Human Rights Violation Hearings — Johannesburg — 1996-04-30

MS MAAKE: No we don't have that kind of information.  We only read in the newspapers that Jackson Maake was an informer and on top of that why did they kill him if he was an informer?  Why did they blow him up if he was a spy?  Why did they get rid of him?  If he was an informer they could have just left him.  Now this brutality that they did to him, why did they do this.  He left behind a child who was one year old.  My mother is not working.  We've been battling to raise this child.  I am the only person at home
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who is working.  I am the only breadwinner.  I have to make ends meet.  I also have my children of my own.  I have to satisfy my children and I have to satisfy the child as well.  We started raising this child from a very early age, even today.

DR MAGWAZA: The last question I will ask, obviously there has been a lot of suffering and loss, how do you think the Commission can help you to ease this pain?

MS MAAKE: I would like the Commission to help us by showing us Mamasela to come here and explain to us where did he kill this person and the little property that they are still keeping of him they must bring it to us.  I would also like to rebury him so that we can also be able to go to a cemetery, to the grave of our loved one like other people.  We don't know if it's really true that they killed him.  We don't know if he's alive or dead.  We just heard that he's dead.  We really would like to know the truth and we would also like to see where he died.  This Mamasela must show us where he is.  We would also like to request his remains so that we can bury him in our graveyard.   That's the thing we would really like to request from you, from the Truth Commission.   We were able to come here through the assistance of Lawyers for Human Rights, Jodi Koperman, that's a person we met.  We explained to him about Jackson Maake.  I gave him my work telephone numbers so that if he finds out something he must phone me.  So he phoned me and told me that there will be people from Lawyers for Human Rights, please come and give your statement.  Because I was still in new employment I couldn't go there.  I asked Jackson's mum and the other child, relative of Jackson, so that they could go to Jodi and give the evidence.  He said
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it was alright as long as my mother went to him.  So my mother went to give evidence there.  They were together with Dudu.  They also gave evidence to her, and another White guy, I can't remember his name.  We don't remember him until we came here.  So they phoned us that we must come here and give this testimony here.

CHAIRPERSON: We thank you.  Yasmin Sooka?

YASMINE SOOKA: The journalist that came to see you Mrs Maake, can you tell us which newspaper he came from and was he the person who wrote the article in the City Press?

MS MAAKE: That is Elias Maluleke who came to our place.  He wanted the statement and he came back on the 27th telling us that the following day, early in the morning, we have to buy a City Press newspaper.  Jackson Maake and others will appear there.  What surprises us most we don't know the connection between the three people.  Can Mamasela explain fully to us what happened?  Did they kill them all at once, or did they kill them separately?

YASMINE SOOKA: ....know any of the other two men who allegedly have been killed at the same time and burnt up?

MS MAAKE: No, we don't know them.  We only read the names in the newspaper and people started making telephone calls to us.  They were asking who is this Jackson, and we were also shocked, who is this Maake, who is this Sefolo.  Ultimately the three of us came together.  Even today we are the three families supporting each other.

CHAIRPERSON: We thank you very much.  We are also deeply hurt.  We don't know how we can ask God to fill your hearts and your souls with his oil so that you can be consoled.  We pass our condolences to you and we have listened to your requests and we will try, as much as possible, to be of
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assistance.  Thank you very much.  Thank you sister.