Human Rights Violation Hearings — Empangeni — 1996-11-04

CHAIRPERSON: You have said that you come from the Stanger area.  Can you just tell us something briefly about who you are.  Are you married?  Do you have other children?  Is your partner or your husband still alive?  How many children do you have?

WITNESS:   There were three.  There are two now, and one - there were three.  I'm only left with two and my grandchild.  I have three now.

CHAIRPERSON:  Three grandchildren?

WITNESS:   I have two children and one grandchild.

CHAIRPERSON:  And your two children, are they schooling or are they working or what are they doing?  Your two surviving children?

WITNESS:   They are still young.  They are still at school.

CHAIRPERSON:  And your son, Clive Mazibuko, what age was he when he died?

WITNESS:   22 years old.  He was going to turn 23 on September 24th.

CHAIRPERSON:  Now, this incident in which your mother and your son died and, according to your statement, there was also an employee of your mother, someone who used to assist with the herding of the cattle, whose name you can't remember, he also died.  Is that right?

WITNESS:   That is correct. Now, this happened near Eshowe.  Is that right?  Near Gezinsila?   ---   That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON:  Were you living there at the time?

WITNESS:   That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON:  Now, can you just tell us what happened?  You said in your statement that your problems began in about March 1993.  How did your problems begin?  What was happening in Gezinsila or that area at the time?

WITNESS:   At Gezinsila it was it was an area where we didn't experience any political violence.  As time goes on things changed.  There was a certain boy who belonged to Inkatha organization and even old people experienced hard time, because these boys were shooting guns all night long.  My mother was helping the community.  That's how my family has been, and my mother didn't like this thing and because it was so quiet and my family now were being looked at as a family whom people like to talk and they looked at us as people who like to talk about other people's business.  In March 1993 my mother went to Eshowe Police Station and reported that she's receiving threats from other people and people were telling her that it was none of her business.  After she reported this matter nothing happened until in May 1993.  It was on a Saturday, and people have been experiencing these things in that area.  Even my son was an IFP member, my mother as well, because she also had a membership cards of IFP, but we were not active, all of us.  On Saturday, on the 8th May, I came early from work.  The next day it was going to be a Mother's Day.  We prepared that we were going to celebrate the Mother's Day in church.  When I came at home, one guy whom I didn't know, came from the Myeni house.  He came from up the road.  He went to Myeni's house and then after that he came to my house and then when he arrived there he said - my son said to him, "Can we help you?"  He said, "No, I'm lost.  I'm looking for Mthembu's house", and my son showed him Mthembu's house.  My son said, "I'm going to direct you".  And then I said to this guy, "But you said you're from South Coast and you got off from the taxi at the shop.  Why are you here now, because you should have been at the location first before you came here?"  Then I told this boy that, "How come I don't trust you?  It looks like you are here for something else", and this boy said, "No, there's nothing", and then he put his hand in his pocket, and my son as well, I think he suspected him.  My mother came out and she wanted to know what was going on and we explained to my mother.  Then we directed the guy to Mthembu's house.  Inkatha members were down there and they were going up and down.  What made me really suspicious is that this boy didn't go to Mthembu's house.  He went to the shop where there were IFP member and then he raised his hand and then I told my sister that something was wrong.  My son said to me, "Ja, I think we should run away".  I went to look for cousin, who had a car.  We wanted him to take us, all of us, to his place.  I asked my son to go and sleep over at his girlfriend.  When I went to look for this car I passed next to the shop where there were IFP members and then I heard them saying they are tired of ANC people.  I went there to my cousin's house.  I waited for him, because he wasn't at home.  His wife told me I must wait for him, he'll come back.  I told his wife that I wasn't feeling good.  My mother was one person who was very, very religious and my son came and I told my son - I asked my son how come he was there.  My son told me that he's not scared.  Even if he can die he'll die with my mother.  My cousin took us by his car, together with his children.  At home there was a girl who used to help my mother when I was at work and she was pregnant and there were other three children who lost their mother and we took care of these children, because their father was also sick and a certain doctor told me we need to go and register these kids, so that I can become the foster parent of these kids.  Out of eleven of us members, we eight of us left.  Only my mother and my son left behind.  We went to my cousin's place and my son was with his wife and his wife is the one who came and told us that people came to the house and they were shooting and she also said to me they started shooting at my bedroom and my daughter-in-law also got hurt.  She got shot, and she's the one who told us, and she told us that she also went to her home and she reported and she asked her family to make calls to Eshowe Police Station, but the police didn't come until me and my cousin, Themba, we went to the police station at Eshowe.  We found the police relaxed.  We asked them how come they are relaxed, because they have reported a matter that at home there were people who were shooting people.  They said it was dark when they arrived there.  I said to them, "It's surprising, because we have electricity at home", and I told them that they were supposed to go there with their torches.  This thing happened at about something to ten.  My mother was shot there and my son until they died and police didn't come in time.  I think the police had an idea and they were told not to come.  Mr Wasserman, he's the one who took the statement from me.  He never came back to me and told me as to when to appear in court and the gun which they used was 9mm.  I was never called to come for the case.  I only received a letter that the inquest was done and nothing was found.

CHAIRPERSON:  Mrs Xolo, you mentioned in your statement that when the trouble started in March 1993 it started when these youths would go round shooting at night and that they came from - they were camping at a house owned by Myeni.  Is that right?

WITNESS:   That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON:  And you said that Myeni was a member of the IFP and he was also a member of the KwaZulu Police.  So he was a KZP - KwaZulu Policeman?

WITNESS:   Yes.  He became a police later, but he was just an IFP member.  He was taken to Mlaba Camp to train.  And the car which was seen the next day after this incident, this car belonged to a prominent member of KwaZulu.  It was after this incident happened at my house.  This car belonged to a very prominent member of KwaZulu/Natal.

CHAIRPERSON:  Do you know who that person is?  Or do you not want to say?

WITNESS:   Yes, I do.

CHAIRPERSON:  Who is that person?

WITNESS:   I am scared for my life, but I can tell.

CHAIRPERSON:  You don't have to say it if you don't want to.  If you want to say it you are welcome to say it, but you do not have to.

WITNESS:   It's very important for me to mention his name, because his car was going to Myeni's house.

CHAIRPERSON:  Then if it's important to you then you can mention that name.

WITNESS:   Nyawusa was the driver and he's driving the car for Gideon Zulu.