Human Rights Violation Hearings — King William's Town — 1997-05-14

CHAIRPERSON: Oh, Okay.  Ntsikelelo Wellington Solani, please stand up.

NTSIKELO WELLINGTON SOLANI: (sworn states).

CHAIRPERSON: Nomava Lillian Mzinzi.

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Nomondi, Peggy Nomzanga.

NOMONDI PEGGY NOMZANGA: (sworn states).

CHAIRPERSON: Mpumeleli Elias Dara.
MPUMELELI

ELIAS DARA: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: I'll hand you over to Ms Maya who will lead you with questions on behalf of the Commission.  Thank you Mr Chairperson.

MS MAYA: Mr Solani, I will start with you.  You are going to tell us a story about yourself,  about  what  happened  to  you   on  the  26th  of   December  1991,  in   Masele Township, in Zwelitsha.  Can you please tell what happened, what was happening between the ANC and the ADM and what happened to you?

MR SOLANI: There was conflict in the township.

MS MAYA: Please come nearer to the mike.

MR SOLANI: The police came looking for me.  I was at home in the village.  Different people were being taken by the police.  I was one of the people.  They were beating us.
MS

MAYA: The conflict, what was it all about ?
MR

SOLANI: It was a conflict between the ANC and ADM.

MS MAYA: In 1991.
MR

SOLANI: Yes, in 1991.
MS

MAYA: What was the reason for this ?

MR SOLANI: The two organizations did not understand each other, they were in conflict.

MS MAYA: You mentioned that this issue was concerning the headman.  You also mentioned that a certain headman was murdered.  What was his name ?

MR SOLANI: It was Mbambani Xakani.

MS MAYA: Were you accused of taking part in killing a headman ?.

MR SOLANI: Yes, I found out that I was accused of killing a headman.

MS MAYA: Did you have any knowledge about this ?

MR SOLANI: No, I knew nothing about this.
MS

MAYA: Who came to take you at home ?

MR SOLANI: I was on my way home, I was then arrested.
MS

MAYA: Who was beating you ?

MR SOLANI: The soldiers.

MS MAYA: Did they meet you on the way and beat you, or did they take you somewhere to beat you ?
MR

SOLANI: They took me with their van and they took us somewhere to beat us.

MS MAYA: Where ?

MR SOLANI: Around the village.  They would take us from a police van to another in a certain house.

MS MAYA: Who was the owner of the house ?

MR SOLANI: Njapa was the owner of the house.

MS MAYA: Who was this Njapa ?

MR SOLANI: People would be taken to that house when they arrested.  Maybe we will go back to that issue.

MS MAYA: You were arrested, beaten and you got injured.  Please tell us about that.
MR

SOLANI: I got injured when I was taken from one van to another van.

MS MAYA: Do you know the people that assaulted you ?

MR SOLANI: No, I did not know them.

MS MAYA: Were they soldiers or police ?
MR

SOLANI: The were soldiers.

MS MAYA: The injuries you sustained, what are the injuries you sustained ?

MR SOLANI: I have, my eye got injured and I cannot see clearly and I have bru, I have injuries in my body.

MS MAYA: Did you lay a charge ?

MR SOLANI: No.

MS MAYA: Did you go to an attorney ?

MR SOLANI: No.

MS MAYA: Did you go to hospital to be treated ?
MR

SOLANI: No, they just told me to take my eye out.

MS MAYA: Did they manage to do that ?
MR

SOLANI: No, they did not.

MS MAYA: Where you a member of an organization ? Where you a member of a political organization or a residents organization in your community ?

MR SOLANI: I was a member of the ANC.

MS MAYA: What was the reason for this to happen ?
MR

SOLANI: I think the reason was this conflict between the ANC and the ADM.

MS MAYA: Thank you, Sir.  Do you have a request to this Commission , Sir ?
MR

SOLANI: Yes, I do.  Because I have one eye now, I would like the Government to see what to do for me.

MS MAYA: Is that all ?.

N W SOLANI: Yes, that is all.

MS MAYA: Thank you, Sir.  I will hand over to the Chairperson when I'm finished with all your testimonies.
MS

MAYA: Mrs Mzinzi, you're also from Masele Township ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: Yes.
MS

MAYA: Your incident also happened on the 27th of  December 1991 ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: Yes.

MS MAYA: You're going to talk about your mother-in-law, Nancy Vera Mzinzi who died when she was 73 years old, but during this incident she was 68 years old.

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: Yes, that is correct.

MS MAYA: Please tell us what happened.

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: My mother-in-law was taking her son, who was not well, to the doctor.  Her mental step-son.  While he was on the way to take a taxi, she met the soldiers.  There were men who were together with the soldiers.  These men pointed her out to the soldiers, saying that she must be beaten by these soldiers.   She was beaten by sjamboks, by the soldiers.  After that, she then took a taxi to King William's Town.  She took another taxi from King William's Town to Ginsburg to visit her daughter.

MS MAYA: The men who pointed at her, did you know them before ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: No I did  not  know them  because I was new in the village.  These men, because my mother-in-law was from Port Elizabeth, one of the men who pointed her out  was also from Port Elizabeth.

MS MAYA: Where they members of any organization ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: Yes, they were members of ADM.

MS MAYA: Your mother-in-law, in which organization was she ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: She was an ANC member.

MS MAYA: Do you know the reason why they assaulted her ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: I think she was assaulted because she was a woman who was a member, a leading member of the Women's League.

MS MAYA: How did she, how was she injured ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: She was injured and she got injured in the head.  They were beating her with sjamboks and batons.

MS MAYA: At   the  time of  her  assault,  was   there  anybody  who  tried  to  stop  the soldiers ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: No, nobody tried to stop them.

MS MAYA: But, there were witnesses who saw the people who did this ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: Yes.

MS MAYA: Where did your mother-in-law get treatment ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: She got treatment in Grey Hospital.  She was then, she went to Livingstone in Port Elizabeth.

MS MAYA: When did she pass away ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: She passed away because as she was beaten in the head, she suffered pain since then.

MS MAYA: When did she die ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: She died in 1996.  She could not do anything for herself.

MS MAYA: Did you lay a charge, or did you go to any lawyers for legal advice?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: She did approach the attorneys, but nothing came out of it.

MS MAYA: Which attorneys are these ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: Mr Tavata, Smith & van Heerden.

MS MAYA: Nothing happened about the case ?

NOMAVA LILIAN MZINZI: No.

MS MAYA: Nomondi, would you like to say something ?

NOMONDI: Yes, I would like to say something.  According to what I know about my mother.  My mother came to me in Ginsburg.  She said that my daughter, my child, before I die, I would like to say this.  I did not expect her to, to live, because I thought that  she  was going to die at that same time.   She  said  that  pet,  can  you  see  what  the Ciskeian soldiers did to me.  Do you know Moffat Mputo.  I am here to-day and I have been assaulted because of him.  He his the one who pointed me out to the soldiers of Ciskei, saying that I'm the cause of the conflict in the village.  She said that I'm dying because I'm a member of ANC Youth, ANC Women's League.  He said that I came with politics from Port Elizabeth.

MS MAYA: Did you know Moffat Mputo before ?

NOMONDI: No, I did not know him, but I made some investigations.  I found out that he was from Mount Cook.

MS MAYA: Where is he now ?

NOMONDI: Someone showed me Mr Mputo in town.  I can identify him if I can see him.

MS MAYA: Is there anything else you want to add to what you've already said?