Human Rights Violation Hearings — Alexandra — 1996-10-30

MR LEWIN: Could we please call the next witness who is Angelina Sibongile Ndlovu.  If she could please come to the stand.  Are you comfortable?  Can you hear?  Is that better?  Can you hear that?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: Yes.

MR LEWIN: Fine.  You have somebody with you.  Can you tell us who that is?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: It is my sister.  The mother of Michael Ndlovu, the late.

MR LEWIN: Okay, we are very, very pleased that you came and welcome to you both.  If you could please just take the oath.

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: (Duly sworn in, states).

MR LEWIN: Thank you very much.  You will be led by Hlengiwe Mkhize.

MS MKHIZE: I would like to welcome both of you.  I would like you to, briefly, tell us more about Michael Ndlovu, more especially about his life before this incident.

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: Michael Ndlovu was an ANC member and was also the President of COSAS.  He liked school very much and he was active in the ANC activities.  On the date he got injured by a policeman called Alex.  This policeman found him standing during break at the school yard.  He hit him and he use to harass him even at home.  He use to come
ALEXANDRA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
2 A S NDLOVU
looking for Michael.  When we asked them why do you come in numbers in this household in Dunz looking an 18 year old boy?  What has he done?  They could not explain to us as to exactly what wrongs he has done.  
 After that Michael went to a funeral at Second Avenue.  There was an old lady who had passed away and it was during the week and they had a funeral.  While we were sleeping on that date, the Mayor of Alexandra came to our place to tell us Michael had been killed at Second Avenue.  This is the reason why I came to give a statement here, just to find as to who were the perpetrators and also why did they kill our younger brother.  I would like them to come forward and explain why they killed him.

MS MKHIZE: We thank you.  I would just like to ask a few questions to get a clear picture of your story.  You said firstly they injured him in the eye.

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: Yes, that is correct.

MS MKHIZE: Can you explain further about his first injury as you have mentioned Mr Alex?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: Michael went to school.  I do not remember the day.  He was schooling at Minerva.  When he came back in the afternoon his eye was swollen and it was bandaged.  He was coming from the clinic.  When we asked him what happened to you, he said Alex beat me up.  We asked as to why he beat you.  He said he did not explain to me why he was beating me.  However, I know that his one short, one man in front of me.  Maybe this is the reason why he is beating me up.

MS MKHIZE: At the time he was injured, was he injured in the school yard or anywhere?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: It was during break.  They were standing next a shop eating their bread.
ALEXANDRA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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MS MKHIZE: Maybe he was injured, but there might be some other things that might have happened to him.  Do you know any other thing they might have done to him?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: He said he just beat him up because he had some knowledge of the killing of this one gentlemen.

MS MKHIZE: Can you explain further?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: When he explained to us he said that if policeman find them standing and he called him, but he refused and he happened to drag him and he started beating him.  I asked Michael, he just started beating him.  He said, yes, he just started beating me because the day he killed Mishak I was standing nearby and I saw him shooting at him.  I think that is the reason why he is beating me up. I remember, well, one day we were sent to Checkers.  I saw this child running away and I asked him, why are you running away from me.  He said to me, there is Alex coming.  He is going to kill me.  I said to him if he had to get me, he is not going to kill you, he better kill both of us.  He said to me, in order to save your life, I better run away.  He ran away from me.  I found him at home when I arrived.

MS MKHIZE: You also stated in your statement that he was detained in 1990 and he was also consistently harassed.  Can you explain to us as to what happened in detention?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: What he told me is that they were trying to escape from the country and they were caught at the border gates in Botswana.  They took him back and they did not bring him to South Africa, they detained him in Botswana.  They started beating him up.  Thereafter they transferred him to John Vorster and they also tortured him at John Vorster.  They brought him after three weeks.  He left home about three months and we were looking for him.
ALEXANDRA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
4 A S NDLOVU

MS MKHIZE: When they shot him for the last time, do you think it was the very same person who was harassing him?

ANGELINA SIBONGILE NDLOVU: Yes, we discovered that from his friends who managed to survive.  They said to us Michael was in connection with the police.  He called them at the night vigil and he was asking them to come and help.  He was calling the ANC to come and help them thinking that these were police.  He was not aware these were Inkatha members.  He saw police coming with two Hippos.  The ANC office responded that they would call police to come and protect them at the night vigil.  The police responded by saying, you have to relax, nothing will happen.  That was the time that we shot.

MS MKHIZE: I would like to thank you and I will take you back to the Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Any questions?  No.  I would like to thank you together with your sister.  We hope that God will be on your side and give you the strength.  Now we can clearly see that this freedom that we are having at the moment did not come easy.  Especially concerning the youth for their involvement.  We would like to thank them because they sacrificed their lives for this freedom of ours today.  It is them who brought about this new Government which we elected into power and this shows that we did not get this freedom free of charge.  I do believe that all of us will remember that many people died, children died and many people were killed and also that today this freedom, we shall treat it in a good manner, with respect because it was acquired through the blood of many people who were killed.  We would also like to thank you.  Even if you did not pay for this freedom.  However, we would like to thank you
ALEXANDRA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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because whatever happened, you did play a part and I would like to encourage us to be determined even if we know that we are enjoying the freedom and the peace.  We shall stand and fight against this to make sure that nothing like this happens again.  Thank you.  
ALEXANDRA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG