Human Rights Violation Hearings — Heiderveld — 1996-04-24

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: I was listening while you were telling us that you have been running, it looks like that's really what was so painful to you, to run away from the police and yet you didn't know what you did.   I think that's - that's what hurting you the most, running away and at the end of the day you find that you are beaten up.
Ja you are justified to ask who are the people who did this.  All I want to find out is that the most important thing to you to find out who are the people who beat you up.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes that's the most important thing to me.  As I have described this before, I was beaten up, but they said to me no I was lying.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: What were you doing, why did they beat you up, why did they chase you, why was it you, can you just tell us a little what happened then, why was this happening to you?

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Maybe it's because I was wearing a uniform and they were looking for students.  They didn't want to see any students walking around in the streets, so I just think they were the only ones who - they wanted to be on the streets - no students they were just chasing anyone who looks like a student, they were just chasing anyone.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: So you saying actually is to wear a uniform.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes I think so.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: Thank you.

DR BORAINE: Before we continue, the Archbishop, Chairperson of the Commission has been called out from a very urgent matter and he will be leaving us now and return as soon as he can, thank you, Glenda.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Mr Mqikela, I would like to - I would like to ask you a few questions which would help us to understand how you feeling now after the incident.  I know it might be a bit hard for you to talk about that, but may I have your permission to ask those questions, just a few to give us an idea of how you are feeling now after the incident.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Spiritually I am still not satisfied even my health is not 100%, even now as I am trying to talk to you, my chest hurts, I am not free even now, spiritually and physically, no I am not free at all even mentally things are still very difficult for me.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: You - you talked about the headaches that you getting and the problems with your memory.  Can I ask you a few questions about your headaches, when you get those headaches now, what do you - what do you have to do when you get headaches, do you have to stay at home, do you have to lie down and sleep, what do you do when you get those headaches, try and give us an idea of how severe those headaches are.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: When I try to explain this to other people they usually tell me no it's stress.  But usually when - when it attacks me, I have to sleep because it's intensity makes me very weak, I can't do anything when - when it starts, that's why I end up sleeping, try to relax.  Then after that it becomes better, gradually that is now how my headaches  attacks me.
Sometimes I have a blackout, as a result of this headache and it's very difficult for me to think about anything I can't think at all when this happens.  If somebody tells me something now, I forget about it immediately.  So my memory is also affected, sometimes I even get angry, something that I cannot explain.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: And this - you are getting very angry now, you didn't have that experience before the incident, before the beatings you didn't easily get angry.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: No I didn't have these before.

DR BORAINE: Mr Ntsebeza.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Thank you - I would like to investigate more about your lawyers.  Aren't these lawyers, they not V Potash, they not Vukic and Potash they are from Cape  Town.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: I cannot interpret this name,  I think it's V U K I C and Potash.

ADV NTSEBEZA: During this time - during the Courts were you told to go and identify these police?

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: No that didn't happen  end of Tape 12, side B ...

ADV NTSEBEZA: Is it because you were not - even not - these people were not put in front of you, is that why they said you were lying.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes that's true.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Did they say you lying because you said you don't know the names of this policeman?

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: What I can remember is that there was another question that I couldn't answer well while I was trying to explain to them.  Because I couldn't answer that question well I was told no then I am lying.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Now do you think that these lawyers can have the details about this?

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes I am sure they would.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Would you allow us now to go to these lawyers and ask them.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes I would be happy if you can.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Thank you.

DR BORAINE: Any further questions, would you like to proceed to the next witness.

MARY BURTON: Thank you, thank you very much Mlandeli, we will now ask your father what he remembers of this case.
Good morning Mr Mqikela.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Good morning.

MARY BURTON: You can hear me all right and the translation is working.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes I am listening to you.

MARY BURTON: Your son came home to you that day on the 2nd of October.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Now I don't know much about this, but I know some.  When all this happened I was at work, I heard that - I know that the students were at a funeral on a Saturday and there was choas.  There were - people were shot at and one of the students died.  As a working man at the time, we would go to work worried, because we could see the hippos patrolling around the townships.
We didn't know what they were - they - what they were looking for, but anyway during that time it was a usual sight to see a hippo in the townships.  When I came back from work at the usual time, I saw my wife was quite anxious.  And this one, my son was sleeping at his usual place.
I heard that Mlandeli was beaten by the police.  Now my wife told me all the details that he was taken out of KTC I haven't seen him at this time, my wife is still telling me all this.  I asked why, she said no he was running away from the police so he ran down 78 and he approached KTC and the police were already there.  That's how my wife told me this.  I haven't seen him yet, this house that he ran in to trying to hide in, the one has explained to you already, I was shocked about this and then I went to him.
When I got to him I saw him his whole head was bandaged and his lips were split apart and his whole body was swollen, he was beaten up.  I asked him why were you beaten up like this, no I was just running away from the police, we were at school and we ran away because they were chasing us.

MARY BURTON: And then what happened?