Human Rights Violation Hearings — Nelspruit — 1996-09-04

MOTSO ROMBENA NGWENYAMA: I would like to thank that I am here today in front of the Commission.  Firstly, I would like to thank
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that I had this in my heart, but I didn't know whom to inform about it.  Today I feel I am having my father and my mother where I will reveal to them this problem of mine since 1963, until today.  Today I feel I am very much free.  This problem of mine which was troubling me day and night, I could not know whom to inform as if I am not a South African, as if I am lost.  But today I feel that I am a new-born in this country.  To what affected me since 1963.  My first story where I started to work for Mokweni. We were there. The boer came.  His name was Mr Pokweni.  He was from Boksburg Rand.  He was failing to interact with people. He just dictated to us that we need to remove from our area.  He indicated the area where we need to go and stay.  There was a chief in that area, there wasn't even a meeting held to inform us as evidence.  The commissioner came to tell us that I am here to construct the dam and a hospital and to start a building a location.  It was in 1963, from there it goes to 1964.  We thought this man was joking.  We are not aware what that man was doing.  He has really affected us.  They came with big trucks, a bull-dozer to stop the river.  Many people came, they continued with their work. They didn't even tell us what they were doing. In 1964 the message came to us that the graves were to be exhumed.  The owners of these graves were not even informed.  They were not even allowed to have a word about it.  The bull-dozers came and continued with their work.  We realised that we had no alternative.  We had to follow the instructions, going to the new place where we were instructed to go and build.  We realised that they were busy digging, exhuming the graves.  As owners of those graves were not allowed to come.  We don't know who indicated who is the owner, which family is 
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owning this graveyard.  Nobody informed us.  Even today we cannot say where are those corpses.  We are not even allowed to come nearby.  The exhumed bodies were put together and we could not know where they were sent to.  In our tradition we knew that it wasn't allowed, but we don't know where the remains were sent to.  And we were farming in that area, where we are expected to build, but we were forced to go and build our houses there.  After that my father said to me we have got no alternative, because the boers are now here.  The name of that place was called Ngondeni.  As this man dominated the area it was changed and named after him.  People were forced to move to other areas.  He used to have his team to work for him.  From there we took all our belongings with us, our cattle, our clothes. There wasn't transport.  We were using animals as a means of transport.  We crossed to the other river called, the other side of the river called Gujakov.  Then we stayed there.  In 1965 there was a contractor where they started making bricks.  So as to start to making, building the location.  We therefore realised that they have started with the hospital, by that time still there.  We could not know where the graves were.  As I am here today I don't know where the remains area.  As you see me here I don't know where the remains are. As they were building the locations, busy with their duties, we saw that they were taking our area.  They were taking our land.  As I am talking I can remember the place where I was born.  I cannot know even where my mother is today.  But I know the area, I can even identify where my father's home was.  I can even identify the tree.  I can't, I don't know where my mother's remains are.  What is troubling me today is that is it possible for the Commission to help me to investigate?
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As I am a parent today, I am having 12 children but they don't know the grave of my mother. I can't even show them. I am a bona fide citizen of this country, but I don't know where my mother's grave is.   I can't even tell my children about it.  I have got no answer to that when they ask me.  It seems as if to my parents I am a foreigner, because I cannot tell the truth to my children. I can't tell my children the truth, and I told my children that this is troubling me.  I told them that now is my turn, I need to stand up and approach the Commission.  I need to tell them about those boers who were troubling us.  So maybe I can get assistance from the Commission to go and help us, to show us where our graveyards for our grannies are.  I tried to investigate myself. I managed to identify some of the documents that I have, that what I am telling to the Commission is true.   I will give the documents as a proof that we are assaulted.   The content of the document will show that the boers were really troubling us.  They were insulting us.  I am here today, I am going to ask the Commission to investigate for me where are the graveyards.  We are looking to the documents. I found that Khosikobe's funeral, as the grave was No 17.  In my mind it means when they did make a mark there, it means it is possible for the Commissioner, for the Commission to investigate, taking that as a point of reference.  So that I can assist to my children to show them where my mother's grave is.  As blacks this is a problem to us, because it is our tradition that they must know, they must worship their elders.  Today I am having a problem too. I cannot even worship my elders.  Because I don't know where my mother's grave is.  I cannot even identify it.  What really affects me is that when the
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preparations were done, my mother's equipments were brought from Barberton. We have lost a lot of money but I can't really show where it is today. When I questioned my sister about the coffin she said to me it was expensive, because the older people were not used to counting money.  They can't say really what was the cost of that coffin.  I am here to ask the Commission today, to investigate for me, so that I can peace in my mind. I must behave like everybody, to know where my parents are.  Even if when I die my children might also know where the grave of the father is.  If my children must want also to celebrate during holidays like Good Friday they must also know that if they want to visit their father's grave, they must know to go, because that is the tradition of us as Africans.  That is our tradition.  But today they have affected our lives because I cannot know where my mother's grave is.
 Can I please ask the Commission today to help me in that regard. If I look at a white Afrikaner I am not happy today. I feel as if they can all vanish and I can only view the blacks, because today I am looking for my mother's remains, but I cannot get them. Since 1963, today is 1996, I am not free. I want to know where my mother's remains are.  Thank you.

MR LEWIN: Thank you very much, Mr Ngwenyana.  We hear your story and certainly we will look into it as far as we can.  To help us do that, can I ask some background questions and some further questions.  This did happen in 1963.  Can you tell me how old were you at the time?

MOTSO ROMBENA NGWENYAMA: I was very young but I was intelligent.  Because if I could tell you what I can remember, the graveyard wasn't far from our home.  But we saw that
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they were digging the grave, but we don't know where they were going to, with what they were doing.  We had no alternative and nowhere to ask.

MR LEWIN: And could you tell me something about your family, because we understand the problem, but we need to get a picture of you and your family, what they did, where they were, how many people were in your family.