Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-29

DR MAGWAZA: ... (incomplete - end of side A) ... it was open.  They directed us to come out.  They threatened us that they were going to bomb the place and we should come out.  They said it for the third time.  They kept on repeating it until they climbed on top of the roof, and at that time I get very scared because the windows were broken, the doors were broken, and they were climbing on top of the roof.  Everybody was scared at that time.  I went out.  I was in my nightdress.  I went out so as for them to see that I did not have any arms.  When I went out into the kitchen I heard somebody screaming that I should come out very quickly.  I went out.  I saw white men, as well as two black men.  Just as I went out they all stood up.  There were so many of them.  They were surrounding my house.  Some were behind the house, some were at the neighbours' places.  They started pointing their torches at me, and they loaded their guns and they pointed their guns at me.  I asked them as to what was left of me, because they had already broken into my house.  I looked at them and I told them that they should fire, they should shoot me.  I faced them in all these directions telling them that they should kill me, because I felt very annoyed at that time.  But they never shot me.  I saw two white people coming, and they tried to strangle me.  They dragged me into the house.  Just before we got into the house they said I should take everybody - or direct everybody to get out of the house.  There was a two-year-old boy, my cousin's child, my sister's daughter, who had come to visit, as well as my adopted daughter.  Nhlanhla was also there.  He was in standard six and he was staying at my place.  They pushed me inside the house, and I went on switching the lights on because it was dark when we got into the house.  They looked around, searched the house, but they never got anything.  And another group came in, a very big group.  I started screaming, and people started coming out, and the soldiers started running.  They held me and they said to me I think that they are thieves, wasn't I aware that they were police?  I told them that they were killers, they were housebreakers, they were thieves.  They were harassing people.  I asked them where Stanley was, because he was also a policeman and he ended up being a criminal.  And at that point they did not know what to say to me.  They went inside the house with me.  They went in through the safety hole which was in the ceiling.  They went through that and disappeared.  I don't know where they disappeared to.  And at that time I saw five elderly men, very old men about my age.  They came, and they were boasting, and they came into my yard.  Because I was very angry I grabbed one of them and asked them as to what I had done.  This one was very tall, and he looked down upon me and asked me as to whether I didn't know that I was hiding terrorists in my house.  I exclaimed and I started screaming and calling everybody, and I told him that, "The only terrorists that I know are you.  You are the only terrorists that I know who have been terrorising my family.  I have never terrorised anyone."  We went into the house.  They went around searching.  They looked at the walls and they asked me what my name was.  I asked them who were they looking for.  They said I should tell them my name.  I told them my name.  I told them that my name was no secret, but I told them that as they had come into my house they were supposed to introduce themselves to me.

DR MAGWAZA: Because we want to save time can you please summarise the whole thing.

WITNESS:   He gave me his card, and his name was Martin Fivaz.  I also wrote his phone numbers down, and when I tried to call him I was told that that person was not known.  They went into my bedroom, they pulled the drawers, they started searching.  They also went into the bathroom.  I got very annoyed when they went into my bathroom, because I told them that this is a very private place.  They thought that I was joking.  Then I sat on the seat.

DR MAGWAZA: Now, where did it end, where did the harassment end?

WITNESS:   The harassment is that they broke my windows, they broke my doors, and they destroyed my house totally.  Up until today I am struggling to rebuild the house.  They had taken out the doors, as well as the windows, and you know the cost involved in trying to rebuild a house.  They had also taken tiles from my roof, and I had to spend a lot of money trying to re-roof my place.  But I did not know who to turn to for this sort of help, and I told them that I was going to report them so that they would come and fix whatever damage that they had done.  And at that time the President had just come out of Robben Island, and they told me that I should go to Mandela and Mandela was going to fix my house.  That is when they went out.  This is the sort of harassment that I got, because I kept on being threatened that I was going to be shot and going to be killed.  I always lived in fear.  I ended up losing a great deal of weight due to the fear that they used to instil in my family as well as my children.  They also tormented me psychologically, and this was an ongoing process of harassment, as well as torture.  Now I want to recover the cost of refurbishing my house.

DR MAGWAZA: I need to clarify certain issues, as I have already indicated that we are running out of time.  There are certain people whose names you have mentioned, and you said that they were harassing you.

WITNESS:   Msuthu Mliphe, Mpemba Mpanza, as well as - the list is quite long, and these are policemen.  Bernard and Swanepoel.  Do you know where they are at present, or where they are working?     ---   I don't know where they are working, but Swanepoel was the leader of the group that came on a particular night to attack in Chesterville.  Martinus Fivaz was the leader of the soldiers who came to attack my house in Umlazi.

DR MAGWAZA: In which police stations were they?

WITNESS:   I do not know.  They never told me.  Even when I asked them they never wanted to tell me.  They just made me a laughing stock.  Swanepoel was very angry at me for having asked as to who they were.

DR MAGWAZA: You were really harassed at that time.  Not only your family, but even the violence that was taking place against children and youths.  You have counted certain houses where the youths died - Mthembu, Madonsela, as well as your friend who was shot.  Where are these people now?  Did they ever come to make statements here in the Truth Commission?