Human Rights Violation Hearings — Umtata — 1996-06-18

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Ms Tiny Maya is going to assist the Witness.

MS MAYA: Thank you Commissioner. Good morning Gadi. I am going to ask you to please take a minute so that you can tell us who you are, tell us about your home, especially about your son Batandwa so that when we talk about him we must know who we are talking about. Some people don't even know who he was.

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: My name is Lulu Sidumo. My surname is Ndondo. Batandwa is my son, I got him before I got married, that is why I am Ms Sidumo. He was raised by the Schulwees when he was seven years old. My mother who was raising him died, now after she died, at that time I was also working, though there were people who could raise him, I decided I am going to take him so that I can raise him, so I took him to Thawla to my sister, my elder sister who has now passed on Mrs Mtabisa. We all agreed on this, myself, Mrs Mtabisa and Mr Mtabisa so that for him to stay there and he did his Primary education at Twala  Village, he got his Matric at Mditchwe High. He completed his 1980 in December. From there he is registered at UNITRA in January 1981. It was now in this year the first month of this year, my sister passed on, Mrs Mtabisa, Batandwa grew up, he was still in UNITRA at the time, until he was appointed here at UNITRA as the member of the SRC. A year after that then he was suspended in UNITRA. After he was suspended he went back to Twala and then he was employed at Helca Trust, now it was at this time when he was working at the Helca Trust that he met his death.

MS MAYA: Now before we get there, could you please explain to us, could you just explain to us what did you know about his involvement with the Organisations, except the Student Representative Council, especially political organisations?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: No, I didn't know much about his political involvement until the time his was at UNITRA. There would be Security Police coming to my place, trying to find out more about him, trying to find out what do I know about his political involvements, but I used to tell him, "No I don't know anything about his political involvement, except that I sent him to school.

MS MAYA: Coming to the day he met his death, what happened?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: On this day it was the 24th September 1985, it was in the morning, around 9.00am. Like I said he was staying at my sister's place. A white kombi arrived with dark tinted windows, Batandwa at the time was with his friend - Tubula Bam and the Security told him that they are coming here to him, when they took him so that they, to him they said they wanted to be shown around the town and they left with him. I don't know which route they took, but when they were going out of Twala going to Elliott, I don't know whether it was coming to Umtata or to Engwa but we call it Elliott Road. People saw this kombi, it passed the Police Station, Twala Police Station, now when he was going to town, Batandwa jumped out of the window and after that the Kombi stopped and Batandwa went to one of the houses, opposite the street. He was then followed by a shower of bullets. When he tried to open the door in this house, trying to go to the back at the same time but that didn't help him, apparently he was hit by one bullet which made him to lie on his stomach. Now two men arrived and a woman. The shots were still going on but he was already on the ground, while he was still trying to get up, but the bullets were still going on, at last one of the woman, this woman said "Kill the dog, is this dog still alive, finish him off". At the time one of the woman who was inside the house, listening to all this chaos and this noise she went out. She wanted to see what was going on, now but these people left my son. Now the woman from inside the house asked "whose son is this you want to kill in my house", so when she said that, they turned back and they took him back into the Kombi and they left with him. They took him to the Police Station, from there they took him to the hospital again. Now but unfortunately when they got to hospital the Doctor couldn't do anything because he was already dead.

MS MAYA: Now the house that he was trying to escape to, did you know whose house it was?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: We only know that it is owned by Mr Vicky Lashle, it is used for renting.

MS MAYA: Where there eyewitnesses?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: Yes, there were eyewitnesses to this incident.

MS MAYA: Please tell us about the hospital.

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: I went to the hospital, that was now after hours I was told that Batandwa has been shot. When I got to the hospital, security in the hospital told me that I couldn't see Batandwa. Nobody is allowed to see Batandwa. Even after I told them that I am his mother, they said "no one is allowed to see Batandwa at all".

MS MAYA: Did you give up now?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: Yes, I gave up because there was nothing I could do.

MS MAYA: So what happened now?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: After two days I thought that I should go back to the scene where this happened, I saw two people taking measurements of the scene, I just watched them taking all the measurements.

MS MAYA: Did you know who they were?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: Yes, I know who they are.

MS MAYA: Who were they?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: It was a lawyer called Mr Sangoyni from Butterworth and Mr Tzan....

MS MAYA: Do you know why they were taking the measurements?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: No, I didn't ask.

MS MAYA: Please go on Mama.

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: I asked from the woman who was in the house when this happened, then she told me, even then nobody came to me to tell me exactly what was happening at the time but I was listening the radios and reading the newspapers, that's where I got the date of the operation of the autopsy. The first time I saw the body was here in Umtata hospital when he was going to be operated on, it was already now after a week.

MS MAYA: Now, mama could you please tell us about the autopsy, what happened?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: When I got there I saw that he had a bullet wound on his head but I could know that there were others on his body but there was one that entered him at the back of his waist which was the fatal one.

MS MAYA: If we could just go past the autopsy maybe mama we can start there. Who did the operation, what it your family doctor or the doctor from the hospital.

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: There were two doctors, one was from the state and one was appointed by us as a family.

MS MAYA: Do you know who this doctor was?

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: No I can't remember who he was.

MS MAYA: Now mama, going to the funeral could you please tell us what happened.

PRINCESS LULAMO SIDUMO: After Batandwa died I used to receive letters from Twala Security Police giving me restrictions as to how I should bury my son. They told me I shouldn't bury on weekends, I must bury him during the week and the process must start from 9.00am to 12.00 and nobody must be still busy with the funeral after those times.

MS MAYA: Did it happen according to that?