Human Rights Violation Hearings — Mooiriver — 1997-05-29

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Mnyandu ... (inaudible) ... us today.  One of the things that we've noticed since we've been here in Brandville, after we've heard stories from people like you, is how many of the victims of the violence here were innocent people.  You heard this morning the evidence of Mrs Masondo, Mrs Tryphina Masondo, who talked about her daughter, Alexia, who was stabbed with a child on her back while she was running away, and one can hardly think of a more innocent victim than that.  And in the same way you and your husband and children, you weren't taking part in any violence, you were running away from it.  You were afraid of it, and you were running away from it, and while you were running away from it your husband died.  And that's something that we've heard all over the country, is the completely random nature of the violence, and the fact that so many of the victims were innocent people, and worse, so many of them were women and children.
So, we can see how the events of those days have affected you.  You are left without your partners to raise your children, and we are very sorry, we extend our deep sympathies to you, but we hope that it's been of some small assistance to you to be able to come here and to tell your story in an environment which accepts what you say.  So we thank you very much for coming in to talk to us.
/CHAIRMAN

CHAIRPERSON: The next witness is Peter and Rachel Stewart.
Rachel and Peter Stewart, we welcome you here today.  You have come all the way from Johannesburg to talk to us about the death of your sister, Clare.  Will you both be talking, or - you will both, okay.

PETER DOMINIC STEPHEN STEWART AND RACHEL STEWART: We will both be talking.

CHAIRPERSON: Right, okay.  I'll then swear both of you in, if you could stand up to take the oath please.

PETER DOMINIC STEPHEN STEWART AND RACHEL STEWART: (Sworn, State)

CHAIRPERSON: Ilan Lax will help you now.

MR LAX: Thank you, Chairperson, and welcome once again to both of you.  Can you hear me properly through those headphones?

WITNESS:   Yes.

MR LAX: Okay.  Don't worry about the translation, it happens simultaneously, so that's okay.  Just try and relax and we'll take you through the thing.  Before we get onto the story of your sister's tragic death I am going to try and - as you will have seen with other witnesses - develop just a bit of a picture of your family background.  Peter, we don't have any demographic details of yourself.  What is your date of birth please?

WITNESS:   I was born on the 26th of December 1956.

MR LAX: And you're presently resident in Johannesburg?

WITNESS:  Yes.

MR LAX: Rachel, if you could just please give us that same sort of information.  Your date of birth please?

WITNESS:   The 16th of September of 1958.

MR LAX: Thank you.  And you're also living in Johannesburg.

WITNESS:   That's right. Besides yourself there's another brother, Peter Stewart, who lives in Harare.   ---   Another brother, John Stewart.

MR LAX: Is it - sorry, John Stewart.  I beg your pardon.  We have his details.  He actually made the original statement as I understand it.

WITNESS:   Yes.

MR LAX: And are there any other siblings?

WITNESS:   We have a younger sister, Alice Hotesman, living in Connecticut in the USA.

MR LAX: What is her age please?

WITNESS:   She was born on the 29th of July in 1963.

MR LAX: Thank you.  Could you - we'll turn to Clare's children, if you could just give us some idea of what children she had please.

WITNESS:   Clare had two children.  The older one, Thambo Stewart, was born on the 17th of January 1985, and the younger one, Phuleng, was born on the 3rd of July 1992.

MR LAX: Where are both these children at the moment?

WITNESS:  Thambo lives with our brother John, in Harare in Zimbabwe, and Phuleng lives with me in Johannesburg.

MR LAX: Is Thambo at school at the moment?

WITNESS:   He is, yes.

MR LAX: What standard would he be in please?

WITNESS:   Standard five.

MR LAX: Thanks.  And Phuleng?

WITNESS:   She's in nursery school.

MR LAX: Thank you.  What is the position with your parents please?

WITNESS:   Our parents were killed in a car crash in 1984 in Lesotho.

MR LAX: Thank you.  I am sorry about that.  Okay, if you can please turn to the events as you know them relating to Clare's death, and just tell us a little bit about Clare before, perhaps as an introduction - what she was doing and so on.

WITNESS:   Clare was an agricultural worker living in - at the time of her death in Mangusi in northern KwaZulu-Natal.  She was co-ordinating the Masivela KwaThenda Nguni Co-operative Cattle Stud, that was designed to redirect income from cattle sales to the local farmers in a co-operative.  At the time of her death she was involved in travelling around Maputoland getting cattle for - or looking for cattle for the cattle stud, which was now at the stage of getting cattle.  She had spent some years before that involved in the setting up of the co-operative, in negotiating for land for the cattle stud, negotiating with local people and with the KwaZulu Bureau of Natural Resources.

MR LAX: Please feel free to come in if you want to.  It's fine.

WITNESS:   Ja.  Shall we go into the events of the day?

MR LAX: Please do so.