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

NANCY XATULA: We went back to the Security Officers.  The first thing that I was informed by Ndabisa is he said I must forget about burying Leo.  He will receive the paupers burial because the body belongs to the Government.  Secondly, they said we will bury him, but I would advise you to agree to this arrangement.  Thirdly, you must never make a mistake and say after you identified this body you are going to lodge a complaint against anybody.  I said, no, I will not do that and they also said they will do the post mortem.  I must not take any trouble to do that and then they said they are going to give me, they offered me
R50 000,00.  I said, no, there is no price that could pay the death of my child.

MEMBER OF PANEL: You have been mentioning this Ndabisa for quite a long time.  Who is this Ndabisa?

NANCY XATULA: He was the policeman who was working in Bizana.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Is he still here?

NANCY XATULA: No, I also see him at Botosicwo here in Umtata.  He is promoted.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Do you mean now?

NANCY XATULA: Yes, I am sure if you can go there we can see him.  Probably he is on pension now.  I cannot be surprised, but last year I saw him there.  He was at Botosicwo.

MEMBER OF PANEL: I would like you to continue. After you identified the body, let us go to the funeral arrangement.  I do not think we should jump this incidence.

NANCY XATULA: There was a period when we tried to get the body and we were denied access to the body.
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MEMBER OF PANEL: Okay, you can go on.

NANCY XATULA: Okay we tried.  Dengana was amongst those who did not want us to get the body.  They did not even want us to get our own doctor so that he can the post mortem.  It was Dr Clarkman.  It was a long struggle.  They did not want us to have our doctor.  Fortunately, I got the lawyers who were very strong and then I was informed that the doctor was supposed to go and do the post mortem.  I was also informed about the date.  We have been offered cars that we are going to be fetched and be taken during the post mortem.  We were also informed that we will be accommodated in a hotel and Blackcat said he would come and fetch us.  I said, no, I will never enjoy that.  I did not go to the car even when they came and fetched me.
 The day on which the post mortem was supposed to be done Dr Clarkman did not come.  He waited here at Umtata and the police refused to bring the body at Umtata.

MEMBER OF PANEL: What happened?

NANCY XATULA: It was very late, it was in the evening.  Dengana was blocking the whole process.  When the body came we did not know anything about it and then the post mortem was done in the morning and it was discovered that he was really shot dead.  It was very difficult to attend the inquest.  The first summons which were brought to me were written Nomabata Xatula.  It was from the police from the Transkei.  I have got that document here.  The other one is with the lawyers.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Why do you think they addressed you as Nomabata?

NANCY XATULA: I think they were trying to make a conflict between my sister and myself so that I could think that she
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was collaborating with the police.  So that is what they, they wanted to create that impression.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Were you able then to relate this to Blackcats relationship?

NANCY XATULA: Yes because I had to inform my sister and say please withdraw yourself from the company of Blackcat and the others.  When she stopped seeing them they started hating her.  There were cars here in Qumbu awaiting for me, but I just chased them away.

MEMBER OF PANEL: After the post mortem what happened?

NANCY XATULA: I was given restricted orders.  I was given orders when to bury my niece and it was Saturday, Sunday, Monday and I was informed that I should choose one of the days.  The Tuesday, between Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.  There were orders that by two o' clock everybody should have dispersed by that time.  They also stipulated the number of the people who were supposed to attend the funeral.  They said it should be about 200.  Then I was surprised because I was asking myself am I going to send invitations now to the people so that I can say who should attend the funeral or who should not.  We therefore took the body to Dalisas at, after the post mortem.
 On that day, it was on a Thursday, probably I might be mistaken.  I could say it would appear as if we were burying the high ranking official of the police because the funeral was surrounded by the police.  All over the place, over the river at Sika, the police, the soldiers, everybody was turned back because I had prepared the funeral arrangements for Showvery.  The coffin was being searched.  They said they were looking for grenades.  I was surprised and I was asking myself could we really do that to carry the grenade 
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in the coffin of our child.  Blackcat has turned now.  He was just like a puffadder.  He was not advising us anymore.  He looked to have turned against us.  We went to Showvery and then we could see that there were many police.  They were trying to do everything in their control.  They were taking photos, they were doing everything that was not acceptable according to our culture.  
 Unfortunately, there were Comrades.  The others who were in the struggle, the colleagues to Leo, there were others who were from abroad, those who were coming from Johannesburg they were turned back some of them.  I can mention that everybody experienced a horrible experience because people were being assaulted, shamboks were used.  Mulowa was carrying a knopkirrie and was dispersing everybody.  People were assaulted, wires, rifle butts were used to assault people.  I was also taken out of the people, I was removed from the crowd and then they were ridiculing me.  The most painful experience was to watch my children being assaulted.  I can mention that nobody could throw any soil in the grave.  There was only one child who managed to run away.  
 There was also an order that I should be arrested.  When I was taken to the van so that I can be detained Mulowa came to defend me.  He asked who is going to bury Leo if you are going to take his aunt away and then they succumbed and then they handed me over to my family.  I continued with the coffin, with the burial.  The Reverend could not continue with the sermon because there was a lot of disturbance from the police and the South African Defence Force.  When we were still busy with the funeral the people were assaulted again.  I did not run away because I was very angry.  I 
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started to insult them again, but at the end I went up and then we went back to my place.  
 I can mention the people who were assaulted.  Songabile Manotwa, he is now a Minister of Parliament.  I am sure that he still bears the scars of the assault.  Pindile, Lwasie Mashlaka.  One gentlemen from the Zibi family he died and then my children.  There were many threats.  I can just mention that the coffin was not covered with soil.  It was just put in the grave and it was difficult to put the soil over.  I discovered that during the time of the funeral the coffin fell.  Yes, it is so.  The police just hit the coffin and it fell.  The corpse fell.

MEMBER OF PANEL: During this day, your children, were they also arrested?

NANCY XATULA: Yes except my daughter.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Did you go and look for them?

NANCY XATULA: Yes, I went to every prison and then I reached one place and fortunately I found them at Qumbu.  What they said is that they were tortured and they were pricked with straight pins whilst they were detained.  Kwezi had many wounds.  It seems that he was flogged.

MEMBER OF PANEL: You were mentioning threats.  Can you tell us about the threats?