Human Rights Violation Hearings — Newcastle — 1996-09-10

WITNESS:   We reported the matter to the police in Madadeni.  It's Madadeni Police Station.  The police never came to investigate or take any statements to indicate that they were interested in the matter, or as to what had actually happened.  They never paid much attention to the matter that we reported to them.  Then thereafter there came the Special Branch.  They used to frequent my house together with police, white policemen.

COMMISSIONER: Where did these white policemen come from?  Did they come from the SAP or the Special Branch?

WITNESS:   I am not very sure.  I don't know where they were coming from.  I have no idea.   There were certain police who were coming to your place.  Did you ever get to know any of them?   ---   No, I never used to trouble myself because I really didn't care much for them.  I just saw them coming and going.

COMMISSIONER: Are there any black police that you could identify?

WITNESS:   I can identify Zulu, but he has since died.

COMMISSIONER: How did he die?  Was he sick, was he killed, or what happened to him?

WITNESS:   I have no idea, but I heard that he had died.

COMMISSIONER: Besides Mr Zulu are there any other police?

WITNESS:   There is another one called Maqwa.  He also used to come.

COMMISSIONER: Is he still alive?

WITNESS:   He has also died.

COMMISSIONER: Maybe there are some of them who are still alive amongst the police who used to come to your place with regard to your son's disappearance whom you perhaps know their surnames, who could help us with this investigation.

WITNESS:   They say it's Nkosi Babina.

COMMISSIONER: Is it a policeman?

WITNESS:   He was Nkosi, but I don't know what his name was, but they used to call him Babina.

COMMISSIONER: We'll ask your son to give us the proper name after this, that is during break.  You can continue.   At the time that they used to come to your place is there anything that happened thereafter?  Did you get any ... (intervention)

WITNESS:   When they used to come to my place they would come in large numbers, especially the boers, and they would speak Afrikaans, not caring whether I could hear Afrikaans or not.  At times we would be eating, having supper.  Most of the time they would come during supper time, and they would spill the food and we would not have our supper on that particular night.  And they would ransack the wardrobes, and they would look in the wardrobes even though they had been told that this was not my son's house, and they would turn everything upside-down looking for whatever.  I don't know what they were looking for.  And they would take everything out of the wardrobe and spill it on the floor.  Each time when they came they would just gun straight for the wardrobes and spill everything down, but they would never get anything.  And each time we asked them as to what they wanted.  They never told us what they wanted, they would just say they want to find out where Blessing was.

COMMISSIONER: Is there anything that they said to you lastly with regard to your son's disappearance, whether he had been arrested, detained, or he had skipped the country?

WITNESS:  They came and told us that they had detained him.

COMMISSIONER: Who came to tell you that your son had been detained?

WITNESS:   It was the Special Branch.

COMMISSIONER: Where were they coming from, from Newcastle or from outside?

WITNESS:   I don't know, because I do not care much about these things, and I did not care much about the boers, but they would say they were coming from Newcastle.  And there were some who came in large numbers, and they would surround my house.

COMMISSIONER: At the time that they told you that they got Blessing did they tell you where they got him, or whether he was alive?

WITNESS:   Up until today I have never heard anything about Blessing being found.  I was just told that he was detained.

COMMISSIONER: Which year was that when he was detained?

WITNESS:   I think it was 1977.

COMMISSIONER: Did they ever tell you at which police station was he detained?

WITNESS:   No, they never shed any light. Did they ever tell you of what he was being accused of?   ---   No.

COMMISSIONER: Thereafter is there anything significant that happened?  Did you ever see him, or did you ever get anything or hear anything?

WITNESS:   No, we never saw him up until today.  We don't know anything about him.

COMMISSIONER: Was Blessing married at that time?

WITNESS:   No, he was not.  I was hoping that I would get a daughter-in-law.   Thank you very much, Mr Mnyazana.  I'll hand over to Mr Chairman.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible) ... members would like to add to what Mr Mnyazana has said?

WITNESS:   Yes, we would like to say something.

COMMISSIONER: If you want to say something you'll have to stand to take the oath please.  Can you give us your full names please.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: (Sworn, States)   (Through Interpreter)

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: I have asked the family members to add something because Mr Mnyazana is quite old, he might have probably forgotten some of the important information.  We would like you to just add bits and pieces wherever he has left out.  What we want are clues  or to shed some light to help us in our investigations, because we need this information to conduct our own investigations.

WITNESS:   After he had been detained they continued harassing us, coming to our place looking for his photos, and most of the time they would come with guns, and whenever there was any relative who had come they would come looking for him having guns, and they would ask this particular relative as to where he was coming from.  At some stage there was a relative from the Eastern Cape, and at some stage he was interrogated and asked for an identity document, and they discovered that it was not Blessing.  This went on, and they used to come and get my mother-in-law, and they would swear at my mother-in-law, they would harass and do all sorts of things.  Now, we want to request this Commission to investigate as to whether he is still alive, and if he is alive where is he?  If he has died where was he buried?  Maybe we could fetch him and bury him in a decent manner.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: Thank you.  We sympathise with you.  We know how important it is for a person to get his or her relatives remains.  We want to hear about the cousin who was coming from Eastern Cape.  How close was he to Blessing?  Could he shed any light?

WITNESS:   No.  At that time they were not very, very close, but they looked so much alike.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: Mr Mnyazana in his statement referred to a certain Mr Makhubu.  Is there anything that you got from David Makhubu, and when last did you speak to David?

WITNESS:   David is working in Johannesburg, and he was Blessing's friend.  And he did not know most of the things because they were not attending the same school.  I think his friends were those who were attending at Ohlanga, especially the June 16 victims.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: Maybe we could get help from them.

WITNESS:   I would agree with you in that.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: Are there any of his friends that you know he grew up with and he attended school with at Ohlanga?

WITNESS:  No, we have no idea.  He has never told us about his friends.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: When last did the Special Branch come to your place?  /---   They

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: ---   They last came in 1978 or '79 when I was coming from work, and when I got to my place they had ransacked the house.  They had searched it and they were surrounding the house.  They were armed.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: Is there not even a single policeman whom you recognised?

WITNESS:   On that particular day there wasn't a black policeman.  I only knew of this Mr Zulu.

VICTORIA MNYAZANA: DAVID MNYAZANA

MR LAX: Can you hear me now, Mr Mnyazana?

WITNESS:   That is correct, I can hear you.