Human Rights Violation Hearings — Port Elizabeth — 1996-06-26

MRS MTIMKHULU: Commissioner, I think I can mention that he couldn't walk properly, but he was able to walk
independently.  But he didn't walk the way in which he used to, he was limping and at times I would see that he was afraid to tread heavily.
 A few days later, as I have said, he came back on the 20th, on the 21st we could see that he was deteriorating.  On the 22nd he was unable to walk, he crawled.  He had to crawl around the room.  He would grundle during the night.
 We tried to give him medication.  At times we would try to relieve him of the pain by rubbing him.   We tried to give him some medication.
 Each time he took something, he would vomit it, he never relieved himself.  If he had to go to urinate, he was unable to do so.
 At times it would be just painful drops.  At times when he had to go to relieve himself, you could see that it was only blood that used to come out.  It was a dark, thick blood.
 He would state that it is very painful when he tries to relieve himself.  We took him to the hospital, a day hospital.  Mr Lamani, the late Mr Lamani took him.  He was given treatment after the examination, but this was not effective.
 We took him to the private Doctor again, Dr Moodley was the Doctor which we usually took all the comrades to.  Because of his condition you could see that it was difficult PORT ELIZABETH HEARING TRC/EASTERN CAPE
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for him to do anything.  His body was becoming swollen, gradually the upper limbs were also beginning to swell, he had to be admitted.
 His condition deteriorated completely at Livingstone Hospital.  When we visited him, you could see that even the face was swollen, the whole body was affected.  You couldn't recognise him.
 He didn't even want anybody to come closer to him, the way in which he was feeling the pain.
 He said he had electric shocks.  Due to his condition we had to request that the hospital should be transferred to another hospital.  We were thinking about Grootte Schuur and then this happened.
 He was then admitted at Grootte Schuur Hospital.  When he got there, we could see that he was ageing.  You can remember that I said in the Livingstone Hospital he was swollen, but when he got there at Grootte Schuur, his condition changed.  He looked like an old man, I didn't believe when I visited him, that he was the same person that I saw the last time in Port Elizabeth.
 He smiled because he could see that I didn't recognise him.  When he smiled, I was able to see that it was him.  I will never forget the Boers.

MR NTSEBEZA: Mama, you can say anything that you want to say.  Please express yourself as much as you can.  This is the most important day for you.

MRS MTIMKHULU: I don't want to cry, I understand that this is my day, I don't want to cry, I want to speak.
 Probably if I cry, it won't be due to the pain, it would be due to the hatred, it would be due to the fact that there is no honesty amongst our people.  This is the 14th 
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year, for 14 years we were going along with this pain.
 Boers are liers.  Boers are prohibiting us to say anything about Siphiwo because they have a lot of money.  They have got a lot of money and they are able to bribe people so that they can be defended.
 Let me go back to my story.  Siphiwo was unrecognizable.  During that period there were people who were visiting him.  It is true that if you do something to a person here in Port Elizabeth, everybody would show support because you could see so many people, some of them who don't even know him, they were supporting him.  Giving him support and they tried to comfort him as much as possible. 
 Brian Bishop were the people who were giving the support that I am talking about.  What happened to Siphiwo at the time whilst he was in Cape Town was one of the big surprises for me, because Nieuwoudt, Van Rensburg, Du Preez and his team Dunsta who always played karate on my child, were the people who are responsible for Siphiwo's condition.
 This shows how cruel those people were.  I am still referring and explaining much about what happened to Siphiwo in Cape Town.  You know they have big rats at their places and that is the poison, the poison they could have used for those rats, they used on my son.
 To the effect that he lost his hair, he was critical at the time.  You would witness that he was in pain, but you could see that he was also losing his stature, he was losing his hair, but he was a bit much better, because in the previous hospital he was disorientated and would just stare at you without any communication.
 He continued to lose his hair, I would like to show you 
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his hair.  Really we have to bring evidence and exhibitions so that if you make your investigations, you should have a clear picture of what happened.  This is Siphiwo's hair, this is the scalp, attached to the hair.
 That person is not at home, we all know that if you cut a person's hair, you don't cut the scalp, but I want you
today to see Commission, that we have his hair together with his scalp attached to the hair.  I want the Commission to witness what I've brought here today so that they should know the effect of the poison which was used on my son.
 I want to show that if you, I want to inform you that he would bleed whereas he looses the hair, he would also bleed, the scalp would bleed.  I don't know why did I keep this hair, I do not why I could keep it for quite a long time, but I said to myself, let me keep this so that one day something might happen so that I can be able to show this to the people.
 That is why I am grateful today.

MR NTSEBEZA: Who is the Doctor who gave you the information about the poison?

MRS MTIMKHULU: The Doctor that I am talking about is Professor Frances Ames, I think he is retired now.  At the time he was working at Grootte Schuur.  He called us and informed us that these were the results of the poison which damaged our son.
 She informed us that they made tests and these are the findings.  They wanted to know the type of poison that could make him suffer so much.  They informed me that it was poison.
 They stated that they could find the reason for his condition to be due to the poison which he had taken.  
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Siphiwo was admitted for about a month in Cape Town, but you could see that he was promising, the prognosis was at least good, you could see that there was new hair which was growing.
 He was discharged.  It was on the 17th of January 1982 when he was discharged.  We fetched him from the airport.  
When he came back he was already confined to a wheelchair, he couldn't walk independently. His father asked him Siphiwo, as you are in this condition, how do you feel now because I told you to do away with your struggle.  One day you are going to die.  I've already told you that we are not yet politicised, so we didn't understand what was going on with our children.
 Siphiwo insisted that he will never go back, he will never turn his back from the struggle.  He said he is finished now.  One of the journalists who was a lady who came to the airport said to Siphiwo, please stop this.
 Discontinue your involvement.  He said, I cannot do that.  He stated that he has been with the people and leading people, working together with them and then he will not betray his people.  He regarded that if he should stop his involvement, it would be just like betraying the people.
 At times we would see that he would try to walk, but it was very difficult for him.  He tried to make exercises, he tried to recover also because he was also determined to recover.

MR NTSEBEZA: Was he still confined to a wheelchair?