Human Rights Violation Hearings — Queenstown — UNKNOWN

MS MAYA: We thank you for the information.  We shall now ask Eric Mbango to give his side of the story.
 Mr Mbango, Mr Ndletyana explained to us how this trouble started in Molteno which led to the killing of most children.
 You also lost a brother by the name of Richard Mbango, whose wife is here present.  Could you just tell us what happened to Richard on that day?

MRS MBANGO: I thank you Mr Chairperson.  It was in the afternoon.  My brother was a security officer at Silverquicks, then he left in the morning.
 Those times there were no people who were loitering the streets of Molteno.  So he had to use the back streets because he was scared of what was happening.
 When he came to an open place, they decided to chase him.  Potgieter was one of the chasers, because he was seen.  There was another Coloured called Grootboom who is in Knysna presently as a security officer.
 Because whenever they do all these evil deeds, they always get promoted, we saw Potgieter one time in Molteno 
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and he was driving a car, registered CL.
 When my brother was shot, I got that information and the wife too, was told and she is the one who came to inform us.  When the news was told to my mother, that Kipithi had died, I thought I would go to the hospital and they stopped me, because they said males were not allowed in there, because of the trouble that was taking place.
 So I couldn't go.  My mother and his wife went there.  When they got there, they brought back the news that he had passed away.
 The following day I couldn't go to work, then I went to the police station.  We were kept there for almost a whole day, without getting attention.  I was with another Fatoyi lady.  We waited and waited, then they told us what we were supposed to do.
 Then we did not agree about the arrangements of the funeral.  Then there was another man who was with me.  They told us we had to bury anyhow, then I said no, that will not happen because this is a man and he is married, he has got children.  He is not going to be buried anyhow.
 Then one of those who had been shot, was to be buried on a Wednesday, so we decided to bury him on a Saturday.  So it was still confusion there.
 One other day, when we were preparing to bury him, during this night vigil, in a certain farm, there were lights where people were watching from that farm, but the vigil continued, we buried the person.
 It went on and on and I went back to work, but I was unhappy.
 Potgieter came to the garage one Saturday.  In fact you could see that he had come to harass me, but I didn't care 
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because my brother had died already.  I told Potgieter that he mustn't think it is the end of it all.
 He said to the manager of the garage we have heard everything that he has said, we are going to get him when he goes out of work.  And this manager asked me have you heard what that Baas said, then I said, whose the Baas, then he said, that policeman.
 Then I said, I told him nonsense.  Why didn't you tell to me when he was still present here.  I then said to him, I also have feelings just like you, you mustn't think just because you are White, I'm Black, after all the blood is the same.
 Then I said to him you see, at seven o'clock I'm knocking off, then I just took a decision just to go home and I went home.
 So as to save myself from being killed.  The following day my father came, but I could see that it was bad.  Then the father to the son asked why I had confronted his son.  Then I said you can do whatever you wanted to do to me and then there was this problem, the two of us so I had to be discharged and I never got rests thereafter.
 From 1986, because they still continued to do all these things even if the people had not done anything, they came to the old location, they threw tear gas into our home.  They jumped, they got into the house through the window because they thought we are harbouring these young children.
 They smashed everything, there were visitors at home, the provision that was there, they were twisting everything, then they asked these young boys to go and stand outside and to take off their shoes.  One of the people who was Grootboom, who is now in Knysna.
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MS MAYA: Mr Mbango, let's talk about Grootboom.  Grootboom and Potgieter are they known to be responsible as the people who shot him, were they ever arrested?

MRS MBANGO: No, they were not, in stead they were transferred.  Then I've just recently seen them.

MS MAYA: Was there perhaps any inquests that was done on the death of this brother of yours?

MRS MBANGO: No, but the idea I have here in my mind is that that information from the Doctor about the bullet, because I feel the Station Commander is the one that instructed that there should be shooting.

MS MAYA: Who is the name of that Doctor?

MRS MBANGO: He is Dr Groenburg, he left Molteno.

MS MAYA: And who was the Station Commander?

MRS MBANGO: He was Folley.

MS MAYA: Was your brother married?

MRS MBANGO: Yes.

MS MAYA: How old are the children now?

MRS MBANGO: They are still very young, because we ask the wife to go back home such that she is still unemployed.

MS MAYA: We now ask you to explain and also state how can we meet you half way before we give the wife a chance.

MRS MBANGO: I thank you for that, because I also am happy to get this opportunity.  I want you to send this children to school that is what I'm asking from this Commission.
 Even the sufferings that will be stated by the wife  should be met, so I thank this Commission.

MS MAYA: Thank you Mr Mbango.  Mrs Mbango, I learn that your children was still very young when you husband died.  How old were they?

MRS MBANGO: One was one year and 10 months, the second
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one was about to complete four months.

MS MAYA: Was the eldest one one year and ten months?

MRS MBANGO: Yes.

MS MAYA: Where are they now?

MRS MBANGO: They live with me because I live in Grahamstown.

MS MAYA: Do they still go to school?

MRS MBANGO: Yes.

MS MAYA: In what standards are they?

MRS MBANGO: The eldest is 13 and he is in standard 3 and the one, is in standard 1 and he is 11 years.

MS MAYA: How do you support them, do you work?

MRS MBANGO: No, I don't work.  I did approach a Social Worker, then he put me on a pension scheme but he applied, but then I was told that I could not get the pension, because I was still very young.
 The Magistrate there would say I couldn't get any money, then he sent me to the Magistrate's office to go and get the death certificate which I gave to the Social Worker in Queenstown.
 Then she asked me to go away and gave everything back to me.  I went to Cape Town to my sister, then I received a letter in 1989 that on the 11th my sister was calling my to Cape Town, and I went there to Cape Town.
 I left Cape Town and I came here and I got an amount of R930-00, I get this amount once in three months, so I do everything for my children.
 In July I had to revive this, then I was told that I was young, I was not going to get any money, I was only given R140-00 as against the R930-00 I had received before.
 So I stayed and stayed and couldn't live in Molteno and QUEENSTOWN HEARING TRC/EASTERN CAPE
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I had to leave.  I heard someone saying that I could sell in Grahamstown so I went there.  I am now a hawker, I am selling and some other times I get R250-00 a month.
 I have never received any money and people are just playing a fool of me and then my brother phoned me one Sunday and said I should come here today.

MS MAYA: Your husband, where he was working, did you get any money on behalf of your husband?

MRS MBANGO: He was working there for three years and then I used to get R54-00 until they stopped giving it to me.  then I had to go and receive R94-00 from the Standard Bank only.