Human Rights Violation Hearings — Tembisa — 1996-11-28

MR LEWIN: Mr Dladla we would like to welcome you.  Thank you for coming and thank you for waiting.

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: (sworn states)

MR LEWIN: Mr Dladla I will lead your evidence today.  As I said we are very pleased that you have come to join us.  You will be telling us about your son Aaron Sandile and what happened in July 1993.  When you feel comfortable, and in your own time please tell us his story.

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I was sitting at home, I got a call, it was from my daughter to tell me that my son has been shot and burnt.  I didn't see anything. I wasn't near the incident.  I found him at the mortuary.  He was burnt.  I recognised him by his foot which was burnt but it wasn't fully burnt.  That's all that I know.

MR LEWIN: Mr Dladla could you tell us, this was 1993 was it in July?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: That's correct.

MR LEWIN: And do you know the, or did people tell you what had actually happened, where was your son when he was attacked?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: It was in front of Umtemba, next to the BP Garage.  They were stopped at that place and then one person got out to shoot them.  There was a sister from the Mpanga family, she is around here, she is the one who knows everything about this.

MR LEWIN: You say they were stopped, so were they
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travelling in a taxi at the time?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: They were in a taxi.

MR LEWIN: I see.

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: They killed all of them.

MR LEWIN: Now you mention the BP Garage, is that the garage that's near the Vusumuzi Hostel?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: Yes it's near the hostel because it's between Mtumbeka and Vusumuzi.

MR LEWIN: And so was there any suggestion of who had actually carried out this attack on the taxi?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I don't know, I didn't see any of them.

MR LEWIN: Do you know how many people were in the taxi?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I just heard that only one person got out and shoot.  I didn't see anything, I just saw the corpse and everything was burned and damaged and my son was there.

MR LEWIN: Were there other corpses, bodies at the same time?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: There were many.  It was a taxi-load.  Only one lady survived.

MR LEWIN: That's Mr Mpanga's daughter-in-law?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: That is the sister-in-law.

MR LEWIN: Okay.  And you say that somebody from inside the taxi got out and fired at it?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: The one who got out, someone came from somewhere and shot the people in the taxi.  He stopped the taxi and shot them.  The driver got out and went away and this man got into the taxi and shot the people inside.

MR LEWIN: And having shot them did he then set fire to the taxi?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: He burned the taxi and got out.  He came back and he shot the petrol tanks and it burnt.
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MR LEWIN: Had there been a lot of this type of incident at that type, were there a lot of taxis being attacked?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I don't know but I only discovered this one where my son was killed.  I found so many corpses in Boksburg mortuary, that's the only thing that I know.

MR LEWIN: Mr Dladla did the police assist you in any way or did anyone else assist you in finding your son's body?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: It was his elder brother who was told that there is in Boksburg mortuary.  Then I phoned him at Boksburg mortuary.

MR LEWIN: Did you make a report to the police?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I didn't open a court case because my heart was so painful.

MR LEWIN: Do you know if there was any official investigation into the incident?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I don't know whether there was an investigation.  I continued with my work, I buried my child and that's all.

MR LEWIN: Mr Dladla can you tell us, I mean you must have thought about this a great deal with a lot of pain, can you think of any reason for this happening?  Why did this person attack this taxi?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I will never know because the children were still young, they were coming from Soweto.  They didn't know what was happening inside.  That's all that I know.

MR LEWIN: You mentioned in your initial statement that your son was a member of the ANC, do you think that had anything to do with it?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: Yes he was a member of the ANC because all of us were members of the ANC we supported the party. He didn't go all over around.
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MR LEWIN: But anybody in the taxi could also have been members of the ANC or not members of the ANC.

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: I don't believe because I don't know most of the people who were there.

MR LEWIN: Mr Dladla I understand that the person who was the survivor is in this attack is actually here today, is that correct?

MSOLWA SOLOMON DLADLA: That's correct.  This is the Mpanga's sister-in-law.

MR LEWIN: Would you be prepared to come and tell us please.  Thank you, could you come up.  Please give us your full names.

PAULINA MOGALE: My name is Paulina Mogale.

PAULINA MOGALE: (sworn states)

MR LEWIN: Thank you.  Paulina could you, please you've heard what Mr Dladla spoke about, could you please tell us your experience that day in that taxi?