Human Rights Violation Hearings — Johannesburg — 1996-04-29

MS MTHEMBU: I am Sarah Mthembu from Alexandra 731.  I heard about the Truth Commission and I decided to come.  In 1986 I have a son and sent him to buy bread, it was during the violence.  Well he went to buy bread.  He left at about ten to go and get bread.  At 11, 11:30 somebody came to my house hiding a hat behind and he went to Mayekiso to tell Mayekiso that Jerry has been shot.  And Mayekiso came to my house and we went in and they said to me Sarah don't mind, be strong, and they said to me Jerry is shot.  He was shot at no.50 at seven.  Well I was really disturbed but they really encouraged me.  We went to the hospital.  John Grant  who stays opposite to me took them with his car.
 Maria came and said "where is Jerry?", and I said I don't know.  She calls me Raghadi and she said I saw Jerry in the ambulance.  I saw him through his fingers.  He is shot.  Well it was spread around that Jerry has been shot.  Well we followed the ambulance searching for Jerry but we couldn't find him.  It was the first day, the second day searching for Jerry together with Mayekiso, and the fourth day we found him in the mortuary. It was through Maria that we found him in the mortuary because Maria went to the mortuary and they said well, there is a group that arrived this morning, wait you will search for him there.  Well Maria went into the mortuary having a look at all the 
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corpses and she noted all of them down.  Well the last load she could identify Jerry, and she said there's Jerry, and they said no, step in and identify him.  Well she was now weak, she couldn't do anything, but she tried and she said yes, this Jerry.  She came back to me and said yes, that's Jerry.
 Well during that time they fetched me from Khotso House.  While she identified him I was also there and then we were - I was again disturbed.  We asked one of the employees at the government mortuary said this boy arrived this morning and he was still very warm.  Well they took me with Moss' car, Rapalayane and they took me to my home.  I found my sister-in-law there and they asked me is it true that he is dead, and I said yes.
 After that there was never life.  The Boers were now coming and they said to me we want Maria.  I said Maria is here.  She is sitting on the mattress.  And there's Jerry's twin Rosina.  Well the soldiers came in as well and they said we want Maria, and Maria said to them you killed Jerry now what do you want with Maria?  Well I came out and said to them what do you want?  They said we want Maria.   Well they left.  I was left with the people in the house and I was just asking myself what happened.  They killed Jerry, what do they want now.  The other Boers came and they said we didn't want to kill Jerry, the person we want dead is Maria actually.  Now Jerry is dead what do you want?  And they said to me there's nothing we can do, we didn't want Jerry, in actual fact we wanted Maria.  
 Well they left and they came back again.  I was with Maria in the house with other people and they said again where is Maria and I said no she's not here.   They said we 
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wanted to kill her.  I said Maria come.  I said to them kill her, shoot her.  They said no we don't to shoot her here we want to get her in the street.  Maria was crying, she was standing against the wall.  Well they left the house.
 My sister left to go and find information about Jerry's clothes, they said no they don't know where his clothes are.  You know every time the police would come threatening us and they came again and they said where's Maria?  They said to me, you know what Sarah we are going to kill you all because you don't want to listen.  Your son is dead and you are now busy with the comrades and they are always occupying your house.
 At the very same time we formed a people's court.  It was in the garage, I had a garage and a people's court was conducted there.  And they said every time the comrades are full here we are going to kill you.  You know I was sitting on the mattress at that time.  The comrades were coming in you know telling me you are a woman, be strong, this is a struggle, and I was strong.  I was energetic.   They said if I agree that I bury my son apart they would let him go, but if I don't want to agree they will keep him.  I said I don't care I want my son to be buried with all the children who were dead.  They left.  
 They came back, I think it was a month.  They were buried on the 17th of March.  The police even on that day came in and out searching for Maria.  They wanted Maria and they spoke to her.  It was a Black man.   He gave Maria landmines.   You know we were not yet through with the burial.  They took the landmines.  This young man said they killed your brother, what can we do with these?  He said well we can go and bomb the White creches.  They said no 
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this is a police trap.  They said Maria don't put these things into the house.  
 They were no tarred roads in our township and they took all those landmines into a furrow and they said Maria should put them there.  The next morning they will have to take the landmines and take them to Priscilla.  Well Maria will tell the story what happened.
 Well we buried our son.  There were threats from the police.  I didn't know what to do, you know I was lifeless.  Mayekiso during that time was detained.  I couldn't go anywhere, I didn't know what to do.  I think I can stop there.  
 Well we buried my son and after that my house was bombed and I lost my house.  I struggled, I remember very well I was staying with friends, with my children, I didn't know where Maria was.  I didn't know where the other twin was.  Every time I go to a place the police would be informed and I would move from one place to another.  I went to Mr Tutu and stayed there.  One woman referred me to him.  There was information leaking that the police know that I am staying with that women and she took me to Ndada Tutu.  I didn't have any place to stay after Mr Tutu left Gauteng.  I suffered a lot.  I was called a spy.  Some of my comrades were calling me a spy.  I didn't know where to go.  My life was just a misery.  Even today I am still called a spy.  I am called an informer.  I am called a Marxist.  Even to this day those are names ascribed to me.  You know my leaders, my comrades are calling me a Marxist, a spy, even to this day,  that hurts me most.  I don't know what to do.  I don't know how can I reveal the truth that I am not a spy.  
 I think I can just end there.
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DR BORAINE: I just have a few questions just to help me understand what happened on that day.  It was in 1986, is that right, it was in Alexandra, it was at no. 50 7th Avenue.

MS MTHEMBU: That's where they killed Jerry, that's where they shot him.  It's no.50 7th Avenue, that's where he was shot.

DR BORAINE: How old was your son?

MS MTHEMBU: He was 16 years.

DR BORAINE: He was standing with somebody there when he was shot or was he standing on his own?

MS MTHEMBU: He was together with a girl who stays at 6, no.48.

DR BORAINE: ...from?

MS MTHEMBU: The way this girl told us she said it was a hippo and a White policeman jumped off the hippo and shot him.

DR BORAINE: Did you ever find out what the registration number of the hippo was?

MS MTHEMBU: No we couldn't find the registration, but the hippo that - the registration that I have it's when we were attacked I took the hippo's registration.

DR BORAINE: Okay, and we've got that, yes.  Can you remember the name of the young woman that he was with when he was shot, the young girl that he was standing, told you the story?

MS MTHEMBU: Yes I know her name, but I think I submitted her name and the telephone numbers in the - I think they are all in the statement.