Special Hearings — Mandela United Football Club Hearings — 1997-11-24

NICODEMUS SONO: They had his hands like that, the other one was on the other side and he was sort of strange to sit that way, so Mrs Mandela was not facing front she has turned on the passenger seat as if she is facing the driver and she spoke to me on this position and she told me that she has brought Lolo to me that I must see him. He is a police spy.

MR UNTERHALTER: Could you tell us, Mr Sono, before you continue, did you get a good look at your son?

NICODEMUS SONO: Yes, because when I opened the slide door, the light in the kombi went on and I could see Lolo at the back, he was beaten up, his face was bruised, it was actually pulped, he was like you know thick, as if somebody has beaten him up and crushed him against the wall.

MR UNTERHALTER: And did Lolo speak to you?

NICODEMUS SONO: When Lolo tried to speak, he was told to shut up by Mrs Mandela.

MR UNTERHALTER: Now tell me, Mr Sono, what did Mrs Mandela say?

NICODEMUS SONO: Mrs Mandela explained to me that Lolo is a spy and for that reason that the two comrades at Richardson's house were killed. They were sold by Lolo.  And I denied that.  I tried to explain to her that Lolo is not a spy.  In fact Lolo was helping Peter and Sepo when they were around, he has done quite a lot for them, and I don't believe that he is a spy.  But she suddenly changed and, you know, she looked at me the other way. Then I changed my talking to her and I started pleading with her.  When I pleaded with her I said to her, please, leave Lolo with me because he has already been beaten.  If it's for a punishment, I understand that he's been punished, can't you please leave him with me, and she refused ...(intervention)

MR UNTERHALTER: What was her tone of voice, Mr Sono?

NICODEMUS SONO: From Mrs Mandela?

MR UNTERHALTER: Yes.

NICODEMUS SONO: Well, she was really not speaking to me all right as I always knew her and when I spoke to her she was polite, but she raised up her voice, she was speaking very loud, you know.  "I cannot leave him with you. He is a spy".  So I tried to plead with her.  What she said to the driver, she said he must pull off, so the driver engaged the gears and he pulled off.  As we go down she asked the driver to turn round the block and we were still in the kombi, we turned right round the block, and we stopped again in front of my house.  When I looked at Lolo he was in a terrible state, he was shaking. Then I asked her that may I please get a jersey for Lolo because by then I thought he's feeling cold, you know, as if he was beaten to an extent that he passed out and a bucket of water was poured over him.  Then she agreed that we must get a jersey for Lolo.

MR UNTERHALTER: Did Mrs Mandela or anyone else in the minibus say that, yes, he was cold or explain how this had happened?

NICODEMUS SONO: No, she didn't explain anything.  She agreed that we must get a jersey for Lolo.  Then, when we alighted from the kombi, me and Lolo, there was this tall hefty young man who had Lolo on the collar of his shirt and pushed him towards the gate.  He had a gun on the other hand.  So we went to my gate and these boys said we must stop.
 When we stopped, the boy next door, Lolo spoke to him, he said, please bring those things.  I didn't know what was those things.  That boy went into his room and he brought a white envelope, had some photos inside, and that boy grabbed those photos and he quickly went through them and he didn't say anything.  He just went through the photos and he hold them to him. 
 And I asked Lolo's mother to please bring a jersey for Lolo.  And she did bring the jersey.  She went back to the house.  Lolo has worn the jersey and we went back into the kombi, same position.  Lolo went to the back, I went on the front seat, you know where there's a jump seat of a kombi. I sat there and I started pleading again with Mrs Mandela - "Please, won't you leave my son with me because he's already been beaten.  I mean if you leave him with me I'll see what to do from here".  And she totally refused that - "This is a spy".
 She said to Michael again, "pull off", so Michael pulled off.  As we went down I pleaded with her until she said to me, "I am taking this dog away.  The movement will see what to do".  The kombi turned left at the stop street and as we wanted to proceed I asked Michael to please stop.  He stopped.  As he stopped I alighted from the sliding door. Standing on my feet I tried to plead again. She couldn't talk to me, she just said to Michael "pull off" and Michael indeed pulled off.  I closed the slide door, off went the kombi.  That was the last time I saw my son Lolo, in the company of Mrs Mandela and some young men that were not known to me.

MR UNTERHALTER: Mr Sono, do you know how your son went from your house and ended up with Mrs Mandela?

NICODEMUS SONO: Yes, because after they have left, then my wife said to me, actually that kombi was here during the day looking for Lolo and Siboniso, and one of them had Lolo Sono and Siboniso Shabalala's name on a box of matches and she told them that they were not there, Lolo was not there, and asked them a question, who are you?  They said we are sent by Mrs Mandela, we are the Mandela Football Team boys. So that's what they told her.  And when Lolo came back during the day he was told that the blue kombi was here, Mrs Mandela has sent for you.  He said, well, I know, and he went himself to the Diepkloof house of Mrs Mandela.

MR UNTERHALTER: I see.  Now after the events that you've described to us on the 13th of November 1988, what did you do thereafter as far as reporting this matter to the authorities?

NICODEMUS SONO: Yes, the very same day, 1988, after I got home from down the corner, my neighbour, Mr Shabalala, who is unfortunately late now, he came up to see me and he told me that there by his house there were boys looking for his son, Siboniso Shabalala, and these boys told him that they were from the Mandela United Football Club, and he also saw the box of match with Lolo Sono and Siboniso Shabalala's names on the back of the box of match.  And he asked them, why do you look for them?  And the other one said to him, they have joined the team when I am not there, so I want to speak to them.  Please when your son come back tell him to see us, and Shabalala told me that.  The I said to Shabalala, do you think it's wise if you could go, follow the kombi, or we should go to the police to report because the police at Protea wanted me to come with Lolo on Monday morning.  He said no, it's not a wise move, because there was another kombi on the next street facing our houses and it had its lights off. He says no, we will see that tomorrow morning.
 So the next day when we met with Shabalala, it was round about ten to seven or seven o'clock in the morning, I asked him about his son, did he come back?  He said yes, he did come back. I spoke to him about what happened. He said no, I am not going to stay here and I am not going anywhere to hide, I know where Lolo is gone to, I am going to follow him, and I am going where Lolo has gone.  He left. That was round about ten past six in the morning, according to his father.
 Then I went to Protea police station to go and report to the police there that, as you have requested me to come with Lolo, unfortunately Lolo is not here. He's gone with Mrs Mandela yesterday and I don't know, I haven't seen him, he hasn't come back.  So the police then said to me, they are not going to take my statement, I must go to Meadowlands police station, which is my local police station.  Then I went back to Meadowlands police station ...(intervention)

MR UNTERHALTER: Do you recall who the policeman was that said that to you, that he wouldn't take your statement?

NICODEMUS SONO: Yes, that was Captain Potgieter, the one that I am supposed to have seen.