Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

WITNESS:   He was a white man.  I went to him.  He took me to Shifa.  When I got there I opened the door, I saw my child lying there crying, and the attorney said he was get inside, because I was refused entry.  I tried to find out more information what happened to her.  They said she was shocked electrically by the police and she was taken to Shifa Hospital for operation, and she was there admitted.  And she told me that they were arrested in Botswana trying to escape, and they were taken back to South Africa.  She said they got to CR and they were assaulted so severely, and she was the one who was brutally assaulted more than the rest, and was taken to another room, where she was shaved.  They shaved her hair and fed her on her hair, they made her to eat her hair.  And the doctors managed to get that hair out from the system, digestive system.  One of the police by the name of Dlamini ... (intervention)

MRS GCABASHE: Who is Dlamini now?

WITNESS:   No, Dlamini coming from - he was from CR. Was he a police?   ---   Yes, he was a police.  They said - I got this message on the 23rd, and I left on the 24th.  I was severely harassed, because when I got back the attorney asked me, and I did not know what was happening.  I was lost.  Fortunately my neighbour came and talked to me and asked me, "Why are you standing here?"  I explained to her.  She said, "Come along with me."   People were so excited, in such a jubilant mood.  She took me with and we went into the bus and we got back home.  I was there at home.  I used to go to Shifa to check on her until she was discharged, and she went to Westville and she was there for quite some time at Westville.  She was there for the whole year under the state of emergency.  One full year, 1986.  1987 she was released.  When she got back home the police used to visit, coming to my place.  Now I even got used to the police, and also the way they would knock I would know that, "Oh, there they come again, part of the family."  It was most painful, you know, because we were just in the same neighbourhood with Inkatha.  My house was so much hated by the natives, and my daughter said, "Mum, I want to go and I will disappear."  That was in 1989, and she disappeared.  She left home.  For the whole year I did not know here whereabouts, but I heard after that that my daughter was in Tanzania, and she just got back after Mandela was released.

MRS GCABASHE: Is she at home now?

WITNESS:   Yes, she is with MK.  She has joined MK.  She is in Pretoria around.

MRS GCABASHE: You know, Mrs Mabaso, your story is complicated, and it is getting more complicated the more you are relating it.  Was there a way that you could open a case about the people of CR?

WITNESS:   I just could see that if I tried to do that they were going to kill the nation - they were going to kill us.  But I could suspect that my Innocent will want to open a case for this, but when she did that she was going to run away, escape, and we were going to be left as victims here.

MRS GCABASHE: How do you feel?  Let's just talk about you now before we get to the children.  How do you feel, and the children as well?

WITNESS:   Well, I had high blood pressure, but after that I had renal failure.  So that's just how much I was affected from this.  And also I have this heart problem.  Especially Sifiso.  Sifiso's incident is the one that worsened my condition, my health condition.

MRS GCABASHE: You have already told us about blood pressure and the heart attack.  Do you have another one?

WITNESS:   Yes.  Psychologically I am affected.  My children know there are those times when I just get so annoyed, so agitated, and they will not even handle me.  I just do things, you know, the way I would not even do them if this did not happen.

MRS GCABASHE: Is there any help, medical help, even from the doctors, or probably psychologists, any kind of help that you have been through?

WITNESS:   No, I have never had any kind of help.  I usually get pills, high blood pressure tablets, medication.

MRS GCABASHE: What about other children?  How did this impact on them?

WITNESS:   Oh well, all of my children were affected, and severely harassed as a result of this thing.  Xolani's incident had caused this.  Each time we recall it you see the situation, the mood changes.

MRS GCABASHE: We've heard and we understand what you've been through.  We will try to get the psychologist to get in touch with you.  Maybe you should come forward to our office and we'll advise you even further, and we will put up a report and forward it to the State President, and we will recommend things.  Just rest in peace.  I'll hand over to the chairperson.

COMMISSIONER: You said that a woman doctor looked at Sifiso's body.  Which hospital was that at?  I didn't catch the name of the hospital?

WITNESS:   No, they were not at hospital.  He was in the mortuary.  The doctor who was trying to look and taking care of the corpse was coming - came along with me to the mortuary at Isipingo.  That's when she got to do this.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible) ... the previous witness who gave evidence, Busisiwe Xaba, we find it difficult to find enough words to express how we feel.  We can only imagine how difficult it must be for you to carry these memories with you about your grandson, who was only 18 years old when this happened, with his whole life in front of him.  From what you have told us it seems clear that what happened to Sifiso was done by the police, people who were - should have been there to help us, to protect us, to uphold the law, and it is horrifying that such people could have shot a young boy and then cut his head off.  It really is horrifying to have to believe that.   And this story, and the story that you told us about your daughter, makes us, as citizens of this country - or should make us, all the more determined to ensure that by every means possible we must force our present Government to support -to establish and to support a police force which we can all be proud, and which we can all turn to with confidence when we have to.

COMMISSIONER: As Mrs Gcabashe has said, we will be making recommendations to the Government as to how people like you should be assisted, and in the meantime if you think that you need some counselling, some psychological support, we ask you to come to our office just down the road in Smith Street, and we will try and see that you are assisted.  So we thank you very, very much for coming in and talking to us today, and we wish you well.  And to Jabulani as well.  Thank you very much.

COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Mrs Xaba, for waiting patiently all day to give your evidence.  You are from KwaMashu and you have come to tell us about the death - the murder of your parents.

BUSISIWE E XABA: That is correct.

COMMISSIONER: In April 1990.

BUSISIWE E XABA: That is correct.

COMMISSIONER: Before you tell us that story please will you stand to take the oath.

BUSISIWE E XABA: (Sworn, States)   (Through Interpreter)

COMMISSIONER: Dr Mgojo will now assist you.

KHOZA MGOJO: We welcome you and also greet you.  I am just going to lead you, and we just mention the most important facts because we are running out of time.  Now, you can just briefly tell me about your family.  From there we fire ahead.

WITNESS:   My name is Busisiwe Xaba.  I was staying at D Section in KwaMashu.  We were seven at home.  My eldest brother is married, then there's Thembi, myself, Nombuso, Themba, Thandazile, as well Phindile and Bhekumuzi, who is my son, as well as Silindile, who is my sister's child.  Mzwandile is also my sister's child, so that is the whole family.

KHOZA MGOJO: They are all grown up now?

WITNESS:   No, some are grown up, but some are still very young.

KHOZA MGOJO: How many of them are still attending school?