Human Rights Violation Hearings — Bloemfontein — 1996-07-04

METABO ADELENA MATSUNYANE: I hear you perfectly well, Sir.

UNKNOWN: Good. Thank you very much. I would like tosay a very warm word of welcome to you. It's been quite a long morning, andwe are delighted that you are finally at the witness stand and ready to tellyour story, which goes back to 1988 and '89, when your house, according to yourstory, was petrol bombed. Before you tell that story, and the suffering thatthat brought about, will you please stand for the taking of the oath.

METABO ADELENA MATSUNYANE: (Sworn, States)

UNKNOWN: Thank you, please be seated. Mrs Matsunyane,my colleague, Mrs Gcabashe, is now going to take over from me and she is goingto help you to tell the story. Thank you.

MRS GCABASHE: Good morning, Ma'am. We are really delightedthat you could come to the Commission. Can you first start and, you know, tellus more briefly about your family, and thereafter you will tell us about whathappened to your family according to the statement you have given us. Can youhear me?

WITNESS: I think I cannot hear you perfectly well.

MRS GCABASHE: Can you hear me?

WITNESS: I will request you to speak a bit louderbecause I don't hear you.

MRS GCABASHE: Can you please just explain briefly about your family life,as well as all that happened until now, whatever you've written in your statement.--- Shortly I can say as from 1988, that is in 1988, I was with my childrenin the house. It was towards 10 o'clock. As we were still sitting I was actually preparing them for theirconcert. Just before we finished we went into our bedrooms, we prepared ourselvesto sleep. Now, I have a five-year-old grandson, who used to remind me that weshould pray. Just as he started praying he said amen, then we heard a loud noise,a loud bang on top of the roof. Many stones were being hurled on top of theroof, as well as through the windows, and the stones were falling into the house.By God's mercy there isn't even a single stone that hit any of the children.I stood and held the door. I tried to shake the door as if I was going to goout just to scare them, but I didn't actually go out. When we looked throughthe windows we saw girls and boys, many of them, quite a group. They were goingout of the window. Some were going out of the gate. When it became in the morningI heard that these children slept at the reverend's place. That is our elderat the Catholic Church. That is where that group went to sleep at the reverend'splace. My child woke up. That is my granddaughter, went to the police station.The policemen came in and they just looked scantily. They asked what happened.We didn't even know who had attacked us. It was at night, we couldn't identifyany of them. But we slept. We didn't have windows, we had to sleep using doorsto close the windows. We thought they would come back for us, but well, theydidn't come back. The police did not help me in any way. They just looked anddid nothing, because I said to them, "I don't know who the people were." Theywere not old people, they were very young children. They said I should findout who the people were so that I can open a case. It was in 1980, and in 1989 they burnt my house.

MRS GCABASHE: Can I ask you a question? You said it was in 1999. Do you wantto say it was in another year maybe?

WITNESS: They started in 1988. They only threwstones, and in 1989 they burnt my house. In 1990 again they burnt. It was threeyears consecutively.

MRS GCABASHE: Are you finished telling your story?

WITNESS: I think I was stillon the 1988 issue. In 1989 after they have burnt my house we went to the policestation, and the police came and they took photos. They went all around thehouse, they took photos, they saw everything that was burnt to ashes, and theyasked me whether do I know those people. And I said to them, "No, I do not knowthe people." But there was a boy who used to come and help me at home. I wouldsend him to go and fetch me water with a barrow, and he told me, he whisperedto me who the people were. And the police were also there at the time he wastelling this story. I regretted the fact that I took his name to the policebecause he was severely assaulted and he had to run away from his home to goand stay in Lesotho. He left schooling. He was a young boy. I was so hurt, myheart was troubled, and I said to myself it could have been better if it wasmy child. I felt sorry for this boy for what happened to him. He came back homeafter quite a long time. The police would take me and put me into the van togetherwith him, and we would drive around the township in the B Section, and theywould say to us, "Point the boys who did this to your house." But this boy couldn'tidentify any one of them. I didn't know one of them, but I had to be in thevan every day they were conducting their searched. And I was then accused - the boy was then accused, because they said to him,"We saw you in the police van. We saw you with the police. You were going totell them that we burnt Mrs Matsunyane's house," and they would assaulthim and they would harass him. In 1990 I was sitting in front of my house, andI called another neighbour so that we can go to a funeral. While we were stilltalking, discussing this issue of going to the funeral, I saw a group of youngpeople coming, and they stopped right in front of my house. It was in the afternoonat about 4 o'clock. And they made a circle, and after that they talked. It wasright in front of my house, and I said to this woman, "Let us go and sit onthe stoep." We didn't hear anything that they were saying. Then they dispersed.They chased away the young ones, they said, "Go, go." The young ones went off,and the elderly ones stayed behind and they were talking. After a while theydispersed and they all took different directions. I said to this woman, "I amnow scared. I have asked you to go to the funeral with me, but I am not relaxedat all. Can you please go," and that woman left. It was on the 16th of June.The same night we heard bombs. It was just after we've enjoyed our supper. Myhouse was surrounded, but luckily nobody was injured in that case. All the thingsin my bedroom were burnt, but something surprising - there was a small table.We used to put a Bible on that table, and some few books. This table was burntinto ashes, but the book, the Bible, was not even affected, it just fell ontop of those ashes. It was not affected by the fire. Even the police, the sergeants,were pointing - were looking at this, were showing the others, because therewere ashes, but the Bible fell when the table was burning, but the Bible was notburnt. It was a long story. I lost everything. I was mentally disturbed. Thepolice even in that case did not help me. Everything ended up nowhere. I didn'tfind any assistance of any kind. I think I am finished.

MRS GCABASHE: We thank you, Mrs Matsunyane. I think you've said everythingyou wanted to say.

WITNESS: Yes, I think I have finished everything I wanted to say.

MRS GCABASHE: And we are grateful to hear that your Bible was not affectedin that fire. It shows exactly the grace of God that is for each one of us here.I have a few questions to ask so that we can get clarity on certain issues.If I listened to you carefully you said you were busy preparing yourselves fora leader who was to come. Do you know the name of the leader?

WITNESS: I think itis Dr T K Mobede.

MRS GCABASHE: The second question that I still want to ask.

INTERPRETER: The speaker's mike is not on.

MRS GCABASHE: Can you please tell us what was this ...Dikwankwetla(?)?

WITNESS: Are you asking me who were they?  Can you please tellus briefly about Dikwankwetla? --- I have to tell you that I was so fond ofthe Dikwankwetla. It was a party.

MRS GCABASHE: I didn't quite understand you.

WITNESS: I think I have a problemwith my ears.

MRS GCABASHE: Did you hear my question?

WITNESS: Can you please repeat your question.