Human Rights Violation Hearings — Port Elizabeth — 1996-06-26

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: Yes, there was.
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MAPULE RAMASHALA: Did he say the cause of death was natural?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: Yes, when the Doctor gave us the findings, he said the cause of death was natural. Believe so, my mother has got a certificate.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Okay.

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: After the post-mortem was done, we also wanted to attend court so that we can know what had happened.  We couldn't do anything further because we didn't have financial support to continue.
 The question that you are asking about the cause of death was asked by Kruger.  That is where we learnt in court because he was asked by Helen Suzmann to give information about his death and then I think I can stop there.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: How old was your brother when he died?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: He was 29 years old.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Other than attending, was your brother politically active?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: No, he wasn't.  He was not an activist.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Why do you think - up everybody, why do you think your brother in particular was picked up?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: I cannot answer this question.  What I can think is they took him just to cause injury to the family because he was also Nobadula, because they couldn't find me and they felt that they could find any member of the family.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: And after they picked him up of course they forced him to testify against, to sign a statement against Thozamile Botha?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: Yes, it is so.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: To even think about your brother's death, but to think that he may have been picked up because they were looking for you, is even doubly painful.  What is your
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thinking about it?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: Yes, we are still disturbed and this has affected us very much.  I think the Commission can assist us to trace the killers of my brother.
 I think that can relieve me because even his friends do not know what happened to him, they want to find out what happened to him.
 My grandmother always asks and cries and I always have to silence her because I can see that she becomes moved.  No, his is not married, he doesn't have any children.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Circumstances surrounding your brother's death, is there anything else that you would like to ask the Commission to do?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: My wish is the same as Mrs Mtimkhulu's wish, I think I just want to add a little on that.  All the victims who have suffered, especially those who are at Mendi, it is a rent office, there was a monument there and the monument are - there are heroes who are written there about the people who died during the Mendi, sinking of the Mendi ship.  I would like to have something like that in commemoration of the heroes.

INTERPRETER: The interpreter cannot hear.

DESMOND MPILO TUTU: Dr Boraine.

MR BORAINE: Mr Nobadula, just help me with one or two questions.  First of all Mr Jackson, do you remember, is he practising in Port Elizabeth and do you know his first name?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: He was here in Port Elizabeth at the time, I don't know where he is now.  He was with Mr Solomon at the First National building.

MR BORAINE: You mentioned that the post-mortem that the district surgeon, Dr Laing found that the cause of death was PORT ELIZABETH HEARING TRC/EASTERN CAPE
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natural.  Did you have another private doctor at the same post-mortem or is there only the district surgeon?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: Yes, there was another doctor who came from Johannesburg, they said he is a pathologist.
 Mr Jackson organised that he should also come for the second opinion, I cannot remember his name.

MR BORAINE: Can you remember what his conclusions were about the cause of your brother's death?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: We wanted to know, but nobody ever gave us the results of the post-mortem, we just saw on papers.

MR BORAINE: We can find out from Mr Jackson perhaps what the name of the pathologist was and follow that up because I think that is very critical.  I assume that there was no actual inquest or was there an inquest following your brother's death?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: No, there was no inquest about my brother's death.

MR BORAINE: One last question.  Was anybody with you when you went to the mortuary to see your brother and to see the scars and the blood?

MPUMELELO BENJAMIN NOBADULA: Yes, there was somebody who was working at Mr Jackson's office, Mr Blackie, he is the person who assisted us and gave us transport to go and visit the mortuary.

MR BORAINE: Thank you.

DESMOND MPILO TUTU: Thank you very much.  We thank you for your patience.  The most important thing that I would like to express is although you have lost your brother, you are more disturbed because you believe that the police were looking for you and then your brother died instead of you.
 We also acknowledge the fact that in addition to what Mrs Mtimkhulu has requested, it is very important that you
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have also voiced out that you want something to be done for others instead of for you only as an individual.
 This makes us very proud of you because you are thinking of the nation as a whole, thank you very much.