Human Rights Violation Hearings — Soweto — 1996-07-22

YASMINE SOOKA: I would like to now call the last witness for the day Mr Gabu Tugwana, a journalist to come forward to the stand please.  Mr Tugwana we would like to welcome you.  We are indeed grateful for your patience and for bearing with us.  We know that we have really spent an enormous amount of time with other witnesses and that you come at the end of the day.  We thank you for your patience.

GABU TUGWANA: (sworn states)

YASMINE SOOKA: I will now hand you over to Mr Hugh Lewin who will assist you in the leading of your evidence.

MR LEWIN: Which is a great pleasure for me Gabu, thank you.  We have come to the end of a very long day.  You have also submitted a very detailed report, statement to us.  I think if you could possibly bring us to the end of the session fairly briefly.  As an editor you know what it means to be chopped, so chop your time down from an editing point of view.  But there are two particular things.  We have heard today all sorts of stories about specific things, you have yet another.  We have heard about the green car, you have another specific incident to tell us about which I think is very important, plus you have some very specific recommendations to make to the Commission arising quite specifically out of the events of June 16.  So if I could leave it in your capable tight hands.  Thank you.

GABU TUGWANA: Thank you Commissioner.  As you said I will
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try to sum this up.  Should I go straight to the evidence without introducing myself if I may?  Thank you.
 I will start with the issue of the tensions between the hostel dwellers and the community at Mzimhlope, Killarney and Meadowlands, and then I'll go straight to the recommendations.  I think the turning point of the tension between the community and the hostel dwellers was triggered by, in part, the guarding of the Mzimhlope Hostel and of course the police who subsequently came there to speak to the hostel dwellers.  I was assigned to cover that story and I noticed police in a huge truck supplying bread and what appeared to be dagga.  I think it was dagga because of the manner in which it was being preferred, and also from the smell which came from there.  As journalists and travelling in a car we were able to come pretty closer to the situation and the wind was coming in our favour.  There were discussions which we couldn't hear because of a safe distance we wanted to keep.  Peter Makubane who I worked with at that time subsequently took pictures which were published by the Rand Daily Mail.  I think those pictures did appear in his book.
 After that the men left the hostel area, there were about 150.  At the time we popularly referred to them as an impi.  They were armed with all sorts of sharp instruments from bars to wooden sticks and also carrying shields.  They wore red bands on their heads.  They travelled through Mzimhlope, Orlando West, which is also known as Killarney, Pifeni and Dube where they ended at a hostel in Dube.  They were then joined by a group of hostel dwellers in Dube who appeared to have expected them.  After a short discussion they left the hostel, now with this new group at the hostel 
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and they were, they made war cries and trained their weapons as if ready to strike.  Township residents fled in all directions running away from them to the enjoyment of the laughing police.
 That night Mzimhlope, Meadowlands and Killarney families living adjacent to the hostel vacated their houses, carrying whatever they could including their children, to safer areas, deeper into Meadowlands and other townships.  Others sought refuge in Meadowlands Community Hall and at the police station.  
 On the night of August 24 I went home, of which my home is about 800 metres from Mzimhlope Hostel in Killarney.  I told them what I had witnessed and warned them that it appeared that there was an impending attack on the residents.  My mother and father who were then respectively aged 57 and 64 vowed to stay in the house rather than leaving the house to be looted.   I was very worried about their safety.  
 This also is a period when the notorious police, I think the engine size of that car was 3.8 or 4.1 Chevrolet green car which was shooting people at random, appeared.  Together with colleague Peter Makobane we followed this car at a distance and were able to record most of its activities.  
 Back to the issue of the mopping-up operation by hostel dwellers on August 24, I left home and returned near to Mzimhlope, Meadowlands, Killarney, "War zone".  It must have been after midnight when, together with photographer Khosini, who was then known as William Kosi we observed a group of hostel dwellers, behind them followed by the police, running amok towards houses in Mzimhlope.  Another 
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group took the direction towards Meadowlands Zone 1.  We then decided to drive away from the scene.  
 On the way I asked Khosini to drop me off at home.  He was reluctant and told me it would be too risky to be home in the light of the rampaging impi.  Finally he had no alternative to leave me home when I said I will probably work out a plan of hiding outside the house.  It was about 2:15 a.m., almost two hours after I had been dropped off home on August 25.  As I lay still inside our coal box I heard the shattering noise of breaking windows and screams.  There was a roaring sound of an armoured vehicle in the background.  Then I heard a voice through a loud hailer saying in Zulu, "We didn't order you to destroy the Municipality property".  At that stage the Municipality of course was the West Rand Administration Board.  It continued, "you were asked to fight people only, so you are asked to withdraw immediately".
 The way the Black speaker spoke his sentences suggested that he was interpreting someone's orders given in a different language.  Despite the call to the impi to withdraw I didn't feel safe and I continued to stay still in my hiding till sunrise.  I cautiously opened the box to peep and see if our house was damaged, but there was no such sign.  I then emerged and knocked at the door.  My father, apparently still reeling from the fear of the rampaging attackers last night, asked who I was. ..(tape ends)
... be prepared to be ready for Khosini to collect me.  It was just after 6 a.m. when he arrived. We then went to inspect the situation at Mzimhlope and Meadowlands.  I will never forget what we saw.  Houses with broken down doors and holes all over the frames.  Blood spots started from the 
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doors to outside where bodies were lying with gaping wounds on the head and face.  Stab wounds and hands raised in the form of surrendering.  They were dead.  We counted four bodies in Mzimhlope who we later identified as Eliot Dladla, Jacob Muthlame and Gauta Moralong whose ages ranged from 29 to 35.  
 I will then immediately switch over to the issue of a recommendation which I wanted to make, but if you will allow me can I give a background of why I am making the recommendation?

MR LEWIN: Please do so, yes, thank you.