Human Rights Violation Hearings — Sebokeng — 1996-08-07

WITNESS GALELA: On that day I woke up early in the morning.  I left my mother in the house and I went outside.  I came across people who were telling me that the Zulus had been arrested at the hostel.  I was very interested to see what was actually happening because it was going to be my first day.  I went to the hostel.  I don't know what the name of the hostel is but that block was the Railway Block.  And we got there we saw them wearing overalls.  They were inside and they were surrounded by police.  As we were still standing there I saw my father, but I really doubted to go to him.  Then I went to the other side of the road and I peeped through the hole to see the whole incident.  And the Zulus were right inside the hostel.  As we were still watching all that was happening just behind us there came a soldiers Caspir and we turned around to face them to see what they had come to do.  They got out of their Caspirs, nobody threw any stones at them, nobody was aggressive, we were just peeing through the hole to see what was happening at the hostel.  All of them got out of the Caspirs and they formed sort-of a guard of honour and they were facing us.  Just at that moment there was a group, we were a group, there were many of us, and we were facing them.  We restrained ourselves, we told ourselves that we should just sit down.  My father at that moment was at a distance which
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I could equate to the door that I am looking at.  As we were sitting down, because there were many of us, we were all sitting down from the front up to the back, just before the last row at the back sat down we just heard a loud explosion and we realised that we were being thrown with a teargas canister.  And out of the corner of my eye I could see my father because he was at a distance.  And I didn't want to really face him because somehow I was scared.  I saw him, it was as if he was trying to stand up and at that particular moment I ran away.  
 Just when I was on the other side of the street I had this doubt, I suspected that my father was trying to stand up but now I can't see him anywhere.  And now he was right at the front.  Now he could not have been able to walk quite quickly.  At that moment I was very confused.  I didn't know what to think.  I asked myself whether he was able to stand and run away, but I told myself at the same moment that he was an elderly man and he could not run as fast as we could.   I went back to look for my father, and when I went there I looked but I could not see any trace that he was there.  I ran around trying to look for him but I could not find him anywhere.  I kept on looking and I had this doubt in my mind that my father couldn't have run away.  Probably something happened to him because he's an elderly man and he looked like he had a problem standing up and he had a very big build.  And I felt in my heart of hearts that something had happened.  
 I went straight home and I asked my mother whether my father had come back.  My mother said no he hadn't yet come back.  I didn't tell my mother.

DR RANDERA: I am going to stop you there now please.
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Thank you very much for your account of what happened at the time of your father's shooting.  Thank you very much.  Mrs Galela I just want to ask you a few more questions before I hand back to the Chairperson.  You said your husband went to the hostel because there were some relatives living there, was your husband involved in any political organisation at the time?

MRS GALELA: No he was not involved in politics.  He was not involved in politics at all.

DR RANDERA: How old was your husband and what work was he doing at the time?

MRS GALELA: He was born in 1937.  I am not sure how old he is but he was born in 1937.  I think he was plus/minus 50 at that time he died, but I am not very sure.  He was quite old when he died and he had just stopped working.

DR RANDERA: Mrs Galela you did report this to the police, can you just tell us was there an inquest held?

MRS GALELA: After my husband died, as we had gone home to bury him but there was Witness at the house, there was also another youth, now I was left because I had to be in mourning.  I am told that the police arrived and they said that we were wanted.  We had to appear at the Vereeniging court.  Now they asked as to why they were wanted because they were not the ones who had committed the offence and the police who had come to give us the message they told us that we were wanted with regard to Hamilton's shooting so that the person who shot him might appear in court.  Because I was not there at the moment Witness went to appear at the Vereeniging court and the case was remanded and we were told that we were going to be informed at a later date as to when the case was going to be held.  Witness phoned us so that we HRV/810 come/...
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may come here.  When we got here in Johannesburg there is not even a single policeman or any investigator who came to see us to find out more information with regard to my husband.  Then thereafter we read it from the Vaal Vision that John Booysen, who is a soldier, is the one who had killed my husband and he had killed him by mistake.  But we never actually appeared in court.

DR RANDERA: Thank you Mrs Galela.  I think in your statement you said that you couldn't remember the date and at the end of it you said it was on the 4th of September, I just want to remind ourselves and the audience as to what happened on that 4th of September.  On that day there was a confrontation at Sebokeng Hostel between the South African Defence Force, the Police and Hostel residents.  11 hostel residents were shot dead by the troops.  Over 42 were killed and scores were wounded at the hostel in a period of 24 hours after that.

MRS GALELA: My husband was killed on that very same date, that is the 4th of September.  I think it was 1990 at the hostel.

DR RANDERA: Thank you Mrs Galela I don't have any more questions.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Seroke has a number of questions.

MS SEROKE: I have a few questions to ask you.  You said your husband was taken to the Transkei for the funeral, what were the costs of the funeral and how did you meet the costs of the funeral, who paid for the funeral?

MRS GALELA: The reason why we had to bury him in Transkei was that people who were injured in hostel, Holomisa promised that he was going to help us ferry them to the Transkei.  The cars and the buses came, they helped us ferry HRV/810 our/...
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our deceased to the Transkei so he carried the costs.  He took our deceased to the Transkei.

MS SEROKE: Where is home?

MRS GALELA: I stay in Dudjwa.

MS SEROKE: And Holomisa gave you the money too?

MRS GALELA: No he only paid for the coffins.

MS SEROKE: What about the funeral expenses?

MRS GALELA: We met the funeral expenses.  We had to pay all by ourselves.

MS SEROKE: When did you come back from Transkei?  Are you staying in Vereeniging now?

MRS GALELA: We are residents here.  We stay here, we go home on holidays, since I came back in 1990 after I received a call that I was wanted at the Vereeniging court.

MS SEROKE: We have heard your request that you want the policeman or the soldier to tell you as to why he shot your husband whereas your husband was kneeling together with other people, as well as that you want to know as to why your husband was kept for so many days and you were notified very late that your husband had died.  We have an investigating unit within the TRC, we shall request them to make further investigations and proper investigations.  Thank you very much.