Human Rights Violation Hearings — Soweto — 1996-07-24

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Rossy Moloi, if you could please come forward.   While you are settling down, if I could just recognise two new faces that we have. I see Bishop Duncan Buchanan, an old friend of Regina Mondise, welcome. I believe Moishe Klai is here as well.  Great. Welcome.
 Rossy, will you be speaking in English?  Your statement is in English.

ROSSY MOLOI: (Indistinct).

CHAIRPERSON: Right, thank you. If I could ask you please to stand. Will you take the oath, if you could.

ROSSY MOLOI: (Duly sworn, states).

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.  We are very grateful to you for coming forward.  I will now ask Yasmin Sooka to lead your evidence.  Thank you.

YASMINE SOOKA: Rossy, every time you want to talk - can you hear me? Then you press the red button.  When you are finished talking then you switch it off.

ROSSY MOLOI: I am Rossy Moloi. I live in Orlando West 2.

YASMINE SOOKA: Rossy ...

ROSSY MOLOI: I am Rossy Moloi, I live in Orlando West 2.

YASMINE SOOKA: Will you tell us a little bit about yourself, before you actually begin to tell the story that you want to tell the Commission about.
SOWETO HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
2 R MOLOI

ROSSY MOLOI: I am saying I am Rossy Moloi, I live in Orlando West 2.   I have brought my story about my children, my son and my daughter-in-law.
 It was around past one at night.  My child stayed at Biso, I stay at Motsesane.  They have their own house.  At night when they were sleeping, a Hippo came and they knocked at the door.  As they were knocking, Rebecca woke up Freddy.  As Rebecca woke up Freddy she said here is the police.

YASMINE SOOKA: Rossy, would you just like to wait until those bells have stopped, because I think ... (PAUSE).
 You may continue.

ROSSY MOLOI: On the 25th of April 1992 my son was supposed to go to work.  He used to work at Sentesane. When he was going to Sentesane he said he had heard some rumours that they were going to be attacked at Orlando.  The people who were working with him, came to fetch him.  He said no, he is not going, because I understand they will be attacked, and my parents are here at Orlando. He refused to go and the car left.  At night, when we were sleeping the people came to attack. When they came they were in a Hippo.  They got off the Hippo and they got into the premises and they started knocking.  They were knocking. I think Freddy was fast asleep.  The wife Rebecca told him there are people who are knocking, can you open.  He said no, those are policemen. It was on the 22nd.  They actually cross-questioned me at Protea.  Let me open and hear what they want to say.  They started shaking the door and my son opened the door.   They pushed the door and they shot, they shot the lock. I think the bullet went through him into the hut.  Then they pushed the door and they got inside.  There was some fighting, I don't know why they were fighting.  These people complained
SOWETO HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
3 R MOLOI
to the police. I am not too sure whether they were police or not.  Then they shot one son who was sleeping in the kitchen.  My daughter-in-law tried to hide in the wardrobe and the sister too, my daughter-in-law Madera ran away to the other bedroom of the granny.  I think those people started stabbing her.  From there they opened the wardrobe to take Rebecca out.  They took her and everybody in the house was now frightened.  They took my daughter-in-law to the hostel.  When they got to the hostel there was a white car standing by the store.  They said let's get into the hostel. The police said we cannot do that, because we are scared of Inkatha, afraid of Inkatha. Then some voice said no, you cannot do anything, just escort us.  The police said okay. They drove their car and they left.  As they were leaving there was some confusion.  These boys, they came home to wake us up.  I said I am not going there. My son left with them.  The house was upside down and there so much blood flowing. I could not sleep that time. After some time I woke up, around five am.  This girl died around past one, but they came to get her in the morning.  We just saw the black, the mortuary car coming to fetch her.  We were looking for my daughter-in-law, we could not find her.  The journalists came afterwards. The journalist went around to look around to see if he cannot locate her. He said I was looking around in the hostel I could not see her, I could not locate her.  But as I could not see, then I gave Mr Sisulu a call and Mr Sisulu said call the police station and tell the police that if they don't locate and find that child, things are going to be so bad.  Then he reported to us to tell us what happened.  As we were still there the police left in the van and they found her.  They actually 
SOWETO HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
4 R MOLOI
found her down there, it was at Mzinlope, at a place called Umziluze.  They found my daughter-in-law there, lying ... (PAUSE) ...

YASMINE SOOKA: Rossy ...

ROSSY MOLOI: Now what happened, they came in a van.  They waited by the street and they called the boy.  They said there is (indistinct) on the side, he is dead.  And the Black Maria passed.  They got home. I would like to stop there.

YASMINE SOOKA: Could you switch off that grey button.  I want you, I think just to make sure that we get this story down clearly. I am going to ask you questions and then you can take your time and answer me, because it is important for us to get all the facts.  When you went through it now, you went through it very, very quickly.  So take your time when you answer.  All right?
 Your son, Freddy, was he a student activist or was he involved in politics in the township?

ROSSY MOLOI: I don't know. I can't exactly say whether he was a politician.  He used to attend school at Mzinlhope.  Most of the time the police would come to search the house and you will find the house upside down and chaos, and they would leave.  Each time I asked him.  He will tell me the police is just coming to me, I don't know why they are coming.  The police came again and again to search the house and say they were looking for political books and weapons, but he never said anything to me.

YASMINE SOOKA: From what you have said, your son Freddy, his wife Rebecca and Rebecca's younger sister, Madira, the thee of them were staying at Orlando West. Is that right?

ROSSY MOLOI: Yes.
SOWETO HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
5 R MOLOI

YASMINE SOOKA: On this particular night, you say a Hippo stopped outside of the house and people came out and started attacking the house.

ROSSY MOLOI: Yes, exactly.

YASMINE SOOKA: You yourself were not in the house at that particular time.  Can you tell us how you came to know about what happened?

ROSSY MOLOI: I was not there, I just heard from Madira, the sister of my daughter-in-law.

YASMINE SOOKA: From what you said earlier, you said they first started knocking on the door and then when nobody opened, they pushed it down.

ROSSY MOLOI: My son was trying to open the door and my daughter-in-law said no, don't open it at night.  He said no, these are police, on Tuesday they came to work; I know they are the policemen to come and interrogate me.  They were still discussing, they started shooting the door.

YASMINE SOOKA: Did your son die from the shots that came from the police?

ROSSY MOLOI: Yes.

YASMINE SOOKA: You then said that the Rebecca and Madira tried to hide in a wardrobe.

ROSSY MOLOI: Madira tried to hide in the wardrobe.  My daughter-in-law hid under the bed.

YASMINE SOOKA: What happened next?

ROSSY MOLOI: They searched in the wardrobe, they dragged her out, then they crossed the street with her.  They stabbed Madira on the hand and on the head.

YASMINE SOOKA: I want to be quite clear about this.  You say that they took Rebecca out from under the bed and they took her outside of the house.
SOWETO HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
6 R MOLOI

ROSSY MOLOI: They took her out of the wardrobe, not under the bed.