Human Rights Violation Hearings — Umtata — 1996-06-20

ADV NTSEBEZA: Excuse me Nel, can you still remember the month of Joyi's death?

ZOYISILE NELANI: It was in March.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Was it 1976?

ZOYISILE NELANI: Yes, it was 1976.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Can you still remember that at that time, the precise time of Twalimfene's death?

ZOYISILE NELANI: If I can just remember well, it was on the 31st of March 1976.

ADV NTSEBEZA: There was another man who was arrested in Durban.  His name Mhlole.

ZOYISILE NELANI: Yes, they almost died at the same time, Mhlole and Joyi.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Mhlole died less than 24 hours before he was arrested?

ZOYISILE NELANI: Yes.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Mhlole and Joyi were they together in the Robben Island?

ZOYISILE NELANI: Yes, that is correct.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Yes, you can get on into the next issue.
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ZOYISILE NELANI: There were many events that use to surround these two men, these men from the Joyi family.  Now in 1978 it was myself and Bangilizwe.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Excuse me Mr Nelani, are you now talking about this incident that affects you directly?

ZOYISILE NELANI: No, there is just one other part that I do not want to leave out.  Then after that I am coming to my case now.  I think we only had two weeks and then on the third week these men, the Joyis' were banished, were banned.  I am the one who was transporting them into their places.  First I went to put Dalanuba to Majeke.  Then from there I went to put Bangilizwe into Mtingweni.  On the following week there was chaos in the Transkeian Parliament.  They were fighting about the positions.  There were questions in Matanzima's Government, why were these people arrested and being charged if they were guilty.  Now just Matanzima's answer was, who was the Minister of Justice at that time, he said we cannot investigate this mans case.  He then pointed out certain deaths about certain people and he said the deaths of those people are connected with these Joyis'.  He mentioned the death of another Chief from Tentu, his name was Dadile.  He also mentioned the death of two men, the Chief of the Kwatis', Makile and his second in command, Thandile.  He also mentioned about his, another Chief.  He also talked about another one who use to work in the forest who killed people and then after that he, personally, was killed.  Now all those incidents he connected them with the Joyis'.  Only to find out, as you have heard here before, Bangilizwe left in 1958.  Then he came back home in 1964 and all these events happened when this man had already left because all these happened in 1961 and yet he left in 1958.
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Then we were forced as the people who were left behind, we were supposed now to answer what George was talking about, but I was the one who made that statement.  I took the statement to the offices of the Daily Dispatch, the Daily Dispatch newspaper.  At that time there was Sydney Moses.  I gave the statement to him.  Within a week I went back to go and check and then he said to me, no, the Management had refused and then he said if he could publish that statement, now the Daily Dispatch newspaper could be in trouble because of the Government that was not going to allow that to be published.  Then later that statement was published.  It was just a couple of lines.  I would like to mention this because these people were accused of murder.
 Now coming back to my own story.  Commissioner, we have run out of time, but I will try and be brief so that everybody can have a chance.  I understand that this is the last day, but my story is a very long one.  I am going to start, I will start in 1970.  In 1970 I was in Gauteng.  Then I was arrested there after we had a meeting as workers.  We were a bigger group.  I was with another man from Transkei.  I am very hurt about the fact that he has also disappeared.  He was from Nqamakwe.  He was Mr Mviti, his name was Pindile.  We were together, we were tortured by another Boer called Taylor for three days and then after that we were released.  We were tortured by electrical shocks.  Then after that I was arrested again here in the Transkei.

MR SANDI: And Mr Nelani was it now at the time of your torture by electric shocks by Mr Taylor, do you have any other names that you can still remember who were together with Mr Taylor?
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ZOYISILE NELANI: Yes, I know some.  There is another policeman, another white policeman, his name was Erasmus.  There was another one called van Millier, another one was Strydom.  Those were the ones who tortured us.  Then after that we were arrested in 1976 here in the Transkei.  Yes, I was arrested, but it was before the independence.

MR SANDI: When did you come back from Gauteng now that you have been arrested in 1976?

ZOYISILE NELANI: I was only visiting for a while here because this is my home.  Transkei is my home and that is when I got arrested.

MR SANDI: At the time of your arrest was it at the time of the independence?

ZOYISILE NELANI: Yes.

MR SANDI: Was there any resistance against this independence at the time?

ZOYISILE NELANI: All those who were against the independence were arrested.  All those people who were against the Transkeian independence were arrested.

MR SANDI: Did you know why were people against the independence of the Transkei?

ZOYISILE NELANI: The reasons of their resistance was that they knew that they will never have any other rights as human beings.

MR SANDI: Me Nelani, if I remember well, this 1976 we are talking about, now the time that you were arrested here in the Transkei only because you were against ... Now, what I want to know is at the time while you were inside, in the cells, when you were being interrogated, were there any questions that you were asked from those who use to interrogate you regarding the unrest, this national
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uprising that use to be in South Africa in 1976.

ZOYISILE NELANI: No, I was never questioned about that unrest.

MR SANDI: Then on the 24th of September 1977 were you arrested again, is it not?

ZOYISILE NELANI: Yes, that is correct.

MR SANDI: You were detained for six months.  Why were you arrested?  Under which Law?

ZOYISILE NELANI: I was arrested under Act number 47.

MR SANDI: Was this the Act that says if you are arrested you can never even go to Court, you will be detained for those six months without even knowing why you were in jail?

ZOYISILE NELANI: That is correct, that is exactly correct Commissioner.

ZOYISILE NELANI: Now again, on that 24 of September 1977 which you were arrested on, Mr Steve Biko was he already dead in the cells?

ZOYISILE NELANI: That is correct.  Such that I was together with Reverend Tintilie in the cells.  He was one of the people who was arranging for Mr Biko's funeral.

MR SANDI: Were you being asked about Bangilizwe Joyi?

ZOYISILE NELANI: That is right.

MR SANDI: What did they ask you about him?

ZOYISILE NELANI: They wanted to find out what were Chief Bangilizwe's aims in politics because he was a Chief, a traditional Chief.

MR SANDI: So did you get out of prison in March 1978?  Were there any other restrictions that you were under?

ZOYISILE NELANI: No, there were no restrictions.

MR SANDI: And then in 1979 when you were arrested again for having unlawful pamphlets and illegal documents with you.  What were these documents about?
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