Human Rights Violation Hearings — Venda — 1996-10-04

RUSSELL ALLY: I know you are telling a very painful story but I'd like us to, if you don't mind, I must apologise for not having welcomed your family members who are with you, who came to support you, but if we can please focus on Moses your son, because that is who you really want to speak about and who was killed.  If you could just tell us a bit about Moses please.
VENDA HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
8 E MUNYAI
 What kind of person he was and something about, if you do know, about his political views?  If that is okay with you.

ENNIE MUNYAI: Well about political matters, I didn't know.  I didn't even know that he was a political activist, because by then I was nicknamed mother of the gorilla.  I didn't know anything, but my son's name was spoilt.
 When we arrived at Pietersburg, oh sorry, don't worry, please excuse me, when we arrived in Pietersburg, the White men said some people were there.  They found me right on a seat and said he was not there, he had gone to (indistinct) but these ones who are in Louis Trichard had said he was in Pietersburg.
 But now they were saying he was in (indistinct).  When I was in (indistinct), when I arrived in Potgietersrus and parked our car there, the driver who was driving, a White man, went in and they came out.
 They went to the mortuary.  After they had gone to the mortuary, they called me and they said you are the mother of the child.  I went there and when I was to be shown my son, they said right now, we want to bury him.
 They took him from the ... and after I had seen him, I said I would like other people to see him, because I've got his brother, I've got sisters, I've got aunt and a cousin, they want to see him.  They allowed me to do that, they agreed on that and one Tsangaan guy was asked to call him, and they came and they saw the late son of mine.
 And everybody was just saying, oh, Moses, oh, Moses.  He was just laying there, dead.  Thereafter they said okay, fine, they closed, they said let's go and bury.
 They asked these other people to leave and when they 
VENDA HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
9 E MUNYAI
have left they said okay fine, you are leaving and when I was left, they said are you burying him here, I said yes and I said I had just gone to (indistinct).  I am a Louis Trichard resident.  That White man said how and I said, yes,  I stay in Louis Trichard.  And he said, okay let me phone Pretoria and Louis Trichard.
 Louis Trichard's people accepted me, Pretoria people accepted me, they said okay, fine take your son, your late son.  Just when I was trying to ask for the coffin, they said, no we cannot give you a coffin.  So if I told you we were burying, but we want to leave with him.
 When I was still thinking about that, when I left, I told an aunt and said okay, that's okay.  They went to Standard Bank together with us.  They drew some money.  We didn't even know the place and we asked for somebody, a boy, to take us to the place where they sell coffins.
 On our coming back, when they took him from the place, my son wanted to go to the van just to wipe his face, they said you are wasting my time, take your person and leave.  They took the corpse, the two of them, the cousin and him, they just put him on, whilst they were two, just and they closed and put it on a van and we drove away.
 Just before we left, they said never stop on the way.  All the police vans and private vans were escorting, were saying no stopping on the way.  Really indeed, we didn't stop until we arrived at Tsicotho.  
 Right there at Tsicotho three special branches were already there, there were three that were given to us.  My other young sister was there, who was with me in Louis Trichard and the other grandson of my sister who went to the graveyard.
VENDA HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
10 E MUNYAI
 When we were at the cemetery there was no prayer at all.  Prayers was not offered, nothing at all.  They just rushed us to say okay, this other grave, are you able to see them, there are three.
 I said, yes, I am able to see them.  These graves were erected here some time.  That son of mine was taken out of the van.  What really pained me was when this child had to go down, right deep down in the grave and the cousin was letting the box, when those people were standing aside.  The fly machine was flying above, it was just checking as to how many we were, we were ten only.
 He carried the coffin and put it down just below on the grave and then we had to cover the grave.  We covered the grave.  Nothing at all, then we left.  That's all I can say, that really pained me, it really pains me even now.
 Now he is dead, he was 24 years then.

RUSSELL ALLY: You've given us a very full account of what happened to your son right from the time that your son went into exile, the harassment that you continually experienced by the police wanting to know about your son and where he was and things that were said about you - mother of a gorilla because your son had gone into political exile and his death and the actual funeral itself, so I am not going to keep you much longer, because you've been with us for a little while now.
 Just to ask you one or two questions which will just assist us in trying to get as full a picture as possible.  Just the one question, in your statement you speak about a death certificate, I am not sure whether you actually gave a copy of that death certificate to somebody from the Truth Commission, did you?
VENDA HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
11 E MUNYAI

ENNIE MUNYAI: Yes, I was having it when I was writing a statement here and I've got it here now.

RUSSELL ALLY: If we could arrange with somebody from the Truth Commission to get a copy of the death certificate, that is very important for us in our follow up work.
 And then just to ask whether you had ever been contacted by the ANC, I assume it was MK that your son went to join or was it another political organisation, do you know?  Did any political organisation ever come back to you and speak to you about your son?

ENNIE MUNYAI: No, no one came, no political organisation came to me.

RUSSELL ALLY: And are you aware if there was ever a court case, an inquest into your son's death?  No investigations by police into the cause of your son's death or by the courts?

ENNIE MUNYAI: Nothing.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you Mama Munyai, I don't think ...

THOMAS MANTHATA: Ms Munyai, did you ever find out from the ANC leadership or even PAC and others whether your son ever belonged anywhere in their groups?

ENNIE MUNYAI: Are you talking to me?

THOMAS MANTHATA: Yes.

ENNIE MUNYAI: What kind of political organisation are you talking about?  I am illiterate, I used to hear that those people were fighting for the country.

THOMAS MANTHATA: You see at this stage or at those time, we have those organisations within the country, I think we have offices of ANC in Sebasa, we should be having offices of PAC in Sebasa, could you please try to find out whether any of these groupings could know about Moses Munyai, whether he was ever in their bookings and what has been done.
VENDA HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
12 E MUNYAI
 I'm saying this as I said yesterday, because the Government has a pension scheme for the people who were involved in the struggle against apartheid, those who died and those who might have been in prison for long periods of time.
 So I think you need assistance in this direction.  I rest my case, thank you.

ENNIE MUNYAI: While he was trying to make that the country will be better.