Human Rights Violation Hearings — Vryheid — 1997-04-16

WITNESS:   The saddest thing is that when all these things happened people from Newcastle who were in charge for this, and they had more information about this, they left their offices.  They left the NUM as members.  That's why today I am here.  I would like to ask the Commission to investigate this issue.  I am telling the whole country that there is such an issue.  I gave the ITU people statements.  I think it was in 19 - I am not certain about the year, but I think it was in 1993.  They came to me and they told me that they were being sent by their offices, and I gave them the statement, but up until today I got no response from them.  I tried to contact everyone who can help.  My telephone was suspended because I was making a lot of calls.  Three people came, and they were driving a Government car, so I gave them the statements because I trusted that they were going to investigate, but up until today they never came back to me.

MR LAX: Mr Muali, we will do our best to try and track down these records.  We will speak to the Attorney-General's staff, we will speak to the ITU staff, and too go through the court records here.  We will try and give you an answer to the best of our ability.

WITNESS:   I will be very happy.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  There is no other question.  Thank you very much, Blessing Muali, and we would like to thank you a lot that you've shown as a brave man, and you do care about other people.  You've shown this in your statement, and you also mention that you were worried about widows and orphans.  You put your life on the line for this.  You also tried and investigate more so that you can find the truth, or so that you can try and make it right.  You tried a lot of things, and even today it shows that you came here because you also aren't satisfied about this whole issue.  As Mr Lax has said that we, as the Commission, we will try and investigate as to what actually happened about this case.  We will also like to investigate and found out what happened.  Again I would like to thank you for being the way you are, for caring for other people, and I wish that you become like that for the rest of your life.  We need people like you.  We need more people like you who will stand for the truth, people who won't be scared to lose their life for a just country.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: As we are still waiting to call upon the next witness to the witness stand we've just found out now that amongst us there is the Mayor of Vryheid.  Now, we will ask the Mayor to stand up, Mr Mtshali.  We know that Mayors are quite committed, but he has given himself time to be with us today and listen to what the people have to say, and the grief they want to put forward to the Commission.  If there are any people with the Mayor, or perhaps distinguished guests that we would like to know, please kindly stand up so we may see you.  If there are leaders or distinguished guests please stand up.  Thank you.
/CHAIRPERSON

CHAIRPERSON: We call upon the next witness, who will be Bernadine Nkosiyeswe Mwelase.

CHAIRPERSON: MACHINE SWITCHED OFF

CHAIRPERSON: (Incomplete - start of Side B, Tape 2) ... who was getting married.

CHAIRPERSON: Right now with whom are you staying?

WITNESS:   I have a kid, a son of 17 years old.  His name is Nthuthuko.

CHAIRPERSON: How old is Nthuthuko?

WITNESS:   He is 17 years old.  He just visited me last month.

CHAIRPERSON: Is he at school?

WITNESS:   Yes, he is at school.  He is in standard seven.  And who comes after Nthuthuko is Thandeka.  She is 14 years old.

CHAIRPERSON: Is Thandeka at school?

WITNESS:   Yes.

INTERPRETER: The interpreter could not get that.

MR DLAMINI: May you please repeat your question.  The interpreter could not get what you just said, and I also wasn't ... (incomplete)

WITNESS:   Nthuthuko is residing with his mother in Gabini.

MR DLAMINI: Who comes after Nthuthuko is Thandeka, who is 14 years old, a girl.

MR DLAMINI: We were talking about Thandeka.

WITNESS:   I won't make mention of these other ... (incomplete)

INTERPRETER: The interpreter still could not get that.

MR DLAMINI: Please let us be quiet.  We have to listen to the speaker, and the speaker won't be audible enough if there's noise.

WITNESS:   I have kids in East London.  They don't even know their surnames.  In Pretoria I have kids as well.  I have kids almost every province.

MR DLAMINI: Thank you very much, Mr Mwelase.  I thought - I just wanted you to give us a picture of your family.

WITNESS:   My  /mum has

MR DLAMINI: mum has part-time jobs and is on pension fund.

MR DLAMINI: With whom are you residing?

WITNESS:   I am staying with my mum at some apartment.

MR DLAMINI: Mr Mwelase, thank you very much for the picture you

MR DLAMINI: have just painted to us.  Please relate to this Commission about your arrest.  Maybe take us back to 1983, when you were in Botswana.  Why were you in Botswana?  What were you doing in Botswana up to the time when you were arrested?  I will keep interrupting each time you say something.

WITNESS:   I was a police at Leeukop prison in Johannesburg.

MR DLAMINI: Were you a police at Leeukop?  Were you a prison warder or were you ... (incomplete)

WITNESS:   Yes.

MR DLAMINI: Yes, I thought so.  He was a prison warder.   ---Maybe I should speak Zulu.

MR DLAMINI: No, we wanted to be cleared there.

WITNESS:   It so happened that I got leave and I came to Vryheid, at home.  When I got home at my brother-in-law, at my sister's home, I saw this man who was coming to rape my niece.  There is Ntshangase, who was a sergeant in Vryheid.

MR DLAMINI: Because we have so many witnesses we would like to listen to other witnesses as well.  Please be direct, don't beat about the bush, and just mention facts.  Why were you in Botswana?

WITNESS:   I wasn't politically minded.  I just went to Botswana to see if I could have any green pastures.  I tried to be a citizen and I was refused to be a Botswana citizen.  I left the country on the 22nd - on the 21st.  On the 22nd I was already in Botswana.  I was alone, I did not have any person with me.  The second time I got there and I was arrested.  I was interrogated there in Botswana because I had my ID, police ID.  I said I  wanted asylum, political asylum, but I could not get that.

MR DLAMINI: Were you arrested becauSe you were in Botswana without permission?

WITNESS:   No, I rendered myself to the police.  After that they said perhaps I should join ANC at

MR DLAMINI: Lobatse.  There were prisoners in Lobatse who were telling me that I should join the ANC.  You know, it's good to be an ANC member, I may even get abroad.  And PAC is starving.  I cannot afford to be affiliated with such organisations.  Who wants to be affiliated with such organisations that are starving?

MR DLAMINI: How long were you in Botswana?

WITNESS:   There was a petrol bomb, or there was a bomb that blasted in Pretoria.  I was in Botswana then.  I went to Zambia then.

MR DLAMINI: At the time were you already a member of ANC?

WITNESS:  I was already a member then.  That was the ANC mission.

MR DLAMINI: You went to Zambia?

WITNESS:   No, I went to Zimbabwe first.  I via-ed Zimbabwe, Harare, and then to Zambia.  Oh, I went right up to Zambia and Lusaka.  That's where I was now.  I was with Skeem, a certain boy, who was a Xhosa - and he also knew Sotho by the way, the very same guy.  He was old now.

MR DLAMINI: Now tell me, you are a full member?

WITNESS:   No, I also went to Tanzania as an MK by the way.

MR DLAMINI: Where did the police arrest you?

WITNESS:   The police got hold of me right here, and I already had weapons, guns, rifles, as an MK member.  Right here around Stillwater, that's where they found me.

MR DLAMINI: Now, does that mean or suggest that you left Botswana to Lusaka, from there you went to Angola?