Human Rights Violation Hearings — Soweto — 1996-07-25

MRS SONO: I am Caroline Sono.  In 1989 we went to Mrs Mandela with my husband.  We went there to go and plead with her, that she must please tell us what happened to Lolo or tell us where he is.  Mrs Mandela refused to speak to me, she only spoke to my husband.
 Again, in the beginning of 1990, we went to Mrs Mandela to go and plead with her again, but to no avail.  The next thing there were bodyguards harassing us, telling us not to come near the premises any more.
 Thereafter the worst came. Instead of the police that
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we trusted to help us, they came to our house with many cars, asking me many questions about Lolo, but not giving me answers.  They kept asking me questions. My little one failed at school.  She couldn't sleep at night, she was having nightmares. Now recently my eldest daughter was looking for a job, she was in Langlaagte station. She saw a man exactly as her brother.  She stood there, she was trapped, she was crying and another lady came to her and asked her what is wrong.  She said that man looks like my brother, who disappeared in 1988.  The good Samaritan spoke to the gentleman and asked him who his name was. He said he was somebody, he was a Zulu, he had to take out his ID to reassure Gail that I am not your brother, Lolo. I live in Zolo, if you don't mind, I can come and visit your place.  My child was lost, she was crying.  That poor lady had to comfort her.  When she came home she couldn't speak, she couldn't eat. 
 We are still not at ease. I am having nightmares, dreams, sometimes I hear knocks on the door, thinking that it is Lolo. When I am sleeping, I can see him flying from the sky, coming home, saying that mom, I am back home.  Then I will open my arms and try to hug him, and say welcome home.  I am pleading with Mrs Mandela today, in front of the world, that please, Mrs Mandela, please, give us our son back.  Even if he is dead, let Mrs Mandela give us the remains of our son, so that we must bury him decently.  Thereafter maybe we can rest assured, knowing that Lolo is buried here. I am facing day and night the ordeal of Lolo.  If I hear that somebody is dead, I think that maybe that person that is dead may be Lolo, they are bringing him home. I had hoped that time the Government was inaugurated, I 
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thought maybe Lolo will be amongst the crowd and will come back home.  But to no avail. I am pleading, please.  And thanks to Tony Leon, he has been there for us through thick and thin.  He is still with us through the campaign. He came from overseas today to be here with us to come and hear our story.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Sono, thank you very much.  You have just shared with us, I mean, both of you, about something very difficult for your family.  We will sound cruel in the sense that as much as you have shared about your pain and you said you have been interrogated by many people, many at times, the Press people, the police, we will try to ask you a few questions, so as to get clarity on the story that you have just shared with us.  But we can understand your pain, your expectations, the agonies and all the difficulties that you as a family are going through.
 Mr Sono, if I can start with you.  Can you just tell us, you mentioned that the Football Club. Can you just tell the Commission a little bit about your son's association with the football club and what kind of a club are you talking about.

MR SONO: Yes, my son got involved with them because of my cousin who came with two other boys from Lusaka. They were MK cadres, well-trained.  So when they came to my place they got shelter and during the day they stayed with him and other friends of theirs. So they decided to follow this cousin of mine wherever he was going, because he had close links with Mrs Mandela and other people.
 So by then they were known as Mandela Football Club. I myself did not know the context of the football club itself, because it is my boy that was going to them.  Even this 
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Michael, the driver, he was the one who was coming to my place to see my cousin and his friends, and he was always there.  Sometimes he used to come with a red Kombi with OB numbers. He would leave the car there and they would go wherever they want to.
 This cousin of mine, he is the one that when this thing came up to the police that one of them has been arrested, so they decided to seek shelter with Mrs Mandela, which she took them to Richardson's house in Sinklope, where he was staying.  So my boy was following my cousin, because he was close to him, with his friends Sibonisa and other boys.  I did not know by then that these boys have already got some guns that they got and other things, like land-mines and bombs. I did not know that. 
 I only got to know about that the following day when one of the boys was arrested in September in my place.  The police came at night and they identified him as Sipho. But later is when I could find that that Sipho was not directly involved with them, he was just a spy from Lusaka to spy the place where people always arrive.  Because they had their mission well accomplished because they came to me and there were some other contacts which I knew around Soweto, that if they came to me I will take them to that person, I will take them wherever, because I had transport.  So this Sipho was mainly there to spy on these other two.  So when the police came they came and took him away.  It is then that he knew that these other people have got guns already and he told the police about that.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you about that.  But you haven't told me about - so up to now you don't know whether your son was a member of the club or whether did they actually play soccer
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or anything like that.

MR SONO: They never played soccer, he was just playing (indistinct), I never saw him play for that team. Why I say that is because the very boys, when they approached my neighbour, Mr Shabalala, they said to him they are from the Mandela Football Club and they were looking for Lolo and Sibonisa.  So they have got Lolo already, now they are looking for Sibonisa because they have joined the team.  Apparently the leader of the team was Jerry Richardson, who said to Mr Shabalala your son has joined but now they joined badly because I was not present, I want to see them, I want to see them, because they joined when I was not available, so I want to give them some of the rules for the club.  That I heard from the late Shabalala, that is my neighbour.  Because the very night they took Lolo away, he came to me ... (END OF TAPE - SIDE A).
 ... take Sibonisa somewhere else. Unfortunately when Sibonisa was confronted by his father, when he arrived, he said I am not going to go anywhere, as they have taken Lolo already, I am also going there to make sure that they must know we are not spies, we sincerely joined the club.  So if I don't go, I will be rebelling my friend, Lolo, which has been taken away.   So the following day he went himself. Until today we haven't seen him.

CHAIRPERSON: You also referred to Mrs Mandela, you referred to Winnie.  Are you referring to a woman who is a member of Parliament, who is known today as Winnie Madiza Mandela?

MR SONO: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: You also referred to Winnie Madiza Mandela as a person whom you went to plead with her, because you knew her to be sympathetic and to be a good friend and a mother.  SOWETO HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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Can you just explain before us, your previous associations with her.