Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietersburg — 1996-07-17

UNKNOWN: Yes me and my wife, we have peace, but it's nothing though at times we just always sit down.

CHAIRPERSON: Which Church do you attend?

UNKNOWN: We attend the Wesselyan Church.

PANEL MEMBER: Ms Maditsi' if I can just ask some questions to try and put what happened in some kind of context.  Your son left the country and he came back in December of 1989.  That's when he came back into the country, in 1989?

UNKNOWN: It's the first time we ever saw him ever since.

PANEL MEMBER: And when he came back into the country, did the security police or Moolman or anybody, did they know that he was back, did they come and visit and say, we know your son is back?

UNKNOWN: No.

PANEL MEMBER: So from the time that he returned in 1989, the end of 1989 and in January 1990 when he was killed, did you have any visits from Moolman or from the police?

UNKNOWN: No.

PANEL MEMBER: But until that time they had been looking for your son, before that they had been visiting you often and asking you about your son and where he was?

UNKNOWN: It was on a three monthly basis.

CHAIRPERSON: And I see that your son was with somebody, Jacob Rapulo, was supposed to have made a statement.  Has he made a statement already, do you know?

UNKNOWN: Ja he admits that they were friends. ...(indistinct)thinks this statement that you have in front of you was compiled by Jacob Rapulo, Yugoslavia, Tanzania,  that was compiled by Mr Rapulo?

CHAIRPERSON: Earlier when Mrs Madisha came forward to speak about Donald, one of the Commissioners asked if Donald and your son William, if they knew each other.  Do you know if Donald and William had any contact with each other?

UNKNOWN: I found the situations similar.  The link is Rapulo.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.  Joyce?

MS SEROKE: I want to ask a question.  When William went to exile, did he go together with Jacob Rapulo?

UNKNOWN: No he didn't know him.  It was there in exile.  There were two ascaris, there were two divisions.  They had a mission together.

MS SEROKE: That time while he was in exile, did you receive any letters from him telling you how he lives, what he's doing?

UNKNOWN: No, no letters. He knew what kind of a person I was, he knew my policy, he wouldn't dare.

CHAIRPERSON: Can I ask whether Mrs Maditsi has anything to add whether she would like to add anything more at this stage that you may want to bring to our attention but we don't expect of you to give us more information?

UNKNOWN: What I want to ask is who are to police who killed my son?  If they are known, I want to know them, because now we are talking about reconciliation. You can't forgive and reconcile with a person whom you don't know.  So I want to know them.
 Secondly, Willy was killed on the 13th of January but told us on the 30th of February.  What did they want to do with him?  Because even now the certificates, the death certificate we got with difficulties.  We buried him without a death certificate.

CHAIRPERSON: We'll look further into this matter.  Our investigative unit has made contact with Mr Rapulo, Jacob Rapulo, he is now a colonel in the defence force and he's not in Pietersburg any more, he's at Voortrekkerhoogde, but we are pursuing this matter and we will see what more information we can bring back to you.  Thank you very much for coming to us.