Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

WITNESS:   They said they were being chased by the police.  They were from a certain hall, a community hall in Imbali.  Police came and they threw tear gas in my bedroom.  They put one in the kitchen.

MR LYSTER: What sort of police were these?

WITNESS:   They were white police.  They were boers.  As I tried to open the door - because now the tear gas was suffocating us in the house.  We opened the door.  Then they threw another tear gas in the kitchen and I shut the door.  Now the children were trying to open the door and get outside.

MR LYSTER: In the house it was yourself as well as the children who were running away from the police.  Who else was there?

WITNESS:   I was the owner of the house together with the children.  All the others were not at home.  They threw the third canister of tear gas into the house.  At that time we started choking, coughing and suffocating, and crying.  When I got out I met policemen.  They started kicking me and assaulting me.  They jumped on my body.

MR LYSTER: What were they assaulting you for?

WITNESS:   I don't know, because I just started running out of the house and these police came and assaulted me.  And I didn't know why they were assaulting me because I was at my place.

MR LYSTER: What were they assaulting you with?

WITNESS:   They were hitting me with the backs of their guns.  I ran to my neighbour's place to hide there.  At that time I realised that my arm was broken.

MR LYSTER: Which arm is that?

WITNESS:   It's my right-hand arm.  Then there is another boy from Khumalo's place who saw me. Who was that?   ---   It's Maqanda Khumalo.  I was behind the house and Maqanda assisted me.  He got me up and tried to get a car to take me to the hospital.  He showed me another white guy, and they were busy assaulting the children and taking them out of the house.

MR LYSTER: What was Sithondo?

WITNESS:   Sithondo was a policeman.  He was stationed at Pietermaritzburg then.  Then he took me in his car to the hospital.  I left my place as was.  I went to Edenvale Hospital.  I stayed.  The following day I was taken to the theatre.  They put some iron rods inside my arm.

MR LYSTER: Let's not be in a hurry.  What happened?  You were taken to the hospital with a broken arm.  Did you ever get an attorney?

WITNESS:   Yes, I did, after I had been discharged from the hospital.  I was told by a certain gentleman that I should go to this attorney.  This attorney was at certain offices, but these offices now are occupied by the IFP.

MR LYSTER: Who advised you to go to this attorney?

WITNESS:   It's a gentleman from the Mapanga family.

MR LYSTER: What was his name?

WITNESS:   Petros Mapanga.

MR LYSTER: Is he the one who told you that there is an attorney who can assist you?  Can we get the attorney's name.

WITNESS:  I don't know whether he can help, because I don't know whether I can get Mapanga in the first place.  He was staying at Esikopo.

MR LYSTER: Where did you see Mr Sithondo amongst the police?  What was happening at the time you saw Mr Sithondo?

WITNESS:  He was one of the policemen present.  He was one of the people.  He never assaulted me, but he was amongst the boers who assaulted me. In your statement you said there was an identification parade thereafter.   ---   I am still talking.  I am coming to that point.  When I came back from the hospital I went to see the attorney.  The attorney asked me whether I could identify one of the police.  I said yes.  I asked him how much it was going to cost me.  He said I should give him R800,00.  I even gave him the tear gas canisters that I got at my place.  I directed my wife to look for the assault and collect the evidence so that I could give it to the attorney ... (inaudible - end of Side A, Tape 2) ... and police kept on coming in and going out in Mountain Rise.  They said to me I should identify any of the police who were present during my assault.  I looked at them.  Some used to wear clothes with quite a number of colours.  Then I made a pointing out, identified Sithondo.  I was taken back to work.

MR LYSTER: At the time you identified Sithondo what did he do?

WITNESS:   He just kept quiet.  I had to point him out because I was told to.

MR LYSTER: Was he not scared?

WITNESS:   I don't know whether he was scared because I was also scared.  Even my attorney was not there, so I was all by myself, so I was scared.  I went back to work.  On the day of the case I was subpoenaed.  When I got there I couldn't see my attorney.  I asked from the Magistrate as to what was happening.  They told me that that was a criminal case that I had opened against the police, it was not a case against me.  Then I asked them what had actually happened.

MR LYSTER: Where was the case held?

WITNESS:   It was at Umgeni Court.  I was not being asked by the Magistrate as to what was happening.  Police kept on questioning me.  They asked me what colour was the tear gas.  I told them, "What colour is tear gas?  I don't know what colour tear gas is."  They asked me in what container was it.  I described it to them.  They said I must pay the court costs because I was just talking rubbish.  Then I had to run away because they wanted to arrest me and put me in custody.

MR LYSTER: Did you go to your attorney to tell him the outcome?

WITNESS:   No, I never went back to him because I felt he was a traitor because he never showed up on the day of the hearing.  I think he also colluded with the police because he never showed up.

MR LYSTER: Had you paid the R800,00?  Did you keep the receipt of payment?

WITNESS:   At that time violence erupted and I didn't know that there was going to be a Commission like this where I would have been required to keep the receipt.  When we ran away from the place they got lost.

MR LYSTER: Is Sithondo still alive?

WITNESS:   I don't know.  I last saw him on the day of the pointing out.

MR LYSTER: Are you working?

WITNESS:   No, I am not working.  I was working at that time but we got retrenched.

MR LYSTER: Was it after you had broken your arm?

WITNESS:   No.  The factory moved.  The owners of the factory moved and left the factory.

MR LYSTER: Is your wife working?

WITNESS:   She is working at Greys Hospital.

MR LYSTER: Now all the five children, including you, are being supported by your wife?

WITNESS:   Yes.  I do try some other means of earning a living.

MR LYSTER: How is your arm?

WITNESS:   It has not yet completely healed.  I still have this iron rod that they inserted in my arm.  Now what troubles me is that each time the police keep on coming.  Even then my wife had to run away from home, and she kept on sleeping at neighbours' places.

MR LYSTER: Now what is your expectation from this Commission?  I don't say that I grant you your wish, but we usually ask people as to what their expectations are from the Commission so that we may pass these recommendations to the State President.  But he is the one who ultimately makes a decision as to what assistance should be granted to the victims.  Now I would like to know what your expectations area.

WITNESS:   I would like this Commission to investigate, to conduct a thorough search as to what was actually happening that culminated to my getting injured in this manner.  Maybe if I could know, even get the perpetrator to explain to me as to why I was assaulted, what happened to my case.

MR LYSTER: And what about you, Mrs Mnikathi?  Is there anything that your would like to add?  Is there anything that you would like the Commission to do for you, because when this happened you were in your own place?  You need an investigation to be done, as well as a search conducted with regard to the attorney who purportedly handled the case.