Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

WITNESS:   On February 1990 a war started, and it appeared that we cannot stay, and the men have combined with some other men and they said that we, as Comrades we don't have a place in that place, we have to go.  If I remember well it was Friday.  The warlords and the people sort of like gathered.  When you look at that sight it was like it was hiding like, because it was like a white cloud, and we can only hear some gunshots.  We get out and ran, and then they were coming down and there was the sounds of gun, and we went to the mountains and stand there.  We heard the sounds of guns and we ran to hide.  And we decided to run because it was dangerous at that time.  We ran to Sobantu on February.  We heard my mum, who was a grandmother to ... (inaudible) ... it was a big family so we have to separate.  Some ran to the farms.  Myself and my family we ran to Sobantu.  Nxobile, since he was working, he was working to some other place to his friend.  After some time like things passed we decided to come back.  When we arrived at home at about the end of March on the following week we have to bury him, and we decided to bury him as quick as possible because the warlords were about to meet again.  And we buried him - her during on Saturday.  On the burial day we were all there, but one of our family couldn't come because like there was a problem.  He couldn't come in, he was afraid of the people by his side.  Our children went to buy things to prepare for the funeral.  They saw some young people who were shot just in front of them.  That was the day of my mum's funeral.  Even at the burial service there were some people who were harassing us, because they were saying we are Comrades.  We slept at that day, and they told us that, "We are just leaving you because you are burying."  They said, "Your problem is that you are Comrades, you don't want to join the Inkatha."  Since I was the eldest it's the custom that I am the one who has to first wake up and go and wash.  I wake up and took a bath to wash, and outside there were some gunshots and they were saying like the Comrades should leave the place.  There were so many people coming.  And we all got out and started running to go and hide in the bushes.  And they were shooting.  While we were still hiding in the bushes we heard dogs.  The dogs were barking so they could find out where we were, but the young boys we didn't know where they were.  And Nxobile wasn't there at that time.  We thought he had gone to hide.  I thought then they better kill us because they could find out, the dogs were barking.  We get out of the bushes.  When we arrived at home there were a lot of bodies, dead bodies of Comrades.  We realised that we don't have a place to stay, we have to leave it like that and go away.  On Monday we tried to collect whatever was there.  On Tuesday we tried to organise for transport to run away.  My children went to another house and they were asked, "Are you still here?  Haven't you run away?"  They said they will stab your father and kill everybody.  "All of you will be killed because you are Comrades."  From that date we didn't even sleep at home on that day.  We went to sleep somewhere called Amaromani(?).  We slept at there.  I think it's a Roman Catholic Church.  We couldn't collect all our belongings.  We just got whatever we were wearing because we were so very afraid at that time.  We travelled a long distance.  We went towards Cato Ridge, and then we took some transport and went to some relatives and we slept at our relatives.  The next morning we went to Sobantu.  We slept one day and we continued.  This was the place where they said all the people from Maqonqo must go there so that it can be said what we can do.  We sort of like missed our other relatives and the children because they took different paths when we were running, and they ended up in Gingingdlovu.

DR MAGWAZA: Does it mean that when you arrived at Bhunye where did they tell you you were going to stay?

WITNESS:   They told us we were going to go and stay at the seminary.  On Wednesday they went to show us the place.  I came back to collect the children and took them with me.  Petros wasn't there, because like we didn't know where he were.  We took all the children to seminary.  I told the father that we have find a place.

DR MAGWAZA: If you can look back on the 30th of April, where you got the message about the disappearance of Petros, can you tell us from there what happened?

WITNESS:   While we were at Fetser(?) we spent some few days there.  I heard rumours that they burned our houses where we were coming from and they've taken everything.  On the 30th a young lady came who was in love with Petros.  She came to tell us that they had arranged to meet him on the 28th in town at the NBS Bank.  When they meet she said that she saw him talking to other people on the other side of the road.  She was standing next to NBS where they were going to meet so that they can withdraw some money.  She said she saw him talking to these people.  After that he left, and then they took him and put him into a car.  We asked her, "Why didn't you go closer to see the people?"  She said she thought maybe they were his friends.  And then he disappeared from there.  Up to today we don't know where he is.

DR MAGWAZA: It looks as though the people he talked to like there was no conflict, there was no sort of a confrontation.  It seemed as if they knew him .

WITNESS:   It looks like that.

DR MAGWAZA: Yes, we do understand.  We would like you to take us further and tell us what happened in 1994, exactly what they have told you about this case.

WITNESS:   I phoned Mr Sithole.  From work - I mean we couldn't any benefit from work.  I went to many places, to the DP, I went to ... (inaudible) ... offices.  These are the people who referred me to the DP, collecting some letters.  I also went to police station.  Maybe this is the way God was helping us.  We are waiting in the dark.  Until '92 their father died because of heart attack, because he was very much worried about this case.  His father died in 1992 because he had a heart attack.  Probably it was from the worries about the disappearance of his son.  We couldn't bury our son.  He came at that time and he met my daughter and asked, and then she explained exactly what happened in that place.

DR MAGWAZA: I understand it's now becoming difficult for you.  Can you tell us exactly what Kumbu told you about what happened thereafter?

WITNESS:   I wouldn't like to say anything about this child, because I am afraid like I might put him in a situation where he might be targeted for anything.  I don't want to mention his name because that will sort of concentrate to him.  He might be harassed if ever I mention his name.

DR MAGWAZA: Yes, we do understand.  You have already mentioned his name.  Maybe without mentioning any name you can continue to explain exactly as to what happened.  Just explain exactly, but you don't have to tell us the name of the particular organisation or the name of anybody.