Human Rights Violation Hearings — Empangeni — 1996-11-05

WITNESS:   Yes, I know some.  For instance the one who cut my son's little finger.  My children were there and at the time I was not at home because it's the time I went for an eye operation.  The other one, they said, was Duffle(?) but I don't know whether he's working at Empangeni.  The other one was Derek.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Are these the policemen's names?

WITNESS:   The children would tell me that these were the names of the white policemen who used to frequent my home.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Did you ever get to know as to which police station they were coming from?

WITNESS:   Some were from Empangeni, some were from KwaMbonambi, but I'm really not positive. You have children.  Do any of the children perhaps know about the police?   ---   The children who knew about the police are the ones who died.

PROF MAGWAZA:  You have told us about your son Vusi who disappeared.  According to your statement here, was that you gave an explanation that you lost another son.

WITNESS:  That son was killed.  That is Khulekane Mkwanyana.

PROF MAGWAZA:  But you did not give an explanation in this statement as to how he died.  Who killed him or ... (incomplete)

WITNESS:   He was killed by the police.

PROF MAGWAZA:  How did this happen because your statement is not clear on this aspect.  You didn't give us full information.

WITNESS:   I'm just like you.  I do not know.  Khulekane was all by himself at home and I had gone to work.  I was told by the children that certain people had come and took his ID and I asked them as to what sort of people were they.  They saw that these were policemen because they were having guns.  The reference book or the ID book disappeared and we told him that his ID book had disappeared.  Then he ran away because he knew that the police were actually looking for him and at the time Vusi disappeared, he has been arrested for five months and he could no longer attend school.  They had gone to Mpembeni school and they took him and arrested him for five months until the sixth month when his father went to look for him and on the day of the trial the arrester did not appear to give evidence against him.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Why was he arrested?

WITNESS:   Nobody knows what he was arrested for.  He himself didn't even know it.  When they came to me, said they were looking for Vusi, I told them that Vusi did not stay at home.  He was staying in the forest.  And I told them that Khulekane was at school.  He had gone to Mpembeni where he wanted to attend school and he decided that he was not going to come during the holidays and he wanted me to come to school and fetch his testimonial.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Who came according to Khulekane, who came to arrest Khulekane?  You said there were people who arrested Khulekane.

WITNESS:   No, when Khulekane was arrested for five months we did not know that he was arrested.  He was taken by the police from Mpembeni and they arrested him and he was supposed to come back on Sunday.  That's when Michael and Si died but he could not come to the funeral.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Who's Michael and Si and what killed them?

WITNESS:   They had been killed by the police.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Now, according to your own opinion, do you think it had anything to do with politics?

WITNESS:   I do not know why he was arrested because he was at school at that time and they went to take him from school and he was arrested and detained for five months.  On the sixth month they said bail must be paid in and his father went.  He paid the bail.  (Inaudible) ... who had arrested my son never went to the case.

PROF MAGWAZA:  What was the reason for his arrest?

WITNESS:   They said there were about 12 vans that arrived at where Khulekane was staying.  They said he was Vusi because they thought he was Vusi.  He explained it to them that he was not Vusi and he took out a certain letter that indicated that - it was a report.  He showed it to the police that his name was Khulekane and he was not Vusi.   /They

PROF MAGWAZA: They said he was lying and they took him and put him into the van and when they went around stopping they said, "Vusi, we've got you.  You thought that you were brilliant."  And he flatly refused.  He kept on telling them that they should take him to KwaMbonambi Police Station because the police in KwaMbonambi knew him.  They knew that he was not Vusi, he was Khulekane.  And the police said he must - they stopped and they said he must run and he refused to run because he knew that they would shoot him.

PROF MAGWAZA:  And what happened thereafter?

WITNESS:   When they got to the charge office he was detained until the police of the morning shift came and they identified him that he was not Vusi, he was Khulekane, and they released him.  When Velbang(?) came, Velbang said he should not be released.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Who's Velbang?

WITNESS:   Velbang is a boer who was a policeman at KwaMbonambi.  And he was rearrested.  He was rearrested and stayed for five months and they took him away from KwaMbonambi and they told us that we could not see him because they did not want us to see our children.  And we were told that he had been taken to Empangeni.  When I got to Empangeni I was told that they did not know him.  His younger brother Senzo came back and I sent him to go and look for Khulekane.  The bail was paid but - or he was released on free bail by the prosecutor.

PROF MAGWAZA:  Now, let's go back to Khukelane's death.  How did he die?

WITNESS:   They took his identity document and he ran away.  I was holding part-time jobs at that time.  Whenever he came back home I also didn't stay because I  had to get home, cook, eat and leave the house and in the morning I would wash up, prepare myself for work and leave at 5.00 in the morning and by then Khulekane had gone.  Then on a particular Thursday they were searched for by the police.  (Witness emotionally upset)

PROF MAGWAZA:  This is a painful story you're relating to us.  You can take your time.