Special Hearings — Mandela United Football Club Hearings — 1997-11-26

BAREND THABISO MONO: If I am not mistaken I first heard of Guybon when I was there.   I did not know him at first. He was a tall man heavily built and if I'm not mistaken he came two days after the assault.  Stompie was still swollen and this person asked: "Who are these people?" He was asking Jerry Richardson: "Who are these people"? Jerry Richardson said to him, "Myself, Pelo and Kenny were not supposed to be assaulted anymore because we did not commit a bigger offence.  Stompie should be continually beaten because he sold out the comrades".  Guybon started kicking Stompie, hitting him against the wall, and thereafter he left.

MR MAKANJEE: Mr Chairman, I'll leave it at that, and possibly re-examine.  Sorry, Mr Chairman, one more question.
 Mr Mono, what happened to Stompie after that?

BAREND THABISO MONO: I do not remember which day it was, but it was during the night, when Jerry Richardson came in and he gave Stompie a pen and a piece of paper. He said: "Write your address here because I'm taking you home today".  Stompie took the paper, he wrote something on the paper, and thereafter he gave it to Jerry.  Jerry left the room with that little piece of paper. After some time he came back. He said, Stompie did not write very well on that paper, that he did not write his address clearly, he could not see what was written there.
 Stompie wrote again. Jerry went out. He came back. He said Stompie should take his belongings because he's taking him back to Parys.  He left with Stompie, and that was the last time we saw Stompie.

MR MAKANJEE: Can you just briefly describe the condition that Stompie was in at that stage?

BAREND THABISO MONO: His head was swollen, his forehead was swollen, his face was swollen, his eyes were very small - that was during the time when he left with Jerry.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.  Hanif?

MR VALLY: Thank you, Arch.
 Mr Mono, when did you move to the Methodist Manse in Soweto?

BAREND THABISO MONO: I went to the Manse in 1988. It was towards the end of 1988.

MR VALLY: ... did you move there?

BAREND THABISO MONO: The reason was that I was hunted by the police in Potchefstroom, and I was not living happily, and I wanted to carry on with my studies the next year, and for that reason I would not stay in Potchefstroom - the police were really troubling me.  Pelo gave me an advice, he said we should go to Johannesburg because he used to frequent Johannesburg.

MR VALLY: We've already heard your testimony regarding the assaults and Mrs Madikezela-Mandela's presence there. Do you remember when you were taken to the doctor after the assaults?

BAREND THABISO MONO: At the time when we were still at Mrs Mandela's place or at any other time, sir?

MR VALLY: Start off from the time you were at Mrs Mandela's place.

BAREND THABISO MONO: We were never seen by a doctor.

MR VALLY: Tell us when you were released. Do you remember what date it was?

BAREND THABISO MONO: After I was released I went to the doctor.

MR VALLY: Who took you to the doctor?

BAREND THABISO MONO: Paul took us to the doctor, myself and Pelo.

MR VALLY: You're referring to the Reverend Paul Verryn?

BAREND THABISO MONO: That's correct.

MR VALLY: What injuries did you have at that time?

BAREND THABISO MONO: I do not remember the injuries but I had scratches on my back because of the sjamboks.

MR VALLY: Do you remember the date you were released?

BAREND THABISO MONO: I do not remember the date very well, but it was January of 1989.

MR VALLY: In your statement you say it was January the 16th, 1989, could this possibly be right?

BAREND THABISO MONO: Yes, I think it's possible.

MR VALLY: While you were still at Mrs Winnie Madikezela- Mandela's house you were taken to a funeral by her, is this correct?

BAREND THABISO MONO: That's correct.

MR VALLY: Can you give us details of this, please?

BAREND THABISO MONO: It was in the morning. Jerry told us that we were supposed to go to the funeral of Sipho Mabuze's father.  He gave us tracksuits, we put them on, and we went into the bus. We were driven to the funeral.

MR VALLY: Can you tell us about - describe this tracksuit to us briefly.

BAREND THABISO MONO: They were green and yellow.

MR VALLY: Did they have any writing on them?

BAREND THABISO MONO: At the back they were printed: "Mandela Football Club".

MR VALLY: Was Mrs Winnie Madikezela-Mandela present at the funeral?

BAREND THABISO MONO: Yes, she was.

MR VALLY: Did she travel with you to the funeral at any stage?

BAREND THABISO MONO: I do not remember very well whether she was with us in the bus or not.

MR VALLY: I want to ask you something different: were you in any way involved in the assault of Lerathodi Ikaneng?

BAREND THABISO MONO: I did not assault him, but can I be given an opportunity to explain?  It was in the afternoon of that day. Jerry said we should go and exercise. Just after the exercise we sat outside our room.  Jerry came to us and said myself, Kenny, Slash - I do not remember who else, he said we should put on our shoes because there was a task that we should do. We should go with him, we should follow him.  He said to Isaac, Isaac must go and get the taxi money from Zinzi. Then we followed him.

MR VALLY: Carry on, tell us the whole story.

BAREND THABISO MONO: We left for the taxi, and we got off at a filling station at Orlando.  We went into a certain house, we left, then we got into another house. They met another boy who was wearing a red shirt.  Jerry and Slash grabbed him by his belt, telling him that he should come with us. He said: "Please, do not hold me, I can come with you, I will not run away". They allowed him to walk freely.
 At some stage he tried to run away. They chased him and they got hold of him.  We walked together with him until we jumped the highway, and this boy was tripped and Jerry said we should hold his legs so that he does not kick. And some of us hold his hands, and Jerry separated a garden shear, and then Jerry stabbed this boy.  He said we should throw him in the furrow next to where we were.

MR VALLY: Please briefly describe to me the nature of the stabbing.

BAREND THABISO MONO: He stabbed him here with that shear.

MR VALLY: ... at your neck, did he cut his throat or did he just stab him?

BAREND THABISO MONO: The problem is I won't be in a position to tell whether he cut or he stabbed, because I was at the back holding his legs, but when we threw him in the furrow he was bleeding.

MR VALLY: Sorry, this happened while you were still kept at Mrs Madikezela-Mandela's house?  Did this incident regarding Lerothodi Ikaneng happen while you were still kept at Mrs Madikezela-Mandela's house?

BAREND THABISO MONO: That's correct.

MR VALLY: In the time that you were at Mrs Madikezela-Mandela's house, were any community or church leaders brought to you, or were you brought to anyone to discuss your being present at her house?

BAREND THABISO MONO: It was not at the house, it was at the office at Orlando East Station. We were taken there.  But before that, Jerry and Xoliswa took us into a room and briefed us and told us that there are people who want to speak to us. They're going to ask us questions about what happened. We should not tell them anything because if we do that they are not going to take us with them, we are going to stay behind.  We went out and we told those people that nothing happened. We did not tell them anything.

MR VALLY: Do you know who it was that you met?

BAREND THABISO MONO: If I remember well it was Aubrey Mokoena, Sister Bernard Ncube, Sydney Mufamadi.  I remember those three, I do not remember the others.

MR VALLY: Were you seen by any other community leaders, church leaders, doctors, whoever, before leaving Mrs Madikezela-Mandela's house on the 16th of January - anyone else?

BAREND THABISO MONO: No-one else, except the ones I've mentioned.