Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1999-06-22

MS S H CELE: When I asked Nana what happened to them, she told me that they had been taken up to the hill and they were beaten up there and I asked Nana as to where the others were and she said she didn't know because when they came back from the hill they didn't come, all of them, the same time, they came one by one.  That's when I left.  I went home.
	On my way home I met my sister-in-law and she told me not to go home and I told her that I cannot go somewhere else, I have to go home because I have to look for other family members.
	Before I arrived at home I decided to go back and look for a car to take Ernest and Nana.  When I was at the bus stop, while waiting there, two kombis came.  They were full of people and the people were singing.  I think they were singing slogans, but at the time I didn't know that because I wasn't politically aware.  I couldn't understand what they were singing about.
	When they were at the bus stop they stopped there and the people got off the kombis.  The first person I saw and recognised from those people was Kwazi Hlongwane.  He had two five litres of petrol.  He was talking to these people and he was pointing at my place, saying "there is the house where we're supposed to burn, but first we should go and meet the others who are still at the hill."  When I turned ...(intervention)

MS THABETHE: Just hold it there.

MS S H CELE: I just turned back to hide my face, so that Kwazi couldn't recognise me or see me.  He went past, he didn't see me and the people who were with him, who alighted the kombis went with Kwazi.

MS THABETHE: Why didn't you want Kwazi to see you?

MS S H CELE: I knew that Kwazi may have or might want to assault me because my family members had been assaulted.  That is why I hid my face.  They went past me, they went straight to the hill.
	When they were going up the hill, I decided to go back home and look for the other children who were at home.  I ran.  I went home.  When I arrived at home, I found the children and I also found Bongani Zulu, who is my brother-in-law.  He was injured.  His muscles were out.
	I told Bongani to run away and he said to me he couldn't run away because he was injured and I said to him he must try.  I got inside the house as I looked for the children.  I met Nana at the gate.  She said she was going to fetch her laundry from the river.  I told Nana not to go because she was going to meet them, but she insisted and then she left.
	I went to various houses there at home.  I went also inside Bonny's house.  I heard someone crying, but I couldn't see the person who was crying.  The wardrobes were all down and the beds were upside down, everything was upside down.  
	I tried to look, I found Bonny under the bed.  He was naked.  He was also assaulted or sjamboked.  I pleaded with him to run away.  He said he couldn't because he was injured.  I told him that he must try because I've already seen Kwazi, and he had two five litres of petrol and he did say to those people that they were coming to burn down the houses.
	Then I tried to dress Bonny.  I put on a shirt on Bonny and a towel.  I didn't want them to recognise him.  I wanted to dress him like a lady, so that they don't recognise him.  And I told him to run away.  
	I took Zodwa's kid and Bonny's kid.  I was seven months pregnant with twins.  I took them with me to the sugar field.  That's when they came, many of them.  They were armed.  I cannot say what type of weapons they had, but the were armed.  
	When they arrived at home, we were now still in the sugar cane field nearby our home.  One could everything which was going on there.  I could hear people talking and they were asking each other that "brother's how can you play with us?"  If I think, I think there were the comrades from Madikwe asking the group from our area, they said "you had told us to come and clean this place, now where are those people?"  
	I could hear the doors breaking down, they were breaking down the doors, the windows.  That's when they started burning the house.  I could see the smoke from the sugar can field and females from across the river were shouting.  
	The only one that I saw and heard, it was Mrs Muandla.  We call her Mkazim.  She was shouting, telling them to hurry up and to burn the houses quicker and faster and she also said that after that they should come to the sugar cane field because there were people hiding in the sugar cane filed.  That's when I told my brother that we should leave the sugar cane field, because also the smoke was getting heavier.  We started running away towards the Khanu's place.  
	Bongumusa Roy Cele shouted.  I could hear his voice because he is my brother, he's my father's son.  And he said "there's the bitch from the family" and he said that I was trying to hide from the banana field.  And it was true, I ran towards the direction of the banana field.  When I arrived there, I arrived at the Khuzwayo's kraal and I found the people there, sitting inside the house and I just got inside the house, I threw Zodwa's kid.  I don't know who caught the kid.

MS THABETHE: Thank you, Ms Cele.  Now let's come to the 28th of December.  Can you tell us what you did then?

CHAIRPERSON: In relation to what, Ms Thabethe?  What did she do in relation to what?  We know on the 28th of December, that's when Amos Cele was killed, so what is it that you want her to give evidence on?

MS THABETHE: Okay.  Before Amos Cele was killed, can you tell us what happened before then?
	I'm indebted to you, Madam Chair.

MS S H CELE: On that day when they wanted to kill us we ran away, we slept at our relatives.  The next day I went to the police ...(intervention)

CHAIRPERSON: I would like to disturb you there.  Ms Thabethe is asking you a question whereby you can give evidence about what happened on the 28th of December.

MS S H CELE: I thought I was getting there.

CHAIRPERSON: No, I thought you were referring to what happened on the 26th, after the 25th incident ...(intervention)

MS THABETHE: Sorry, Madam Chair, can I just explain.  She's talking about after the 26th, that on the 27th she went - because I asked what happened before Amos Cele was killed.  I wanted her to relate to that.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.  Is there any relevance to that, which will lead to the killing of Amos Cele?

MS THABETHE: I think so, Madam Chair, yes.
	You were still saying you went to the police, can you proceed from there.