Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-30

WITNESS:   Since I was a dressmaker I will be just working from home, and that's how we survived.  We could make ends meet because of what I was doing as a dressmaker.  He will go to get some pills and sell them, and watches, selling those.  And that's how we managed to live.  Time went on, and they were bothering him.  They will always come, Twala and others that I did not know, coming to check on him.  That was the life we were leading and he was leading.  Time went.  On March 18th at night Blackjack, Mr Khumalo from Lamont office, came.  As a person we knew we could not suspect anything.  He went outside the house to meet him, and we did not know - little did we know that there were Special Branch with Khumalo, and they took him with.  I thought they were going to talk, you know, men's talk outside, to converse as men.  I did not know - we were not aware inside the house that there were some Special Branch with Khumalo outside.  I was thinking they were still talking outside and yet they had already taken him.  I don't know where they took him to.  On Friday morning my son came.  He had gone to see - visit his wife, and I told him that, "Khumalo came last night and they took your father.  You must go and look and see what is happening."  He was a building contractor.  He will go to Umlazi.  That's where he was working as a builder.  That very Friday morning van Zyl and Taylor and Makhanya came.  I have their names in my bag.  I think there were four or five.  They came to search the house, and they could not gather anything.  They also searched our son's room.  They could not see anything.  And van Zyl said, "I'll fix him today."  I said, "What did you see here?  What did you find from your searching?  Why would you say those things and swear that you will fix him?"  He said if he was the one who was going to sentence him he was going to sentence him three years.  But he was fortunate because he was not the one, this is why he got one year sentence.  He said he was going to fix him, and then they left.  I said to myself, "Take some clothes with so you can give my husband," because he was not warmly dressed.  He just had raincoat.  He did not have pyjamas on, although after that they changed and said he had his pyjamas on.  It was not pyjamas, it was raincoat.  I said, "Since he was wearing a raincoat please won't you take some clothes with," and I tried to get some clothes for him, decent clothes for him, so in case he goes to the court of law he can appear decently dressed.  He never got to wear those clothes.  They took those clothes with.  Saturday, the following day in the morning, one person came.  He said, "What's happening with Mdluli?"  I told him what happened, and he said, "It looks like he has died."  I said, "No, I don't think so.  Van Zyl should come here and tell me if he has died or what.  I cannot take stories from people."  He left, that person left.  Another one came and told me the very same thing.  I said, "Who are you and where are you coming from?  If Mdluli has died van Zyl and Taylor and the others should come and tell me.  Mdluli left this place and he was just fine, healthy and intact."  And the neighbour came, Mrs Njo, and she said, "Let's go."  I think they were not free to tell me because they already knew what had happened.  She said, "Let's go to town to Mxenge."  I don't remember if I responded to that, but we did go.  We got to Mxenge's office Saturday morning.  There was no one, but Mxenge was there alone.  He was just there looking as if he was writing, and two gentlemen approached, David Gaza and George Sithole.  And they came in sort of talking, you know, something that was not so much serious.  I think they knew they were not free.  They were scared of telling me the truth.  I don't know how far this went.  I think there was a car which took me to the mortuary.  I don't remember.  I don't remember whether I started home first before I went to the mortuary, but we went to the mortuary eventually, and I asked, "What do we want here?"  They said, "Well, we shall search all over, even here at the mortuary, because he has disappeared."  And we were there searching, looking around, and I could tell that they were playing around with me, just fooling with me.  We went back home, and I saw many people at home.  And Mxenge suddenly came as well and he asked, "How "did you go where you have gone to?"  I said, "Mdluli was not there."  And he said, "He ought to be there.  Let's go.  Come along with me.  Let's go and look for him."  We went with Mxenge and some others that I cannot recall their names.  We got there.  He said a few words.  Because they knew that he was an attorney they respected him, and one white gentleman came and opened the door, and we found him there in a green box, in a green coffin.  He was swollen.  He was swollen in that glass box.  I don't know what they did to him, and Mxenge interrogated them.  And we went back home.  The Special Branch never stopped coming to my place, but this van Zyl never appeared after that.  Only strange policemen kept coming, also and the journalists.  Reporters kept coming to my place.  They will just come and ignore and dismiss every single thing I tried to say, and I kept calling for van Zyl.  Moran Moore(?) tried all he could to be of assistance.  Each time I say something Jimmy Kruger answers and responded.  Each I time I send messages to the newspapers, and comments to the newspapers, van Zyl kept commenting.  Time went on.  One Sunday one of the funeral scheme people came, and Mxenge had already taken him to the King Edward Mortuary then.  He was already there.  This funeral scheme of Umlazi said they did not like the idea of him being in that mortuary, they would like him to be at the central - central mortuary just around here in town.  I will remember, I have just forgotten.  That's Prince Edward.  They were asking me if they could change him and transfer him from the other mortuary to Prince Edward Central Funeral.  I agreed to that because I knew them, and I also had my own funeral scheme as well as them.  Monday morning they said I shall go and transfer him from the other mortuary to King Edward - to King Prince.  Truly we went there and the white man refused, kept arguing.  He said I cannot transfer the corpse.  I explained to him that I had to.  He kept arguing and disagreeing, and some boys who were there said, "You must insist.  Just be adamant.  You must get him out of this mortuary."  Finally he agreed, and we went to Prince Edward, and they transferred him.  I said, "Now that he will be transferred from this mortuary to the other I would like to see him."  Truly I saw him.  His body was wounded brutally.  He was going to be buried on the 27th March, and I said, "No, he should not be buried then, because if I say something they are going to refute that.  I'll see when we will bury him, but not yet."  They agreed.  I wanted experts who were going to get pictures of this corpse.  The Indians listened to me.  I went back home.  They did all the arrangements, made all the arrangements, and they got the expert to take the pictures, and that was professionally done.  I was satisfied.  Soon after that those photos were sent or mailed overseas.  I did not know who did that, and they kept accusing me that I was in charge, I knew everything, and I am the one who mailed - posted those photos overseas.  I went to the men, I asked them, "Did you do that job and taken those pictures good - professionally?"  They said yes.  I said, "Now I am satisfied.  We can have the funeral now.  I have this as evidence, the pictures."  I said, "On the 3rd we will bury him.  No one will deny any act because I have this evidence of pictures with me."  On the 1st April Archbishop Hurley sent me some money and said I should go to the boutique and buy myself beautiful clothes.  On the 2nd we went to the city centre and we started - first went to see the attorneys first, and we proceeded - went to the boutique and we bought many clothes, and we took some to Mxenge's place.  After that the boers came to Mxenge's place and they said they were already coming from Lamont, and they said to Mrs Mxenge, "Where is she?"  Mrs Mxenge told them that I am around, but I am still in town.  When we were trying to do the final touch-up one person came and told us that the boers were looking for us, and we went there to see what was happening.  And they asked me why am I - why did I do what I did, taking pictures of the corpse and sending them overseas?  I said, "I don't care.  Leave me alone.  And those pictures belong to me.  It's part of my possession, it's none of your business.  Mdluli is mine, my husband, and the pictures belong to me as well."  As we were still having these altercations and so forth my son came driving his car.  When he got there he asked, "Where is my mum?"  They told him that, "Your mum is in that office with boers."  He said, "Oh, are those boers the ones who came home?"  He went.  He just pushed the door and got inside and pulled me out, and said, "Mum, get out of this office and carry on with your funeral arrangements.  Leave these boers alone here."  We went back home.  It was the final day now, Friday.  We were making the final touch-ups, and people were flocking in, coming in from different places and different countries.  I was already coming from Sydenham.  There were some Indians of that place who were assisting with groceries for the funeral.  They donated many things.  The boers were all over.  They kept coming to my house even at night, frequenting my house, patrolling.  And I have relatives in Johannesburg.  They arrived as well, and the boers refused them entry.  And they asked, "Why won't we come in?  Why won't you let us -give us entry?"  They said, "No, no one will come in," but they forced their way in.  Finally they did come inside.  The following day it was the funeral day.  They installed tape records in the hall, and that hall was surrounded with tape records.  People came in, and some others were seated on top of the wall because there was not enough space.  They tried to stop people from coming in now, but people refused and they were insisting their way in.  The boers tried to stop them from coming in.  Mrs Mandela as well came, flew in.  And we went on, we buried Mdluli.  After that I never had peace of mind at home up until this day.  They did all sorts of things.  Each time I would send some comments to the newspaper, talking to van Zyl, and Jimmy Kruger will respond.  And some boers came at night to tell me that they received a message that Jimmy Kruger said there will be a prominent person who will be flying in the morning.  It was June then, winter time.  Six will strike at night.  And I had to go to Ulundi to meet that prominent person who was bringing a message for me from Jimmy Kruger.  And the messenger said I should keep quiet, and if I have anything to say I must say it to him in person and stop sending messages to the newspapers.  They spoke to my sister.  I had locked the house.  My sister kept asking them questions, and they said, "Whenever she comes back please tell her that at 6 o'clock we'll come to fetch her to the airport to explain to this prominent person and say her claim."  My sister opened the window and said, "Are you there, my sister?"  I said, "Yes, I am here."  She said, "Did you hear everything that was being said here?"  I said, "Yes, I heard everything from A to Z."  She said, "You locked yourself inside deliberately?"  I said, "Yes, I did that deliberately."  I said, "I heard everything."  She said, "They told me that you were not in."  I said to her, "But I am inside.  I just did not want to open the door for them."  She said, "You must know then tomorrow morning at six you have to go with them to the airport because they are coming to fetch you."  I said, "I am not going.  I cannot be having my attorney and still do my own things without consulting my attorney.  I am not going anywhere."  She asked me, "What are you going to do?"  I said, "At 5 o'clock I will wake up and leave."  Truly at 5.00 am I woke up, I went to Mdluli's place in the neighbourhood.  They went to my sister again.  They said they don't know why I keep doing these things because they have explicitly emphasised the fact that I shall be taken to the airport and meet Jimmy -and talk to this person who has been sent by Jimmy Kruger, and I should know the fact that the attorneys are not going to help me, but Jimmy Kruger is going to help me.  My sister told them that, "She is not here, and there is nothing I cannot do."  I saw them from where I was at Mdluli's place leaving the place, and then I went back home after they have gone.  I did not know how far these things went, but after some time - you see, I was not safe, and there would be marauders who will come to place frequently with weapons and so on.  Jimmy Kruger wrote and sent the comments to the newspaper, and said "Lydia has gone overseas with Masondo."  Masondo was in Robben Island then, and the comments were saying, "Lydia had left the "country, and just when I was trying to fix her claims up she left, she decided to leave the country with Masondo," the Masondo who was in Robben Island, but originally coming from Soweto.  And we left the country for America, for overseas.  Moran Moore came and said, "Did you see the newspaper?  Did you see what has been written here?"  He showed it to me and asked me, "Get dressed.  Get dressed and get some baskets and I'll take your pictures."  I had my basket and he said, "There is Mrs Mdluli going to the market," and after that Jimmy Kruger never sent any messages or comments to the newspapers.  The Mercury newspaper said, "There goes Lydia to the market place."  I have forgotten a lot of things.  Please pardon me for this.  These things transpired a long time ago, 20 years back, so I have forgotten a number of things.