Amnesty Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — 1997-07-28

MRS DLAMINI: It was on the 23rd of June 1991 on Sunday.  We were from a meeting at Ndahwa.  It was Richard, Elsie, Happy and myself, we were going back home.  We arrived at home, we found my mother.  Elsie and Happy wanted to go back to school.  We were from a meeting for peace between IFP and ANC.
	When we arrived at home, my mother gave us food.  We sat down and ate the food.  Later two young men arrived, they asked for Richard and they took him with them.  After some few minutes after they left, the two boys - two young men and Richard, one of his friends came by the name of Mbekeni Mkhize and he asked the whereabouts of Richard.  I told him that Richard had been taken away by two young men who were his friends however he said that when you arrived you must wait for him. 
	This young man waited.  Later he started to go and buy and some cigarettes at ...(inaudible) and I asked him - how do you know Richard do not have cigarettes.  He didn't sit down, he stood up and went away outside.  While he was outside for a few seconds - I was still talking to him while he was standing outside and I heard him saying, shouting - there's someone peeping through at the corner of the house.  I said to him - you're lying.  He said - it's true Aunty, just come out and see.
	I get into the door - there was a full door and a half door and I didn't close the half door, I stand at the big door and I peeped through.  While I was peeping through I heard a gunshot and Mbekeni was shot at the door.  After a time we couldn't talk and I saw Mbekeni's cap falling and he started running and I crept back into the house and I told my mother that they are killing us.  I went to hide behind the door - my mother ran away and  entered into one of the skins which were for the cows that we killed for a particular ritual.  Some other people - the females didn't run away because they thought they won't be killed because they're women. They went to the back side of the house or at the extreme end of the house inside and stayed there. There was still a candle burning and the fire was still burning.

CHAIRPERSON: Could you ask the ...(inaudible) to slow down a little.

MRS DLAMINI: After that the young man, after he ran away I hid behind the door.  The people arrived.  One of them was in front of them holding a gun and he put the gun through the door and  I moved back.  He pulled out the gun and he pointed it at the two young ladies who were standing at the end of the door, he shot the first shot and killed the first one, then shot the second one.

MR RATHMAN: Will you continue?

MRS DLAMINI: Yes.  After that this half door which was supported by two iron bars - one of them said get inside and stab them with spears.  They took off this half door and got into the house.  Whilst in the house - and we could see that they were going to, the other is going to stab with the spears.  They ran towards where my mother was lying under the skins and they took off the skins.  My mother said ...(inaudible) to write and they started stabbing at my mother and the children, the two ladies started crying, saying why are you shooting at us, why are you killing us because we are not fighting and the old woman asked - why are you killing us but nobody answered.

MR RATHMAN: Could you continue?  You said the children said - why are they attacking you?

MRS DLAMINI: After they injured them I heard my mother giving the last breath so I called the other sisters who were at the back of the door.  The one that I saw, it was Pitchana Gumbi, he was together with the attackers.  After that they left the area saying they have killed them.  One of the dogs which were at the house started barking so the dog followed them and they didn't get out through the gate, they went out of the house through different directions.  After they left, I heard gunshots in the direction of the ...(inaudible) family.  That's were they killed Kunene, Zondi, the mother in the house and a young lady from that family.
	After that incident I tried to get a car to help those who were injured.  I saw a van which was yellow in colour passing.  My mother asked me to stop it to take her to the hospital and I discovered that it was a police van so I didn't stop it.  After that I left on foot and I tried to wake up the neighbours.  Most of them had ran away and I happened to end up and the Kunene family.  I knocked at the door, they couldn't open.  I told them who I was and they opened the door.  At that house I found the Kunene family, some of the members of the family had already passed away. I told them what happened to my family.  
	Those women from the Kunene family they told me that the people had also killed their mother and father, Mr Zondi and a young child.  I said to them, let's go and I told them, let's go and I was holding a match on my hand.  We went to the place, when we arrived I was the first one - we lit a match - we found Mrs Knobo lying on the ground - was cut - the throat was cut and the blood was flowing on the ground and there was a nine year old child lying next to the grandmother.  We couldn't find Johnson Kunene but we find Zondi lying on top of a cupboard at the extreme end of the house.
	At the gate or at the door, the ID's were discarded and we started searching for Kunene and we found him in the bedroom, that's where he died.  And then we left the place and went back home.

MR RATHMAN: Did you see the vehicle before you got to the Kunene's?

MRS DLAMINI: I saw the car before going to the Kunene family, it was a van which ...(inaudible) the people who were inside - this was the van that we usually see which was used by the riot squad.  Those were the people dressed in camouflage clothes.  When we came out from the Kunene house, I asked one young man to come and help us to take my mother and my younger sister to hospital because one of them, Elsie, has already passed away.  I put clothes over him and put a pillow below the head and I asked him to help me to take those who managed to survive.
	When I arrived at home I couldn't find my mother where I left her.  We started to look around and when I arrived at the kitchen I found my mother, she was standing against the door at the kitchen and I called her and asked her, why what's happening?  She said Happy was looking for you, she wanted some water and I asked did you give the water, she said yes I gave her water and she said that she has already passed away.
	I left her to go and find a car to take her to hospital but when I came back she was lying with her face down and she was quiet.  I said to my mother, since you can still walk we can't sit here because they might come back so let's leave this place and try to find a way out to go to the school where we can find a place to hide.  She tried to limp and we walked.  I took some clothes and some pillows and we left to a place called Sindane, that's where we managed to lay for that night - sleep for that night and wait for sunrise to take my mother to hospital.
	I didn't sleep them because my mother was crying the whole night until the morning so I tried to nurse her.  However before sunrise, I went back home to see how the condition of the other two ladies who were still lying there.  It was becoming early and people were gathering to see what happened.  When I arrived at home there was a light, the lamp was on when I heard from the neighbours who were hiding ...(inaudible) they said a car came after we left.  They saw the car coming into the house and I also saw the wheel marks on the ground.  
	After some time the police came to tell us that they came and one young man from Dwalane lighted the candle.  And the ANC leader Sebiso Kabinda came and he asked who did this and I explained to him that there was one man who was an IFP member was together with these people who attacked us.

MR RATHMAN: Was that man one of the Applicants today, Gumbi?

MRS DLAMINI: That's correct.