Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

WITNESS:   I was working for Spoornet at that time at Congella.  At that time I was working as a shop steward under union.  I was staying at KwaMashu at that time.  I was very much well vested with regard to human rights, as well as fighting for freedom, and I lost my job at the railway.  I was hired by a certain company, Shunter's Arms.  That is a restaurant, and I was also a shop steward there.  And at that time when I was working for Shunter's Arms the people were now politically aware, and as a shop steward I was working twofold as a person who is fighting for human rights at work, as well as within the community itself.

MRS GCABASHE: Let us now go back to the KwaMashu incident.  That's when you started being harassed.

WITNESS:   In KwaMashu we had a problem with the SDU, the Self-Defence Unit, because the Self-Defence Unit was disturbing us as we were working for the community because they had certain misgivings about us.  They felt that we had been specifically trained for the struggle, and they had trained themselves to kill people.  And now they did not have the support within the community, because they were having their own interests as opposed to the interests of the community, and whenever there was anyone who was opposing them they wanted to remove you, that is by killing you.

MRS GCABASHE: You said they were deducting taxes from the community.

WITNESS:   Yes, that is what caused the clash, because they were collecting monies from each and every house, and they were killing children as well as residents.  There is another gentleman by the name of Gaba who was also killed by the SDU during broad daylight, and they burnt him.  That is also one of the reasons that caused a clash, because we felt that as the community we could not accept what they were doing.  They were killing certain people and calling them targets, and they were burning them right before our children.

MRS GCABASHE: What was Gaba doing?  Who was he?

WITNESS:   Gaba was one of the residents at the L Section, but his family was in Lindelani.

MRS GCABASHE: Why did they kill him?

WITNESS:   He had a clash with one of the members of the SDU.  They were at a certain shebeen when this took place.  And now the other thing was that he was very close to me, and he was supporting me in whatever I was doing, and they decided to kill him.

MRS GCABASHE: Let's now go back to where you said you were taken to a kangaroo court.

WITNESS:   At the L Section I was never taken to the kangaroo court, but I went to the kangaroo court in Ntuzuma.  At L Section they had come with the intention to kill me.  They surrounded the house and they were all armed.

MRS GCABASHE: Was it at the L Section?

WITNESS:   Yes, that is correct.  When they got to the L Section they wanted to kill me, and they were at a certain house No 1056, where they were waiting so that it could be dark, and they were having some sort of a party or celebration.  The houses at the L Section are two rooms.  There is A and B, and he came and said today was my day, they were going to take me.  And at the time I had not yet fallen asleep, and I could hear them talking outside.  I heard another woman talking outside.  Her name was Xamisile.  She asked as to who was going to be killed, and they pointed at me.  They said I am the one who was going to die, and she asked them why was I going to be killed. That's when I got wind that I was going to be killed, but I just could not believe that I was going to be killed.  As I heard that I was going to be killed I wanted to devise a plan.  I did not know whether I wanted to escape or I wanted to remain, but at that particular point I saw people surrounding the whole house.  And they started breaking the windows, but they were quite scared to get into the house because it was dark and they didn't know who was in there.  That's when I got a chance to escape, to go out.  I went out through the window, and at that time I had dared myself and I had told myself that come what may.  As I went out I grabbed my wife and I helped her to go out through the window.  And I was passing in their midst and I was leaving them behind.  They kept on threatening to attack me at that time.  I went to Sibisi's place, where I sat at the edge of the fence, and I told my wife to sit down there because I wanted to check whether there was any escape route, because whenever they attacked people they closed all escape routes.  And when I looked around I realised that the whole of block eight was blocked, so that even if I was able to run away I could not be able to escape out of the block. Where were your children at the time you took your wife out?   ---   At that time we were already scared, and we knew that we were going to be killed, so I had taken my children to my home, so that if we happened to die we may die alone, and the children may remain.

MRS GCABASHE: So you survived on that particular day, but there was a time when you were called to the kangaroo court.  Just tell us about the kangaroo court.

WITNESS:   When I was called to the kangaroo court it was for the second time now, and there was also a clash between the Inkatha and myself, and they wanted to kill me.  And I was able to escape at that time, and when I came back I sat beside the road and I thought that it was three months now that I haven't been having a place to sleep.  I was sleeping next to the beach.  I was not able to go to the L Section, because that's where they wanted to kill me.  And on the fourth month I got a place to stay, and just as I was settling down I was attacked by the same type of gangsters who call themselves marshals.

MRS GCABASHE: Let's go back to the kangaroo court, because there are certain names that you have mentioned.  That is Julius Mkhize, as well Mandla Ngidi.  Are they still alive?

WITNESS:  Yes, they are still alive, but they were staying at L Section.  Julius Mkhize is my brother-in-law in some sort of way.  They are the people who had come to kill me.

MRS GCABASHE: You said you went to Leonard Mkhize's place.

WITNESS:  Yes, I want to Leonard Mkhize because I grew up with him.  Then I wanted him to help me, because at that time I was in dire straits.  He told me that I should go to KwaMashu Police Station, and they told me that they did not want to be involved with ANC matters because they knew the

MRS GCABASHE: /L Section

MRS GCABASHE: L Section was an ANC stronghold.  They talked about things which did not concern me, and it was very clear that I was not going to get any help from them.  Now they asked me as to why they should help me.  I told them that my house had been burnt and I had nothing to do with the ANC.  He said to me I should go to the Magistrate to get an interdict, a directory interdict that they can accompany me to fetch whatever was left of my possessions.  That was on a Sunday, and there is no court that works on a Sunday.  And at that time I did not have any clothes.  I had absolutely nothing with me, and they said they could not help me without the interdict.  Then I went to Leonard Mkhize, and Leonard Mkhize phoned some riot police.  The riot police came, and they accompanied me to the house to fetch some clothes so that I could be able to have some clothes to wear.  That is how I went out of the L Section.

MRS GCABASHE: You told us that you ran to Nsuze.