Human Rights Violation Hearings — Klerksdorp — 1996-09-26

MR MOLETE: That's correct, M'Lord.  Jackson Molete is my brother.  I just come after him.  He was working in Pretoria for a person called At.  He was on leave. He decided to come home and he wanted to come and spend a few days at home.  He didn't stay in the main family, but he wanted to come and stay with my family.  And he said to me he wanted to visit us in the township.  That was at 1201 Moscow Section in Tigane.
 It was on Friday, when we left town and we arrived at home.  We were so happy the whole night.  It was just a very lovely atmosphere.  We were still celebrating his visit.  At about three o'clock we left.  We went to see our uncle, because he said to me he wants to see his uncle.  We went to see another sister of ours and from that sister we went to uncle, because he was telling me how he wants to see my uncle.  We spent a few hours at my uncle's place.   We left uncle's place at half past eight.  We went to see our aunt's children and we had our breakfast and we were all happy to see each other and then they gave us food and we left.
 We went straight home.  It was exactly nine o'clock when we arrived home.  My brother said to me I now want
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to sleep. I was the first one to undress to get into bed.  He was the first to undress to get into bed and I was still untying my shoes and I heard sounds outside.  I wanted to listen carefully. It was the members of the IFP.  They were throwing stones at the house.  They were throwing stones at the house on top of the roof, and we were puzzled, not knowing what was taking place. My brother jumped out of the bed, he put on his shoes.  We heard two doors, the front and the back door.  He wanted to run away. I said to him brother, please do not run away.  Let us first investigate, let us first have a look as to what move we will follow.
 I shouted with a loud voice, I said gentlemen of the IFP, I am the owner of this house.  My brother helped me, he said please, we are here, we are at home and they said get out, you bastards, we don't want to hear anything about you.  We were now shocked.  We didn't know what to say.  
 My brother left me in the house and he ran away.  I was shivering in the house, not knowing what to do, not knowing where to run to.  I remained in the house, not knowing what to do, as I have told you.  But a plan came to me.  I decided to run away, because they were going to kill me in the house.  I opened the back door and I ran away.  They threw me with three stones.  As I was jumping the fence it got hold of me and it scratched my whole arm.  It even scratched a bit here on the private part.  Some of them said he is running away, get hold of him.   I am thankful that I managed to run away.  I slept in the veld.  
 At about seven o'clock I came back, it was in the morning, when I arrived at home, I saw people gathering at the front and the policemen were already at the scene.  Many of their vans were parked and when I had a look at what 
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everybody was looking, I saw my brother on the ground.  He had a mark on his head.  It seems as if they were chopping his head with their pangas.
 I didn't even want to have a look at his body, because I thought the police would be angry with me. I gave them their chance to do what they wanted to do, and they all left.  
 He was taken to the government mortuary and the next morning we came to transfer him to the AVBOB mortuary. 
 He left behind three children.  The boy is 13 years old. The girl is 19 years and the other girl is 21 years old.  I am taking care of these children today, I am working at Tigane municipal offices.  I have been struggling to raise these children.  I don't have many words to say.

PROF MEIRING: Mr Molete, thank you for telling us the story. I think the first question in all our hearts is why did that happen, why did the IFP people attack your house?  Do you know what the reason was?

MR MOLETE: No, M'Lord, I don't know any reason. It was quiet and it was dark on that night.

PROF MEIRING: Were you well-known, you and your family, as ANC members that it might have been a political thing, maybe revenge?

MR MOLETE: No, I don't think they were revenging. They didn't want to - they didn't force anybody to join them. I was just puzzled, I didn't know what the motive of the attack was.  Because I was at that time not a member of any political organisation.

PROF MEIRING: In the written statement there is some reference to Jhanna Molete, who could have been involved.  There is something about a quarrel with her boyfriend, that
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that could have played a part.  Can you tell us about that, or isn't that important?

CHAIRPERSON: Order, please!  We would like to hear what the witness says.  We realise it was a very long day and a long four days, but the audiences have been very, very well-behaved.  We are almost done with our work here, so keep it up.  Thank you.

MR MOLETE: I understand, Sir.  This Johanna Molete is my brother's daughter.  On that day when we arrived at home,  our sisters were there, but we didn't find them at home when we arrived.  We just, we entered the house, the two of us.  This mentioned sister, I am not able to testify what has happened. I just heard what she told us, that she did all those things.  Her husband wanted to hit her and then this man rushed to call the IFP people.  When they entered the house they didn't get this person, they just got us in the house and they didn't know which one is which one, so they just did what they did.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you. There is only two questions I would like to ask you.  The first one is to do with yourself.  You were injured that day, the things that you told us about that happened when you ran away.  Are you completely cured now or do you still suffer from that?

MR MOLETE: I was nearly hurt, but I was safe.  I was not injured, I was nearly injured, but I was never injured.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you very much.  The last question I want to ask is about your own family.  You told us that your brother left three children behind and you have to take care of them.  How many children do you have yourself?

MR MOLETE: Only two children, Sir.

PROF MEIRING: Are they also at school at the moment?
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MR MOLETE: It is only the one who is at school, the other one is still young.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON: Fazel Randera?

DR RANDERA: Mr Molete, did you report this incident to the police?

MR MOLETE: Yes, long ago I did report it to the police.  They did come to fetch me at home.  It was a man called Sollie. I don't see him anymore, I think he has gone on pension long ago.  But I remember it is a long time that he has gone on pension.

DR RANDERA: So you laid a charge at the police station and was there an inquest?

MR MOLETE: It was very quiet and steps were not taken. They didn't make any investigations.  I was surprised to see how quiet it was.  It was only the time that they came to fetch me at home.

DR RANDERA: As far as you know nobody has been arrested for this incident?

MR MOLETE: No, Sir, I don't know.

DR RANDERA: Did you recognise any of the people who attacked your house that night?

MR MOLETE: I can't testify because I would not be able to identify those people.

DR RANDERA: The question is, in response to Prof Meiring you said just now you can't understand the motive for the attack and you weren't a member of any political party.  But you thought that they were IFP members.  How did you know that they were IFP members?

MR MOLETE: I knew that they were IFP members the way Johanna did explain to us, that the people that I went to
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call were IFP members.

DR RANDERA: So there was a court case.

MR MOLETE: No, Sir.