Human Rights Violation Hearings — Queenstown — 1996-07-24

MAKHULU: (sworn states)

REV XUNDU: Over to you sir.

BONGANI FINCA: We now hand over to Dr Mapula Ramashela.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Good morning Ms Bless and Mrs Matiti.

ST BLESS: I greet you.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Your brother, Zandisile Matiti, was killed by the South African police in 1985, is that correct?

ST BLESS: Yes, it is true, he was killed by the Ciskei police in Sada township.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Could you tell us exactly what happened and what preceded the murder of your brother?

ST BLESS: I'll begin by saying Zandisile was a student in Freemantle because he had a bursary.  In standard 9 he was in Freemantle for standard 9 and 10.  When he was a student in standard 10 in April, they were found in a secret meeting discussing about politics and they were expelled from school and they could not be accepted into any other school, so I sent him to Msonxana Secondary in Sada and the principal promised to take him in, but he warned that if there would be any trouble, he would be held responsible.
 So he passed standard 10 and got work as a clerk at the Department of Works.  He also became politically involved and we could see that one day on a Sunday he came to me and 
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said I couldn't sleep yesterday because last night, at about twelve, policemen kicked the door and asked me to open and they came in.
 I didn't know who they were, but I saw one I knew because we were at school once.  They asked me if I had gone to the funeral of Goniwe, then I said yes, I had.  Then they searched the house, but they could not find anything, then Zandisile said they were perhaps looking for books.
 And whatever books I had on politics, I had sent them away to Queenstown.  After some time having searched all over, they went away.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Please take your time.  I know that this is anxiety provoking, but don't rush yourself, just take your time.

ST BLESS: The he said they went away, then as they were going out, there were policemen I knew because others came from all over.
 This policeman felt pity for him.  Some of the policemen were members of the organisation but they were hiding this, then this policeman pointed me in a way of warning me that I should be careful, so he tried to look for this police, so as to get further information as to why you had warned him.
 And then he, Zandisile came back and he said he had not found that policeman.  This particular Sunday on a certain day during the course of the week, because I used to work at night at a Clinic in Sada, it was early in the morning at about ten, it was very bad in Sada, there had been a very strong toyi-toyi in Sada, people were chanting freedom songs in the streets and a rent office was burnt down and there was an order that all offices should be closed because of 
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the unrest and all offices therefor were closed.
 I was still sleeping at about ten and decided to go out of the house and it was completely quiet outside, except some children that were being beaten by the police and there were shooting sounds.
 The rent office was burning at the time and one man who was going passed, said to me,  Thandiwe, it will seem that your brother has been shot up there.  Then I saw a van, a police van up there ...

BONGANI FINCA: Could you be silent.

DR RAMASHELA: Take your time.  Do you want to give her some water?  Can I go back and ask you a few questions?  How old was your brother then?

ST BLESS: He was 25 years old.

DR RAMASHELA: Can you tell me why the rent office was being targeted or was it just burning of offices in general?

ST BLESS: I don't know why the rent office was burnt, when I woke up the rent office was burning.  I don't know the reason for that.
 I then saw the police van and went out of the house.  I walked up the street to the Clinic and asked whether they had not seen Zandisile there, they said no.
 But I heard that he had come, but the nurses did not want to tell me.   I then ran to the Works office and the gate was locked, because it was ten in the morning.  
 From there I moved on and the streets were deserted, there were no people moving.  I went to the mortuary, Ngoma Mortuary and asked to look for the body of Zandisile.
 Then they said no, we don't have such a body here, but they had heard it is only that they were his friends, then they took me in a car, took me to my house.
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 At home, I went on to Zandisile's house and I asked the younger brother where Zandisile was.
 Then he said Zandisile had left after work and changed his clothes, walking towards where I was staying.  I again ran, because I asked the people that said Zandisile had been shot.
 Then the person who had told me, I asked for a telephone.  I phoned the police and they did not answer me until one of them said I should go to the police mortuary in Queenstown.  I went there in a Kombi to the mortuary.
 And I wanted to make sure before I tell my parents.  We went into the police mortuary, I asked a White man whether they knew anything about Zandisile Matiti and this policeman said, no he had come and he went with me to open there.
 And I found Zandisile's body uncovered, naked and I asked for his clothes and this White man said, the people who could know about his clothes, would be a Black policeman.
 Then he said, do you want liberation?  If the Black policeman are going to kill a Black person like this?  Why don't they shoot him just twice, because he had holes all over.  There were even some bullets that had gone in, through the mouth.
 So I went away, home.  We went back, then when we investigated the following day, we found that Zandisile came out of his house to check on whether my house was not burning.
 And then that's when he met the policemen who were driving in a car, the sprinter, and they shot him on the leg.  Zandisile ran away, he ran to this old woman's house.  It is this old woman who gave us information.
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 When Zandisile went into this house which is a two roomed house there is a shack behind, Zandisile went into this shack, old shack in this lady's yard and Zandisile had his hands up.
 Then they shot him through the mouth, they beat him, they dragged him according to this old lady, to the outside and brought him in front of this old lady.
 They called him a dog, a crystal dog who had come to Sada to instigate.  They were saying all sorts of things, swearing at him.
 Then those policeman ... (intervention)

BONGANI FINCA: If there are any people here inside in this room who are not mature enough to know ... (tape ends)

DR RAMASHELA: You know this is a very difficult story to tell and in a sense you are reliving what happened to your brother and that is why I am asking you not to rush, but to take your time in telling your story.
 She was at a point where they shot him through the mouth.

ST BLESS: And so they took Zandisile away and the policeman took him to a Clinic and they did not take him out of the van and thereafter he was taken to the police mortuary.
 They left him there.

DR RAMASHELA: Was policeman by the name of Mali responsible for taking Zandisile's body to the Queenstown police mortuary?

ST BLESS: Yes, yes, it was.  We then laid a charge with Mr Magqabi and he looked for an Advocate by the name of Soli, who is from Durban and he is the one who handled the case here.

DR RAMASHELA: Do you want to take a break and, is it
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Makhulu if she'd like to add some details that you haven't included in your story?
 If you agree, then you could use that time to take a little break.

ST BLESS: Yes, I can allow Makhulu to explain further.