Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

WITNESS:   The case went on, the perpetrators were arrested, but even though I may not go back to where I stayed I felt that my parents had worked hard for us to be what we are today, and we asked my brother to go and stay where we were staying, and he was also harassed because they used to steal his cars, they used to traumatise him also.  Apparently they don't want anybody to stay where we used to stay.  Now nobody can stay in that place.  We do not have a place to stay.  We are all scattered.  I have put the children at different places, and they are having problems adjusting because they are separated, they are staying at different places.  They are not staying as a family.

KHOZA MGOJO: Is it true that you said that you want the Commission to conduct an investigation as to why the perpetrators were freed even before they served even half of the sentence?  You want to know as to why they were freed so early?  Is it correct that you want the Commission to investigate the reasons surrounding the release?

WITNESS:   Yes, that is correct, I would like the Commission to investigate.  I will not get my parents back, but I would like to know the truth about the release of the perpetrators, and why they were released before serving their sentences.

KHOZA MGOJO: I think you need psychological help.  It is apparent that you've gone through so much trauma, and you have been disturbed emotionally as well as mentally.  But we take the recommendations and pass them to the State President.  He is the one who makes a decision at the end of the day as to how people like you could be assisted.  You may not understand that you have been traumatised, or you may not know it, but it is apparent from the way you talk that you really do need help.  You need to talk to someone about what happened.  You need some therapy.  Maybe if you talk repeatedly about them they will tend to sink and you would be on your way to rehabilitation as well as acceptance of what has happened.  We want to recommend that you see psychologists so that they can help you with therapy sessions, but the rest of the requests are passed to the State President so that he can take the final decisions.

UNKNOWN: I have got just one question to ask from you.  I did not hear you talking about your parents' funeral.  What happened to the frame and the bones as well as your mother's ashes, because it is our culture to see our loved ones burial places?

WITNESS:   The police came.  They collected the ashes.  They came with certain plastics, they collected my mother ashes as well as her feet, and we also went into the bedroom.  We collected my father's bones as well as the ashes.  They were put in separate plastics and they wrote outside that this is my mother and the other plastic was my father.  These were taken to the mortuary.  And they were buried at Umzimkulu.  We buried the ashes. The other thing that I would like to say to you is many are times when people are in your position, a position of responsibility.  Because of the responsibilty that you have you don't realise how traumatised you were and traumatised you still are.  We are very surprised that today you are sitting here.  You look quite healthy, and you can still relate and talk about your parents' death.  It means something within you gives you courage, you've got an anchor.  You've got some inner strength that keeps you going and makes you able to talk about this, and we thank you very much.

COMMISSIONER: It is difficult to know what to say to you.  Your story that you have told us is one of the most terrible stories that we have heard in the last four months that we've been hearing stories around Natal and the Free State, and it is a great tribute to your courage and your strength of character that you can come and tell us the story in the way that you have told us today.  As Dr Magwaza says, you certainly do have an inner strength that enables you to survive the way you have.  We don't understand what it is that makes people behave like these people behaved.  Dr Mgojo said that they behaved like animals.  I don't even think that's correct, because animals don't do that to each other.  They behaved worse than that.  They have descended to a level of barbarity that most of us do not understand at all.
Now, I won't add anything more to the advice that has been given to you by Dr Mgojo and Dr Magwaza, save to say that I think that in the long run you will need some psychological assistance to help you over this trauma and to help you live your life, and we all wish you well as you go now.  Thank you very much.

COMMISSIONER: Thamsanqa Ndimande - Templeton Ndimande, if you could please come onto the stage.  We welcome you, Mr Ndimande.  Thank you very much for being so patient, waiting all afternoon to give your evidence.  You have come to tell us about the shooting of your son, Sibonelo, who was shot during the Shaka Day celebrations in 1992.  before you give your evidence can you stand and take the oath?

UNKNOWN: (Sworn, States)   (Through Interpreter)

COMMISSIONER: Is this Sibonelo who's with you on the stage now?

WITNESS:   Yes.

COMMISSIONER: Thank you.  Mr Lax will assist you now with your evidence.

MR LAX: Thank you, Chairperson.  Good afternoon, Mr Ndimande, and good afternoon to you as well, Sibonelo.  Thank you for coming to share this story with us.  It can't be very easy for you.  Now, before we proceed if you could just tell us a little bit about your family.  How many children do you have, where does Sibonelo fit into the picture, and so on?

WITNESS:   Concisely I will say we were born at Umkumbane, and we left Umkumbane for KwaMashu.  And my parents died and it's me and my children.

MR LAX: (Inaudible)

WITNESS:   Seven.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... how does he fit in amongst the seven?

WITNESS:   He is the second one from the last.

MR LAX: Now, you yourself were born on the 22nd of January 1949, is that correct?

WITNESS:   That's correct.

MR LAX: And we have Sibonelo's date of birth only as September 1977.  What date was that?

WITNESS:   Correct.

MR LAX: Do you know the date itself?

WITNESS:   I don't know it exactly, but I know for a fact he's a 1977 one, October.

MR LAX: Now, as Mr Lister says, this incident that you're going to tell us about happened on Shaka Day in 1992.  Is that correct?

WITNESS:   That's correct.

MR LAX: And people had been to the KwaMashu Princess Magogo Stadium, and as the crowd were leaving the stadium this incident happened.  Will you tell us what happened as far as you are aware?