Human Rights Violation Hearings — Balfour — 1997-05-23

UNKNOWN: What I'd like to explain to this Commission is that my mother is quite forgetful.  When my brother was shot I was with him as well as Mr Mnisi who has just testified before this Commission and even when I came back from the hospital I explained to my mother how my brother died and that he was at the hospital.  I also told her that he had been shot.  When I explained to my mother, she said she'd already received a telephone call telling her that my brother had already died.  They also requested me to take my brother's clothes with and I refused because I thought he would need clothes when he gets discharged.  I left the clothes and I think by then he was dead but they were scared to tell me.  With regard to help from the community is that we ran away afterwards because the police were looking for us.  When I came back home on a Thursday just before the funeral, I discovered that there were some people collecting money.  Ten rand from each house in order to help us meet with the funeral expenses.  They said we were not going to be able to conduct the funeral service because it would constitute having an illegal gathering.  We tried to negotiate and make decisions as to how we were going to bury my brother since we were prohibited from doing so.  I met the people who were collecting the money.  The donation was five hundred rand which helped us with the funeral expenses.  That is how the community contributed towards my brother's funeral.  As to the shooting itself, according to the programme we were going to take the buckets and spill the feces at the Administration block and then we would proceed to the Councillors' houses.  After we had spilled the feces at the Administration block we explained to the Comrades that we were proceeding to the Councillors' houses because there were a lot of boycotts that were going on as well as taxi boycotts but we wanted to put more pressure on the Local Council.  There was a certain woman whose son was also involved.  We boycotted her son's taxis.  I think at that time, my brother who has just testified, was talking to the Councillor or the late Councillor, trying to reason with him not to use his firearm.  He told us that the Councillor wanted to shoot us and three minutes thereafter we saw one of the people who were involved coming to report to us that the Councillor had already shot quite a number of people and he was firing randomly.  Somebody told me to try and get some transport to take my brother to the hospital.  I went to check and saw that he had been shot in the right eye.  There were two more people who were shot.  I organized some transport to take them to the hospital.  My mother is quite forgetful and she's not able to explain what happened because at that time she was in a state of confusion because of my father's death as well as my brother's death.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you very much for clarifying that for us.  What happened after the death of your brother ?  Was this matter ever taken any further ?

UNKNOWN: There was an investigation after my brother's death.  I can say that the very same day that I came back from the hospital, I contacted the Chairman of the Local ANC Branch after I got home.  I could not get hold of him because the police had already started arresting people and I was only able to see them in the evening around about seven p.m.   I explained to them what had happened to my brother as well as other Comrades.  We were not able to meet and talk because some of our members had been arrested and insofar as my brother is concerned, I don't remember any investigation taking place.  I was told that the investigating officer said he wanted people, or the person who gave them a directive to take the buckets and throw them at the Administration block.  The investigation was one sided.  It was with regard to who instructed the people to have this march and not who killed my brother.

RUSSELL ALLY: The Councillor who was killed, do you have any idea as to how he was eventually killed ?  Did you hear anything ?

UNKNOWN: The information that I have in my possession is what I've been told by people who saw.  They said they chased the Councillor but at that time I was confused because I was trying to get some transport for my brother to take him to the hospital as he was still breathing at that time as well as Mnisi.  So I organized transport to take them to the hospital.  Thereafter I went and followed the crowd that was running after the Councillor.  They were quite a distance from me and I was not able to catch up.  I turned around and went back to the hospital.  When I came back from the hospital, I tried to find out what happened.  I will not be able to mention this person's name, that is the person who told me what happened.  When I was at the hospital I met this Comrade and I told this Comrade that my wish was that if the Councillor was arrested I wish that he would be taken to the police because I did not want him to be killed.  That's when I knew that he had been killed.  They rand after him but I discovered how he was killed when I got home.  I will not say who arrested him or affected a citizen's arrest on the Councillor.  He was handed over to the Comrades and they took him back to the place where the march  started.  There was a strong police presence at that time.  They started assaulting the Councillor and as they were assaulting him, one policeman intervened when they wanted to burn the dead body of the Councillor.  I am not able to release or give the full details as to how he died to you because I was not present at that particular moment.  The police who were there trying to intervene as well as other people will be able to furnish more information with regard to the Councillor's death.

RUSSELL ALLY: This Councillor, did he have a family as well ?

UNKNOWN: The first time I met him he was alone.  I've never met his family but I do think he does have a family  but I cannot say for certain whether he was married or not.

RUSSELL ALLY: So you don't know what kind of relationship there was between the community and the family of this Councillor after this incident ?

UNKNOWN: I wouldn't know much about that but what I knew was about him personally and that on a particular Friday, that was the Friday before the march, I went to ask the members of the organization how the Councillors were responding to they imminent boycott.  I heard that they had approached him and he was quite understanding to the plight of the people and he was able and willing to help the members of the community.  I don't know what turned him against the community thereafter because he had quite a wonderful relationship with the members of the community.  I don't know where the conflict started and how.

RUSSELL ALLY: Since this incident, has there been any contact of relationship between your family and the family of the Councillor ?

UNKNOWN: As I've already said, my  mother is quite a homely person.  She always remains indoors at home but according to my own observation, the relationships never improved and they were owing each other money.  I discovered that later when I was told by me sister-in-law that there was somebody who was owed money and they said this person, my brother killed that woman's brother and as a result she wouldn't be able to recover the money.  Apparently I was told that that lady was the sister of the deceased Councillor.  What I know is that my brother never killed anyone.  I personally think that these statements, conflict and at times I get these funny remarks so I think the relationships are not really good.