Human Rights Violation Hearings — East London — 1996-04-16

NTSEBEZA: Before I hand over to Dr Boraine, there is a request here.  Some people 
take these things home with them.  I know they are not doing that deliberately it's just a 
mistake, if you go home with this equipment, it's not going to help you in any way.  If you 
mistakenly take it, please bring it back, so that they can charge it over night for further 
use.  I know that we understand each other.

DR BORAINE: As was announced earlier, there are three witnesses who will take the 
stand together, and I'm going to call out their names and ask them if they will please come 
and take up their seats.  Mrs Nomonde Calata, Mrs Sendiswa Mkhonto, Mrs Nombuyiselo 
Mhlawuli.  I will speak to each of you individually in order to start the proceedings, and 
Mrs Calata, would you stand please?

NOMONDE CALATA: (sworn states)

SANDISWA MKHONTO: (sworn states)

NOMBUYISELO MHLAWULI: (sworn states)

DR BORAINE: I understand that a request was made by Mrs Goniwe to hold over her 
evidence until tomorrow, and we are respect that, but we are very grateful that you have  
EAST LONDON  HEARING TRC/

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NOMONDE CALATA: joined the other three because you belong together, as we all know. The 27th of June 1985 
is a day which will be indelibly printed in your minds and in your hearts and in the minds 
of many, many thousands and hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa.  Many 
people within this hall and many of us sitting at this table knew your husbands well. We 
had met them, we had worked with them and like you we heard with horror of the 
gruesome killing of those four, the Cradock Four.  One of the reasons why we started the 
hearings in the Eastern Cape, was because of the terrible oppression that has taken place in 
this part of South Africa, and we thought, instead of starting in one of the big cities, as so 
many other things are, it was right to start here.  And you know as well as I do and as the 
Commission knows, that everybody who comes to this Commission is as important as 
anyone else. Everyone who has suffered is a sufferer, you have come together and you 
will be answering questions about something that was very very painful for you.  We're 
hoping very much that you will find this experience helpful and healing and in the end 
will enable the Commission to be of some service to you as well.  Mr John Smith will lead 
the questions and I'm going to hand over to him now. Thank you so much for coming.

MR SMITH: Thank you Mr Chairman.  Good morning Mrs Calata, how are you?

NOMONDE CALATA: Good morning Mr Smith. Fine thank you, and you?

MR SMITH: Mrs Calata, I've got a copy of a statement which you have made and I've 
also consulted with you at length, we have spoken about this matter.  So I'm going to be 
asking you questions and trying to get some of the important issues
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NOMONDE CALATA: out in leading you.  But I want you to feel relaxed and if there's anything you want to add, 
to what you're going to say, please feel free at any time. If you should leave out anything 
which is important I will alert you to it, so don't feel nervous about it at all. Okay? Thank 
you.
 Maybe we should start off by asking you to introduce yourself to the Commission 
here, tell us who you are and where you're from.

NOMONDE CALATA: I am Nomonde Calata, a wife to the late Fort Calata.  My birthplace is 
in Cradock, I met Fort in 1974 there in Cradock.  Unfortunately we had child 
unexpectedly and this child was unplanned, but we got married in 1980 and were blessed 
with two children. The eldest is Dorothy, she'll be 21 very soon.  We have Lukanyo, he is 
14 years old, Thomani is going to be 11 on the 8th of August 1996.

MR SMITH: To correct you, you also have a third child. Your third child is 10 years old, 
is that right?

NOMONDE CALATA: Yes Thomani.

MR SMITH: Thomani.  Thomani was born immediately after the funeral of your 
husband, is that right?

NOMONDE CALATA: Right.

MR SMITH: What are your children doing at the moment?

NOMONDE CALATA: Lukanyo is at Adlidge Gymnasium doing standard 7, Thomani is in 
Cradock Primary doing Standard 3.

MR SMITH: Thank you, now your husband Fort Calata has had quite a strong 
background in his family in so far as politics is concerned, is that right?  Would you like to 
tell the Commission about it?

NOMONDE CALATA: The grandfather to Fort was a general secretary to the ANC 
organisation during the treason trial. 
Fort was born during that period. This name Fort was given EAST LONDON

HEARING: TRC/

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NOMONDE CALATA: by the grandmother, because she used to pay visits during the trial and she informed the  
grandfather that there is a child and he was named Fort, because at the time that he, the 
grandfather was at the Fort Prison.

MR SMITH: When you got married to Fort in 1980, was he involved in politics?

NOMONDE CALATA: In 1976 he was involved because it was the time of the struggle.  
Everybody was conscious now.  During the time when he was at school, he typed a letter 
to the municipality in Cradock, trying to inform them about the way in which they were 
overworked, the streets were dirty and also how they used to carry on with the bucket 
system. He was detained for this involvement and for this explanation and then he was 
cross-questioned and why he wrote these letters, which he wrote anonymously, but they 
could traced that he was the source of these letters.

MR SMITH: At this stage, is it correct that at some stage you were living in Dimbasa 
and Fort was teaching there?

NOMONDE CALATA: Yes he started teaching in Dimbasa, in 1979 an din 1980.  Before our 
marriage he was detained in Dimbasa for three weeks.  After he was released from 
detention, I cannot remember very well, under which section he was detained, but he was 
on his way to school in the morning, thereafter he was released for a few months and then 
we got married in October 1980.  He ...(intervention)

MR SMITH: Back to Cradock at that stage?

NOMONDE CALATA: No I didn't stay with him in Dibasa, I was still in Dimbasa and he was 
the only one who was teaching in Dimbasa, so that is why he requested that he should be
back to ...(intervention)

MR SMITH: In Cradock.
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NOMONDE CALATA: Yes he get a transfer in Cradock.

MR SMITH: In 1983 you related a story that he came back from school one day and he 
was very happy about a particular teacher that he met.

NOMONDE CALATA: Yes he came back in 1983, he told us that there was a new teacher at 
school and he loves this teacher very much. They are communicating very well and they 
share the same interests.  I was also interested about this teacher and then one morning 
when I was going on duty this teacher came to visit us.  He introduced him as Matthew 
Goniwe.  He and Fort then became friends thereafter.

MR SMITH: Yes they started to be friends ever since.  At that moment there were some 
houses that were being built there in Cradock, so we decide to get one of the houses and 
then we took it as accommodation. There was a sliding scale and rentals were charged 
according to earnings and it ranged from R24.99 to R89. Because my husband was a 
teacher he paid the R89.  The community of Cradock felt that this was too much for them, 
because it is a small place and the people were not earning much, even if they were 
employed.  So they decided to put this and present it to all the teachers there in Cradock, 
and tried to request them  if they could  assist in trying to negotiate for a reduction of the 
rentals.
 Then a meeting was organised to discuss this issue. that is where the committee 
was elected which was going to handle all this and Matthew was the chairperson of this 
Committee and Fort was a treasurer.  There were also other members.

MR SMITH: You're referring to the formation of Cradora?