Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-05-10

WITNESS:   Yes, thank you very much for the establishment of such a thing while I'm still alive.  I've always prayed and I've always wished that I should not die before I know the truth that can be known by the whole world, because we women, once your husband died you, people sort of start to suspect you and speculate that it was you, but this Truth Commission it's like the blood that's coming to wash and cleanse us.  What I really do wish is that this person who's affected, who was not arrested, even if these things were revealed about him, we want to know what did he want.  What did he want to get from my husband for him to choose to hire people with such little money to go and kill a person, but which meant so much to us?  Why did they remove him from this earth before his time?  Why did they kill him?  What had he done for him to hire people such little money to kill him?  If the Commission could assist us so that he can come forward here and say why did he hire people, because even though they've arrested this other person who had pointed him out there are those who say they took the undertaker's car and put it by the car and asked the people to go and check if he was there to kill him.  But

MRS GCABASHE: /why did he

MRS GCABASHE: 18A/2 why did he do such a thing, because these boys - there are older men who are really younger than these men and also that the Commission and that our business, that since this business died they are not going very well since he died, because if you are a woman you are - because when you are a wife your husband is always doing all the things I heard and he had not planned anything, but now you suddenly find yourself in big difficulties because he had not prepared for this and that you cannot educate your children and you would hope that if at least he had had an opportunity to educate these children, because now I'm not in a position to educate my children and they must get loans or I must sign for loans and then I get arrested if I don't pay back.  If they can really help - I don't know how the Commission could assist me.

MRS GCABASHE: We thank you.  If I can go back to this undertaker's car, were you able to establish whose car it was, this undertaker's car that they came on?

WITNESS:   It is difficult for me to talk about this undertaker's car, because it's just been revealed in the last few weeks from this person who has exposed all these things, that he was there when they killed him and also that they used the undertaker's car, but I don't even know who had authorised the undertaker's car to come and bring in people to assassinate and kill.  I don't know from what undertaker this car came from.

MRS GCABASHE: /I don't know,

MRS GCABASHE: 18A/4 I don't know, Hopewell, if you've got something else you would like to add from what your Mom has said.

WITNESS:  What we would really wish and what we are expecting that the Commission could do for us, we would like to say, although we are not speaking on behalf of the whole family, that it is clear that many people who come from different families were victimised, especially the women and children do need assistance, that they can adjust to their situation that they are in now.  That we also do know that the financial assistance might not bring back the person and will never close the gap in our hearts about our loved ones who were killed in this way, but we would really like the Commission to assist other people who lost their breadwinners in their families and then also assist them with opportunities so that they can be independent and stand on their own.  We also do think that the Commission is here and that those whom we lost were the foundation of the new South Africa that we are on now.  We do really like the Commission to strengthen the human rights programme of our new Government that is existing at the present moment, so that the foundation that has built and our families died for must not be in vain.

MRS GCABASHE: We thank you greatly for coming here to expose yourself in front of this Commission.  We hope that there will be some way that could assist you and to heal your wounds.  I will now hand over to the Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Any questions?  Dr Mgojo.
/DR MGOJO
18A/6

KHOZA MGOJO: It's a very short question.  The second wife you were with, where is she now?

WITNESS:   Yes, she is here among us.  Yes, she is here.  She's in front.

KHOZA MGOJO: Has she also got children who are at school?

WITNESS:  Yes.

KHOZA MGOJO: And her children are much younger?

WITNESS:   Yes, her children are very much younger.

KHOZA MGOJO: And yours that are still at school, all of them are still at school?

WITNESS:   Yes.

KHOZA MGOJO: I felt very touch when you said he educated other children while he was still alive, but yours you cannot educate now.  If we could get details, we need full information about the children that are still at school, including the other deceased wife.

WITNESS:   Yes.

KHOZA MGOJO: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Dr Magwaza.

DR MAGWAZA: Mrs Khuzwayo, you have said that at the time when Khuzwayo was killed there was a 5-year old child, a girl.  This question I would really like to pursue, because we have seen children get very, very much harassed but sometimes we overlook how children have suffered.  In the morning I did establish from other witnesses that children really suffer, especially when they are very young when such occurrences occur.  I would also ask about this 5-year old child.  At the time when she experienced this - what is her life?  Are there some symptoms of not being well?

WITNESS:   I think at the time when her father died, when she was 5 years old I didn't recognise anything, but she used to come me, "Are you missing Daddy?" and I would also say, "Yes, I'm missing Daddy", but one day when she was very sad to me she said, "You

DR MAGWAZA: /know, father

DR MAGWAZA: 18A/8 know, father they killed".  She also said, "But why don't they come and shoot us, so that we can be with him in heaven?"  She said they have sent people who killed father must come and shoot her as well so that she can be with the father in heaven and one day she said, "Now that I'm 6 years old, when I'm 10 years old I will see my father in heaven".  Pumulala said - she said, "I will see him".  I said, "No, you will never see your father again".  I tried to correct these things that when she was 10 years, because she kept on saying when she was 10 years old she will see her father.  I said, "You will never ever see your father until you also go to heaven, whether you are 20 or 30.  I don't know how old you will be".  But what I recognise now that at the time when her father died she was very much fond of her father.  She always sat with her father, even at the shop.  Anything she wanted, the father would run around and get it.  When her father had gone, she wrote a letter.  She put it at the office.  She said, "Because my father is no longer there, Dear Lord", she said, "Dear Father Christmas, could you send me all the nice teddy bears because my father would buy these things for me.  He is no more".  I took this letter, I read this letter and I put it on her file.  I went and bought the teddy bear and I wrapped and folded it nicely.  I said, "Here is the teddy bear from Father Christmas for you", but these days, when she is at boarding school, from there she told the sisters at Greytown, she said she no longer wants to be at boarding school, she wants to stay with her Mom.  She stopped schooling at Easter.  She said she doesn't want to be at boarding school any more.  She said, "My father doesn't want me to be at boarding school.

DR MAGWAZA: /"Every time