Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

COMMISSIONER: Mr Madela, we greet you and we welcome you here today.  You have come - you live in Ntuzuma township, near KwaMashu, and you have come to tell us about the torture that you experienced at the hands of the South African Defence Force in 1987.  Before you tell us that story I'll ask you to stand up and take the oath.

MICHAEL MADELA: (Sworn, States)

COMMISSIONER: Dr Magwaza will assist you.

UNKNOWN: Good afternoon, Mr Madela.  We thank you very much for having come here before this Commission.  We wish you to tell us about your family, your family background.

WITNESS:   I am Michael Madela and I am staying at Ntuzuma.  I have four children.  Actually my children were five, but my first-born died, so all of us were six initially.

UNKNOWN: How old are your children now?

WITNESS:   The eldest one is 22 years old, and the second one is 17 years old, the other one 15 years old, the other one 12.

UNKNOWN: Are they all schooling?

WITNESS:   There is only two who are still at school.  The other one stopped going to school for certain reasons.  I am not working.

UNKNOWN: When last did you work?

WITNESS:   I last worked in 1987, toward the end.

UNKNOWN: What happened that caused you to stop working?

WITNESS:  It started when I was tortured by the soldiers.  I was working for the Corporation, for the Municipality, and I knocked off on the particular day.  When I got off the Municipality bus, heading for KwaMashu location - when I got into the bus there was a certain car that was approaching, and as the bus stopped this car also stopped, and there were certain soldiers, three, who got into the bus, and they pulled me out of the bus.  I asked them as to what the matter was, but they did not explain to me. And I struggled for them to let me free, and I kept on asking them as to what was happening, and they assaulted me with the butts of their guns.  And I tried to grip on the bus rails so that I couldn't go out.  I tried kicking and screaming, but that did not help, because all the other ones who were in the Casspirs came out to assist the three.  And the bus driver asked as to what was happening because he recognised me as a bus driver.  They told him that he should keep quiet because he was also going to be assaulted.  And they picked me up and they put me inside the Casspir.  And I fell into a hole which had the spare wheel and I hit my legs as well as my other limbs.  And they started assaulting me as well as kicking me.  And they were doing this at intervals.  Each one of them just wanted to assault me.  There is another one who also got injured.  Then he said they should take me because I was also a member of the UDF and I deserved to be killed.  I heard that I was going to be killed, and there were two Casspirs.  I could not see as to which direction we were heading to because it was dark at that time, it was round about half past six.   And they drove off with me for quite some distance, and I don't know where we were heading to at that particular time.  I heard some noise and I heard that it might probably be at the residential area.  Then they came with two cases of beer as well as a bottle of brandy, and they put it next to me.  And the Casspir drove, they continued.  I saw one of them, and I suspected that he was the commander because they were listening to whatever he was saying, and I tried to plead with him to leave me.  And I realised at that time that they were all drunk, because they were drinking this beer that they had bought.  I tried to plead with them in English, but now I realise that they were not sympathising with me.  I tried to speak Afrikaans, and I kept on saying,. "My baas, my baas," to them.  And I kept on denying that I was not a member of the UDF, and they told me that they had already heard - they got information that the NDC drivers were UDF members as well.  I did not know anything about the UDF as well as politics.  They started kicking me at that particular moment, and he was right at the top - the one who was kicking me was right at the top, and he kept on kicking me from the top, and I was right at the bottom.  And I kept on pleading for my life, and I told them that I had six children that I had to take care of.  I was assaulted for quite some time, and I kept on pleading for a number of times.  And after some time the Hippo stopped and the other one who seemed to be in charge initiated that I be taken to the police station.  I felt somehow relieved that I was going to be taken to the police station.  Then the Casspir was driven towards the police station at KwaMashu.  I did not even see that we were getting to the police station, I just saw the lights at the police station, because they were slightly brighter than the ones along the street.  They told me that I should get out of the Casspir.  As I got out there were certain policemen who were full.  We used to call them "blom," and there were a number of them, and they knew me because I was a driver.  And they did say that I was a driver for the Municipal buses, and at that time I was very much swollen.  My whole body was aching, and I was bleeding profusely.  And they pulled me inside their police station.

UNKNOWN: Can you please explain to us as to what the "bloms" are, why do you call them the "bloms"?