Human Rights Violation Hearings — Alexandra — 1996-10-28

YASMINE SOOKA: Father, we would like to welcome you to this hearing of the Truth Commission.  We thank you for coming to share with us your story.

SNOEKIE MZAMBU: (s.s.)

YASMINE SOOKA: Father, as is usual we have allocated a commissioner to assist you with the leading of your evidence and I have asked Miss Hlengiwe Mkhize to assist you.

MS MKHIZE: We would like to thank you for having been able to come before the Commission.  We know you are a very committed person as you have explained to us in the morning but before you give us a testimony can you tell us more about yourself as to who are you in the Alex community, how long you stayed in this place, before you tell us more about your story.

SNOEKIE MZAMBU: I am Reverend B S Mzambu of the Methodist Church at Alexandra.  I have been here for such a long time, approximately 40 years.

MS MKHIZE: Thanks.  Now I will give you the time to tell us more about the harassment in Alexandra during the time from 1976.  Here in Alexandra there are many reverends and we form a group which works with the community.  I will start from 1986, I will forget about 1976 because others are coming to report on that. During 1986 - before I go on I would like to ask the commission as to whether they have  called all the people who were involved to come and ask for
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forgiveness for things that they have done within the community and also as to why they didn't come before the Commission.   Or maybe they would ask we, we have seen them to point them out to come before the Commission.  People within the Alexandra community have been harassed in a horrible manner therefore they had to stand on their feet, especially reverends and bishops, to help the people.  It was terrible, especially when it comes to burying our people.  I have a letter, I don't know whether I can be given permission to read them, were written by magistrates, refusing us to bury our people who were killed by government officials.

MS MKHIZE: Thanks.  I would like to agree with you that all those people who were involved in harassing the people in violation of human rights shall come out and tell their story.  However, I would like us to go to 1986 where you made some application to bury 18 deceased.

SNOEKIE MZAMBU: During 1986 we buried some people in Alexandra.  These victims were killed by Inkatha members and policemen.  Those police used to hit at any target, they hit all the people, young children and also women.  And these are the people I am asking about, why don't they come out and explain as to what they did.  For example there was one lady who was shot at the gate, they just shot her while she was standing at her gate.  She is also one of the people we had to bury.  As a group we met 1983, it was somewhere before the 16th May.  We were reverends and we were trying to find out as to how we can help the people, especially those who lost relatives during the violence.  In my statement I said 13th Avenue and it was 10th Avenue.  We couldn't go out because we had to also go for a hiding and escape because it
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was like a battlefield.  People were killed at the time, they were inside their house and they were surrounded by police.   Their names were, the first one is Victor Banda, Colin Dothli, Elias Nduli, Woes Dube, Saphinium Dagane, Abion Makateni, Bele Sangwane, Joseph Pefadu.  All these people were killed in one house which was surrounded by police and I would like to know where are these police who killed these people, why don't they come before the Commission and say we did this and that.

MS MKHIZE: In order for us to get your story very clear we can pause there.  As you have called out the list of the people who were killed by the police how in your own opinion can we help the Commission to find out as to what the people were doing inside the house.  Were they having a committee meeting or was it a political meeting.

SNOEKIE MZAMBU: As I said, we were in church.  I didn't know what they were doing but what we heard during the service was that these were comrades, they were just sitting there.  What is surprising is that while we were still preparing to bury them the magistrate in this letter before me, it is written enquiry to Mr L Mendelsohn.  This was from the Chief Magistrate in Randburg.  When we went to him he blankly refused to give us permission to bury our dead in a mass funeral.  In my opinion I think that people should be given a chance to bury their people.  And I think he was wrong for refusing us to bury the dead.  And that is the reason why I would like this magistrate to come before the Commission as to why he refused to give us permission to bury our children. I would like to say that some of our people ... bury them on mass funeral - so to bury them on mass funeral we assist these people.  We as ministers we go around asking
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for some donations to help us and bury the dead ones.  That is the reason to bury them.  If the excuse of the magistrate to refuse us the permission to bury our dead ones I think he was very much wrong.  If his excuse is that he was trying to get the safety to the community or the properties of the people he should have at least got some more security to escort us and not to refuse us to bury our dead ones.  This was later granted to us through the ANC and ACO.  ACO is Alexandra Civic Organisation.  They got us a lawyer, Mr Huyzen.  We made an appeal to the magistrate saying that to the magistrate if he refuses to give us the permission to bury our dead ones he is prepared to take that immediately to court.

MS MKHIZE: To help you I would like to ask you a question.  You said these people who were killed were comrades.  Can you explain to the Commission as to how old were they.