the evening.  There's a place called Three Line, and that place is an Inkatha stronghold, and when we wake up in the morning we never used to switch on the light so that people wouldn't realise that we were already awake.  So we lived that life where we were being raided day in and day out.  We reported the matter to the police station, but absolutely nothing was done.  The police just didn't care, and Smit showed some signs of siding with the Inkatha in Hammarsdale.  When we formed this union I told him that I wasn't going to bribe him, I wasn't going to offer him any money.  Then he told me in court - I told him in court that I wasn't going to bribe him.  Then in 1988, on the 25th of August, that is when my wife died.  She was shot along her way to the work.  We were very confused.  We didn't know who had killed her.  Up until now we didn't know.  It's only recently that we heard the matter.  She was working at a certain firm in Dalbridge.  It was a very small firm.  Now when the case was being heard in Makhutha that's when we discovered that my wife was killed - even today our family is split into two because there was always that question mark as to who killed my wife.  Now in 1989 we discovered that she was killed by the Inkatha gang, that is Musa Xulu.  That's only then that we discovered.  We were told by a certain man.  She was killed by Alexis Khumalo and Musa Xulu.   Musa Xulu is a KwaZulu-Natal Police.  He is in Umlazi, but he stays in Hammarsdale.  Khumalo is very well known.  He's the main witness in the KwaMakhutha case.  They were the ones who told us, and we even saw in the newspapers that she was shot because she was giving UDF arms.  Yes, they said my wife was giving arms to the UDF.  In reality they wanted to kill me and my son, but they just could not, so that's how they decided to kill my wife.  That's how she died.  She wasn't politically active.  She was the easy target for them to get.  In the end they decided to kill her.  That was to get at me.  They had to use her as a soft target.  I could not get a licence, because I also wanted to get a firearm to protect myself.  We applied to Adriaan Vlok, but we were refused licences.  They said we must apply to Kleynhans, but they could not give us any reasons why they didn't want to give me a firearm licence at that time.  Up until now I have never got a licence.

UNKNOWN: Who are the attorneys you were working with to get the licence?

WITNESS:   I am not sure who they were.  They were Indian guys.  The even instituted an appeal.  We appealed to Vlok, but still he refused, and I realised that it was the station commander who was actually refusing, because he was also an Inkatha member.  His name was Smit.  We used to hate each other so very much.

UNKNOWN: How was your wife's funeral?

WITNESS:   I was born in Harrismith, so it was not easy for us to get a place to bury her in Hammarsdale.  We discussed it with the family that we should get another place at which to bury my wife, so we went to Ladysmith.  We hired two buses.  We hired a hearse from Harrismith to come and fetch her.  Then we followed in a kombi and two buses came thereafter, because we couldn't bury her at Hammarsdale because it was an Inkatha stronghold.

UNKNOWN: Did you get the death certificate?

WITNESS:   No, it's a temporary one.  We didn't get the original copy.  It's a provisional one.

UNKNOWN: Was there any inquest held with regard to her death?

WITNESS:   No.  A detective came.  He took a statement.  He also took the empty cartridges.  Up to now there's absolutely nothing he did with the case.  I wasn't even called.

UNKNOWN: What was the name of the detective?

WITNESS:   It was Solomon Mkhize.

UNKNOWN: Where does he stay?

WITNESS:   He's my neighbour.  He's living in third house from my own place.  I have just bought his brother's house.  But now he is on pension.

UNKNOWN: Have you ever talked and asked him as to why the case didn't go any further?

WITNESS:   No, we've never spoken about that.

UNKNOWN: Are you in good terms?

WITNESS:   Yes, we are.

UNKNOWN: To which political organisation does he belong?

WITNESS:   We are in the same political organisation.

UNKNOWN: In your family now there's only the two of you, that is you and your son.

WITNESS:   Yes, besides the children that my wife got before we got married.

UNKNOWN: Do you have diseases, either physical or emotional, as a result of your wife's death?  Have you ever seen any doctors?

WITNESS:   I am not working.  I was working before, but my firm closed.  They said I must join Inkatha, and they ultimately chased me out of the firm because I didn't want to join Inkatha.  My son is at school.  He is doing a teacher's course.

UNKNOWN: Who is educating him because you are not working?

WITNESS:   I think he can explain it himself.  I don't want to lie.  I don't know anything about it.

UNKNOWN: Who is educating you?

WITNESS:   I am trying my own means.  I think it's due to good relationships that I have with people.  I am Umbumbulu College.

UNKNOWN: What year are you doing?

WITNESS:   I am doing my last year, my final year.

UNKNOWN: Are you going to start teaching next year?

WITNESS:   I think so.

UNKNOWN: We wish you all the luck.

UNKNOWN: We've heard, Mr Xaba.  We shall look into your matter, especially because you were harassed, traumatised, and your wife eventually died.  We suggest that you see some psychiatrist or psychologist.

WITNESS:   Now this thing doesn't come to an end.  Now I got work in 1993 and they still approached me that I must join Inkatha, and when I refused still I was chased away from my work.  Now I don't know what to do any more, because it seems this thing is continuing.  The name of the firm is Mediterranean Textile Mills.  That firm is being controlled by Inkatha.  When they chased me I was approached by my foreman, and my foreman said I must join Inkatha and bring a receipt that I have paid my joining fee.  The name of the foreman is Zachariah Ndlovu, and the other one is Vincent Mkhize.  Both of them are Inkatha members.  They said - the two of them approached me, they said I must join Inkatha.  One is a the foreman, the other one was working at the canteen, but he is an Inkatha member, he's a staunch member.

UNKNOWN: Where are they staying?

WITNESS:   One is staying at One North(?).  I am not sure about his address, but I know where he stays.  One of them is at Mpumalanga, the other one is at Zwathini.  Vincent Mkhize is at Mpumalanga.

UNKNOWN: Is there anything that you want to say?

WITNESS:   Now this disturbed me, and I instituted appeal proceedings and I was called back at work.  Now they said because I had not joined Inkatha I ended up seeing a certain letter written.  The last time they said I was the one who had written the letter, but I could see that I was being planted simply because I didn't want to join Inkatha.  Now that's the problem I have, because I want the law to take its course.  I want the law to intervene in this matter, the manner in which my wife was killed as well as the manner in which I am being handled when I look for work.  I request this Commission to do something which is going to lead to the review of our present law.  We want our law to take its course.  We want culprits to be prosecuted, to be brought to trial, and eventually punished for whatever they do.

MR LYSTER: Mr Xaba, is there anything that you wish to add to what your father has said?  Sorry, there's no translation.