Human Rights Violation Hearings — Tembisa — 1995-11-27

MS MANANA: I remember it was in February, that was the last time Manana addressed a meeting at Ntombeka.  There was one man called Duze.  I don't know exactly what was happening, they just told me what happened at the meeting when he came back from work.  After he told me I took that so lightly and then it was clear that they were saying they are going to say who is the boss.  It went on like that until he was injured.
 It was 1992 on the 24th of February and it was a 
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Sunday.  I woke up early in the morning and went to church.  I came back and he accompanied me to the church and left me at the gate, and he said to me you have to pray for me today.  I asked him why, what has happened, and he said I don't know. He left me at the church and he left for the meeting and he was to address the meeting.  
 We all came back in the evening.  I couldn't do anything, because normally I would sense if something bad is going to happen.  I went back home and prepared food and I went to go and see sleep but I couldn't sleep.  They asked me why and I said I don't know.  At about 10 o'clock we went for a sleep until 2 o'clock in the morning. As we were sleeping he was dressed with his shoes on he put shoes on my head and I asked him where are you going, and he said I am hearing something.  He was a kind of person who if he heard some sounds outside he will go out to see what is happening.  He went out and he never came back.  I took it lightly.  I thought maybe he will be back.  
 When he left the room I was in the bedroom, there was a young son who was about 15, we were all asleep and he was standing outside.  As he explained to us he said he saw these men coming towards our place and they were driving a car and they collided with a pre-cast on the left side, on the second house from our place.  As he tried to explain I could see that these people were directed to our place.  They were exactly told which house and what the number of the house was.  They entered a wrong house.  Instead of entering through the right side they took the left side and they collided with the pre-cast and he heard them when the car crashed against the pre-cast.  He put on his shoes to go and see what was happening outside.  When he went outside he TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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discovered that one of the men together with them was one who was working with him in the street committee.
 When he arrived at that place he asked them what happened?  This man said these men have collided with my pre-cast.  He didn't know exactly what happened because he found them busy arguing there.  They young men were trying to ask forgiveness, they said it was a mistake, they didn't intend to collide with the pre-cast wall.  As he was listening all the people got into their houses and they closed the doors.  When all this happened I was still in the house and my son was outside.
 There were three young men in the car.  They started talking among themselves that they must go and collect the others who were left behind at the nearby stores.  When they entered the house my husband stayed outside and he was waiting for them to come back to explain exactly as to what happened.  
 After all the young men didn't come back from the same direction. They arrived as he was still standing there waiting for the others to come out of the house and they said are you also here, and he answered yes I am here.  What had happened?  They didn't say anything.  They shot him straight on his forehead.  It looked as if he was trying to escape, and there was this young man tried to come and help him.  He jumped the pre-cast wall.  Unfortunately the young men were many and he couldn't help him and he had to crawl on his knees and he entered through the main door and had to exit through the small door near the kitchen.
 By looking at his movements you could see that he was trying to crawl.  When I heard the sounds of guns I woke up and I got out, unfortunately my youngest son held me back 
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and said don't go you will be injured.  I asked what is happening?  They said we don't know, but the young men might shoot you.  It was only confusion and they were shooting at everything.
 One of the young men, I don't know whether he was their boss, he was standing on top of a car and he was destroying the windscreen of the car.  They couldn't find the people who were staying in that household, therefore they shot him for the second time.  The bullets went from a different direction, and opposite directions through his head.
 We didn't know what happened, but we only saw when we came to collect him and put him in the car.  There was no one to help him as my husband was the one who was helping the community.  We were four.  It was myself and my three children.  As it was painful to me my last born shouted and all the people got out of their houses and he was shouting "I want my dad".  I was so confused and I didn't know what to do and I couldn't enter the house where this incident happened.
 The person who helped me is the granny next door.  She got out and started shouting, how could they kill him like a dog and she tried to help us to carry the deceased.  I was also assisting in holding, but I was shaking.  We entered the car and this young man was at the steering wheel and I was holding him and he was helpless, he couldn't stand still or balance.  So I have to embrace him and when we entered the car he was becoming heavy.  We took him to hospital and we were clearing the traffic by switching on the hazard lights.  When we arrived at the hospital he just died on the way.  They said the bullet had gone through his brain. On the way we could see he was gasping for air, and he died 
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when we arrived in hospital.  The doctors called us and they told us that he has passed away.  
 I was feeling for my son as because as we were in hospital he said mum I want to know who killed my father.  And I said what are you going to do if you don't have arms?  So I took the keys and put them on my chest.  I hid the keys and the nurses told us everything and we could see that my son was affected.  The nurse told us that we must tell him that we are going to Pretoria, taking my husband to Pretoria.  We also told him like that, that we are taking his dad to Pretoria. We turned back and went home.
 When we arrived at home there were many people in the yard. Unfortunately in the beginning when this happened there was no one, only the members of the family were there. Also the parents of those who did this incident were there.  And all we could find that they were bored to kill my husband.  This man I told him that I can't talk to him because he betrayed my husband, and I told him to go to his place, leave my house.
 We were doing some preparations for the funeral.  I called my workplace and told them that I have come across this incident and we went around trying to make some arrangements for the funeral and this man was always in contact with me trying to find out whether I went to the police, and I told him it doesn't help to go to the police, you just have to tell us what happened.  And he just kept quite.
 As I was burying my husband people from the TRA came, they said we will help you in burying our comrade and I accepted that because surely I was going to have some problems because it was about a month he wasn't working.  We TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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were preparing for the funeral and we continued the preparations.  We were at the stadium just outside here. The cortege had to leave at 2 o'clock, and we have to go to the graveyard next to the hostel.  The TRA people helped me.  When we were about to leave that's where we came across a problem and I never new a person who helps a community can be killed in such a way.  
 We proceeded towards the graveyard, as we were to reach the garage, they couldn't even put him in the seat, even the family wasn't allowed into the car.  When we arrived at the garage all the cars stopped.  They said things are bad at the graveyard, and I asked myself if a person like him was helping the community could be buried like that.  We proceeded towards the graveyard.  When we arrived at the corner and we had to turn towards the graveyard some comrades alighted and they started running on foot to see as to what was happening in front.  They ran on foot until they reached the place near the hostel and at the corner they found some petrol bombs.  It looked as though they were waiting that when they see the proceeding coming they will have to hit them with the petrol bombs.  Unfortunately he was not on the hearse, he was in a car and he was up on top and the people were on the sides and he was covered with flags.  The comrades took the petrol bombs and this never happened.  
 At the night vigil things were also bad and we had to call people from Tafane to come because the police in the Caspers were shooting people.  As we were proceeding on our left-hand side there were two Caspers and all the comrades were proceeding on foot, on our left there was long grass, there were people crawling on the ground, they were also 
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going in the same direction of the graveyard.  They couldn't go on the other side because there were Hippos.  When they arrived they could see that on the other side there are people.  There were some people who were standing directly at the back of the graveyard.  There were some big trees so you couldn't see people were crawling on the ground, so that's where they ambushed us.  When we arrived there we didn't see what happened. 
 We took the box out of the car as usual, as traditional case and we entered the graveyard.  Before we finished and they were about to call us to do the last respect that's when things started.  We heard shooting start.  There was a person behind me who was shot.  After I have just paid my last respect the third one fell.  As I was sitting on the side with my children, then two other people followed, they fell down. And then one woman was also killed and she was killed in a terrible manner.  She was shot through her head and the brains scattered all over.
 We came back from the graveyard and things were horrible, and we left the grave uncovered.  When we arrived at home nobody ate. The Casper was following and they were shooting, and still I had the same question as to what you get if you help the community, if my husband had to die like this.
 When I arrived at home I couldn't eat the whole week. I was only drinking a cup of soft porridge.  When I arrived at home they told me that Mr Dhlamini has already passed away.
 On the following Monday one lady died.  She was also shot by the Toasters. This man Mr Setho came back to tell me that he has gone to the police to report the case.  Then I 
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asked what must I do because Mr Manana was helping the people, there was no way I could stop him from helping the community.
 Later we heard the police wanted me to come to their office.  It was at about quarter to seven. I normally close my gates early because my front lights were out of order so I could only switch on the kitchen lights and then go to my bedroom with my children.  This man called, he was a policeman, and he said I would like to help you.  I asked him do you want to help me, why?  And he said you must come and give us a statement about the death of your husband.  And I said yes I can see that you want to help me but you are the people who are working in collaboration with these Toasters, how can I trust you?  And he said to me trust me I am asking you, begging you, I will take care of everything. My son said just allow them to come.
 They were phoning from Rabasotho, unfortunately when I opened the door the lights were flashing in front of my gate and they said to me they are asking me in good spirit that tomorrow, the next day, I must come to the police station to give a statement. I went in the company of my son to give a statement.  I gave them a statement.  However they called me after a long time had expired and they told me that we can't find the perpetrators, the people who killed your husband.
 After all this I stayed at home peacefully.  I thought maybe the law process is going slow, and even today I am still waiting.  They haven't found them.  What's painful to me is that after my husband was killed we borrowed some money from the bank to extend our house, when he died we tried, because there was one of my cousins who was in exile we went to the ANC offices in Joburg to get an insurance to 
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pay for the house.  The insurance people tried and they told me that the insurance tried to pay some money for the house and after the house was paid one of the people at the bank told me that everything it's okay, the house is paid up.  But I was wrong because it wasn't like that.  After they finished paying the Perm Bank just kept quiet, they didn't say anything, but after six months the Perm Society Bank wrote to me telling me that I am still owing the very same money.  I asked them we have already paid you something, what happened?  I went to them to explain as to what happened and I told them everything from the time my husband passed away until then.  What surprises me is that even up to today as I am sitting here, I don't know where to take these children, because this house it's on sale, they are selling it.  I mean today this is the letter I am holding.  It tells you that the house is on sale.