Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-05-08

DR BORAINE: Mrs Phungula, if you can hear me on the headphones I want to welcome you very warmly.  I am glad that you are here with your son.  I understand that your son is going to tell the story, and it is the story of Leonard Phungula, Sibongiseni Phungula, and yourself, Dumisani - father who was killed, a brother who was killed, and yourself assaulted and beaten.  It's a very grim story, but before you tell that story I'd be grateful if you'd please stand to take the oath.

DUMISANI PHUNGULA AND MRS PHUNGULA: (Inaudible) ... together with my mum.

DR BORAINE: I see.  So both of you would like to speak.

DUMISANI PHUNGULA AND MRS PHUNGULA: All right.  Well, while you are standing let me ask you.

DUMISANI PHUNGULA AND MRS PHUNGULA: (Sworn, State)

DR BORAINE: Thank you very much indeed.  Now, the Reverend Dr Mgojo is going to lead you, and I will hand over to him now.

KHOZA MGOJO: Mrs Phungula, and your son, Dumisani, you have come to this Commission because you want to speak out about the terrible things that have happened to you.  But before we go into that could you tell us about your family?  Just relate a little bit about your family so that we get a very good picture about your family.

WITNESS:  I am married.  I had seven children.  I live in KwaMashu.

KHOZA MGOJO: You could go on, Mama.

WITNESS:   Three girls are married, and Dumisani is also married.  Now I have got two boys, because one of them left.

KHOZA MGOJO: Thank you.  At KwaMashu - Kwamashu has got a big history here in our area, KwaZulu Natal.  Which section?

WITNESS:   I was living at E Section.

KHOZA MGOJO: You were living at E Section.  So what happened?

WITNESS:   In 1986 it started on the 23rd in May.  There were police who came to search.  They said they were searching for weapons that Dumisani had because he was the leader of the youth of the UDF.  They searched and didn't found anything, so they left and I thought that was the end of it because they didn't find anything.  But at night on the 24th I heard some noise.  It was about 12, at about 12 at night I think.  I heard a lot of noise.  I thought there was thunder or stones.  I jumped and peeped over the window.  There were the people, they were stoning windows and hitting at our doors.  And I woke up my husband, I said, "Here there are people, they are killing us."  And he woke up.  He said, "What have we done?" and he went through to the kitchen.  I didn't hear what happened thereafter, but when I peeped through the window I saw that they had gotten hold of Dumisani, and I told the one who died, Sibongiseni.  He said, "Hau, they have taken Dumisani."  And he said, "Hau, what are we going to do?"  And one of the amabuthos, the warriors, said, "Let me see who's got an axe," and I heard they were chopping down our doors, and they got inside.  I don't know when Khumbulani died because at that stage I was hiding.  I didn't hide under the bed, because I realised that if I hide under the bed they will kill be cruelly, so they better kill me standing, so I stood behind the door and I was hiding, and they got inside.  They chopped him.  They chopped him in his face with an axe or hew-like, and on his chest.  They opened up his chest with an axe.

KHOZA MGOJO: Take your time, Mama.  Don't hurry yourself.  (Pause)

WITNESS:   When these warriors, amabutho, came inside they took Sibongiseni.  Sibongiseni said, "Why are you taking me away?  What have I done?"  They took him away.  And others just looted any clothing or things inside the house.  They took radio, they took the video, they also took a carton that had things in it, and they left.  And the one who came after the deceased, who is also here, and they said, "Here is another one."  And the other one said, "No, quickly let's get out before they get a photograph of us here."  They took him away, roaming around with him.  I don't know for how long did this one - we found him, I heard, on the opposite street from our home.  He had been shot.  I don't know if they were stabbing him with knives all over his body, because the T-shirt he was wearing had holes all over it, and the pair of pants he was wearing had been cut underneath.  I don't know if they had cut off his private part for muthi purposes, because that used to be their tendency.  And the soldiers arrived, and they told us here is another body they had found, and they brought him back.  I don't know if they were trying to burn him, because there was some little grass that had been put on top of him, and maybe they realised that they were going to waste their time and then they left, and then we went to fetch him. You are talking about Sibongiseni?  Is it Sibongiseni you are talking about that his private parts were taken off?   ---   Yes.  I just recognised through the pants, because they had already torn the pants in front.

KHOZA MGOJO: When you found him did you find that there were some body parts that were missing?

WITNESS:   I didn't have the courage to have a look at that.

KHOZA MGOJO: Dumisani, in your statement here you said you were taken.  They wanted to put a tyre on you.  What saved you that they didn't necklace you?

WITNESS:   Maybe I can start by saying that a number of times they didn't end up by chopping off my brother.  They also took the rim of a car and broke his legs with it so that the left leg was completely broken with the rim.  On my side maybe at that time - at home I was sleeping in the outbuilding which we called a shack, "umjondolo."  When they opened the door of this shack they saw me, and there were two guys who came in, and they grabbed me and took me out.  When they took me outside their leader said, "We mustn't touch this one.  We will need to necklace him, put a tyre on him."  I got very scared about that.  I realised that things were getting very, very difficult.  I think I thought very fast.  I got very soft and agreed with what was happening, because they said I must go there.  The one who was in front of me was standing almost at the edge, like at the edge of the stage like this.  When I softened my body they agreed with me.  I got such strength, because I completely grabbed myself loose, and it was a huge warrior, and I ran, passed through and in between the legs of the guy who was standing on the edge, and I ran outside.  That's how I escaped.  They shot at me.  There were lots of bullets passing through me, but I don't know how I survived.  I jumped the neighbour's fence and I ran through in between houses until I was outside the following street, there where I met the kombis, which I suspected they were in one of the kombis.  And then I hid a bit until those kombis had passed, and then I continued to run, and jumping the following fences.  I was running in between houses.  I was just avoiding the lights until I was by the shops, where there were four Hippos of the soldiers.  But they also didn't see me, so I hid in between them and I ran up until I had reached my friend's place.  That's where we hid a bit until my brother came, who had come to tell them that something wrong had happened.  When I came back at home - I went back at home after that - I realised they didn't kill my father and my brother only, they had already found him as they had taken him.  The continued and went ahead.  They didn't only come to our house only, as we will also go to - we will hear the Mshengu family, they were also onto the Mshengu family.  And another person was found dead in another street who is not known ... (inaudible - end of Side A, Tape 7)

KHOZA MGOJO: When you're talking about amabutho in your statement what is this amabutho?  I am not saying you should say their names.  What is this amabutho?