Human Rights Violation Hearings — King William's Town — 1997-05-14

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: In 1984, I was a student at Nonceba School.  I was a member of the Congress of South African Students, was a member of the Executive Committee.  It was the start of a boycott that year in the Zwelisha area, where students demanding SRSC's.  The police the Ciskeian police then harassed us but they failed, because, but they managed to arrange, to arrest some of the comrades but I was not arrested at the time, I was arrested when we were arrested as students in Nonceba School.  Here in Ciskei you would be  arrested  and you  would be required to pay a certain amount of money in order
to be released. I moved from Nonceba because of harassment, I then went to Nompendulo High School in 1985.  When I already started at Nompendulo High School we tried to work together with the comrades who were at the school.  The police did not stop harassing us because some of the security police, some of them were Mr Kolela Shebine Moss and others.  They tried to assault me and harass me all the time.  I could not stay at home but they could not find me because I was not staying at home.  They were looking for me all the time.  In 1985, May, after our mid-year exams, the students were about to go to their holidays.  They tried to boycott classes.  There was a campaign, we were trying to install and SRC in our schools.  We had negotiations with the Management, the Police, but it was later decided to close the schools but nothing happened at that time.   We were harassed all this time.  The police were looking for us but unfortunately for them, they could not find us.

UNKNOWN: Excuse me Sir, I want to go back to where you say that you had a meeting at Dutch Reformed Church.  You were arrested in Mdanstane.  You appeared in a court of law.  Is that correct ?.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: I'm still coming to that point Sir.

UNKNOWN: I'm not trying to cut you short, but I want you to finish your story.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: On the 19th of July, when the schools were re-opened, we started a boycott again in our schools, demanding SRC.  On the 22nd, we were not attending school at that time, but we were within the premises of the school.  We were boycotting classes but we were attending school.  On the 22nd, the Ciskeian Police were surrounding our school in the morning.  They came with their trucks.  We tried to negotiate  with  them,  together with  their  inspectors.  They  told  us to  leave the school premises.  We told them, we cannot do that because what they will do to us if we can leave the school premises.  They will assault us.  While we were still busy negotiating with them, at about 12 midday, one police by the name of Mr Tsio, together with Mr Ndwengo, another policeman.

UNKNOWN: Mr Tsio, was he a Magistrate or a police ?.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: He was a security policeman.

UNKNOWN: You also mentioned a Magistrate.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: I don't know about a Magistrate.  Mr Tsio was a security police, not a Magistrate.  There was another Major Umgwendu.  They came to the premises of the school.  Our leaders tried to negotiate with them, telling them that we cannot leave the school premises.  The students will be victimized when we leave the school premises.  Tsio opened the gate instructing the police to go in the school premises.  After that, the students ran away.  There was a river, a Buffalo River near our school.  The students were beaten by the sjamboks.  The police were beating them.  It was when the comrades were chased to the Buffalo River, Ncholo Pango, Mlandeli Bota and Vuyani Patsa and Dombe Kaia.

UNKNOWN: At this time, where were you ?.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: I followed them near the sports ground, to the sports ground since the Buffalo is next to the sports ground.  We saw that the students were assaulted by the police, some of them were 14 years old and some of them were less than 14 years old.  I then went back.  The police took us and they locked us in the classrooms.  You will be taken to  the  classrooms, 200 of us will  be taken to one classroom  and  they will lock us there.  They  then  took us  to the  police  station.  I changed my name, because they knew me as Jeremiah, I gave them my Xhosa name.  Some  of our leaders survived this and they tried to contact attorneys.

UNKNOWN: Were you arrested on that day ?.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: Yes, we were arrested.  We were taken to the police station.  They took a loudspeaker and they went to the township, saying that the children were arrested.  People have come with, have to bring R40-00.

UNKNOWN: Were you also released ?

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: Yes, I was released because I told my mother not to call me by name Jeremiah, that why, how I managed to be released.

UNKNOWN: How were you violated ?  When were you violated after that ?

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: After that, we were not happy in the township.  There was chaos in the township.   In August and October in 1985, we were still discussing the issue of going back to school in the Dutch Reformed Church.  We had a meeting there.  We were trying to discuss this issue.  The police, the Ciskeian police came in.  I was also arrested on that occasion.  We were taken to Mdanstane prison.  We were about 410.

UNKNOWN: Did you notice any police ?

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: Major Ungani was the one who was commanding them.  He was a Commander at the time.

UNKNOWN: Is he still around ?

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: Yes, he is still around.  In 1986 I was also harassed by the police.  The situation was not stable at that time.  After March of that year, I was at a conference of the NECC in Durban.  We got a report back that we must go back to school.  We tried to go back to school.

UNKNOWN: Let us now go back to 1987.  You were then arrested again.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: Yes, in 1987 I was arrested at night, but I'm not sure about the day.  The police which was involved in this arrest, was Mr Kolela, Ace Kojela.

UNKNOWN: Did you know these people before ?

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: Yes, I knew them before, but they were looking for me, but they wouldn't find me.  They took me from Mr Ndoni's, near Mr Ndoni's house.  Mr Kolela was the driver.  He took out a gun.

UNKNOWN: Is Kolela a first name or a surname ?

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: It is his surname.  We then went, we drove to Tamarha.  In the morning they took me to Zone 6.  When we got there, they took me to the white people, here in King William's Town.  I was interrogated and asked about that meeting.  There were other young men who were also arrested from Masele.  They asked me about a meeting, a boysco meeting.  I tried to answer them, but what they did is that they tied me in a chair, they tried to gas me.  At about half past 4 they released me.  I went back home.  The harassment continued until 1988.  In 1988, Moshe Archie Mashibini were looking for me, together with my friend, because they found documents in the banned litertature of ANC  Communist Party and Umkonto weSizwe, but they couldn't arrest us, concerning that matter, because we went to Stutterheim(?)  That is why they couldn't find us.
What was painful is that, all this time we were not sleeping at our homes.  We were students at the time.

UNKNOWN: Thank you then.  Were you able to continue with your education under such circumstances ?

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: Yes, I managed to complete my matric.

UNKNOWN: What would you like us to report to the President about what happened?. In other words, what are your requests to this Commission ?.  What would you like us to do for the community as you have already mentioned in your document.  You mentioned a memorial stone.

JEREMIAH NDUDULA: First of all, because all these things happened in the township, I would like the Commission to look into my requests, the requests I've already mentioned.  I would like memorial stone to be  erected at our school, because it is where we were gathering.  We named that place a freedom square.  Thank you.