Human Rights Violation Hearings — Ermelo — 1997-05-22

RUSSELL ALLY: Mr Malinga, we are going to come back to the question of your present situation later.  I just want us to go back to the incidents that you've already described in your statement.  This was something very horrific, to lose your family members, your mother Nsacharia Malinga who was actually hacked to death.  You say that you did open a court case at Davel police station and you were actually issued with case numbers but that nothing has developed from this.  We have, on the basis of what you have submitted to us, tried to take the matter further.  To get dockets and to see what role the police actually played in this, so from the side of the Commission we will try and follow up on all of the leads in your statement.  We have also sent letters to the people whom you mention as the perpetrators, whom you spoke about in your statement as well, Napoleon  Mkonza, Matebule Maluleka, Schlangwani Mtetwa.  All of those people have actually been sent letters for them to comment on these allegations which you make that they were directly involved.  I really want to just try and see if we can understand what was going on here and this is not to take away at all from your personal suffering which must be very difficult.  It seems that, what we do know is that this Mr Mkonza you refer to, Napoleon Mkonza, that at that point in time he was actually the  Mayor in the township.  Not so?

MR MALINGA: That's correct.

RUSSELL ALLY: According to him, and this is just his version and account, he says that his feud with you and your family began when the ANC tried to burn his house and the ANC also tried to burn the house of his wife's father, who was also a Councillor.  Mr Mkonza was a Councillor and members of his family were also Councillors and he says that he saw the attackers, those who tried to attack and burn down his house.  He saw the attackers run into that corner house where one of the boys is a Comrade, indicating that was your house.  He says this for him was the source of the conflict.  His sister, he says, who was married to July Mtetwa whom you also mention as one of the alleged perpetrators and we heard July Mtetwa's name earlier also.  He says the sister of Mkonza, Napoleon Mkonza was married to July Mtetwa and that her house was also set on fire.  That's his account to the background of this conflict.  Do you want to make any comments on this ?

MR MALINGA: I don't know about the burning of his house.  I wasn't even there but what I do know is that he will have to say who were the attackers of his in-law's house but I do not recall any incident like that as to who attacked his house and ran into my house afterwards.

RUSSELL ALLY: Before this conflict, were you and Mr Mkonza friends ?  Did you speak to each other before all of this happened ?  Before the stone was thrown through your window and before ...

MR MALINGA: That's correct.  We were quite used to each other.

RUSSELL ALLY: You lived very close to each other.  In fact two houses away from each other, not so ?

MR MALINGA: It's only one house, not two houses.

RUSSELL ALLY: So you were friends before all of this happened ?

MR MALINGA: Yes, we were used to each other but I grew up in front of him.

RUSSELL ALLY: From your side, what was it then that changed this relationship where you knew each other, where you would greet each other, where you would talk to each other.  What happened to change that ?

MR MALINGA: The cause was that I refused to support his organization of Black Cats.  He wanted me to join the Black Cats group and I refused completely and that was the beginning of the whole thing.  That was where the whole thing emanated.

RUSSELL ALLY: And his claim that the reason the Councillors like himself and other members of his family became part of the Black Cats and later Inkatha, he says was that Inkatha protected the Councillors against the ANC, against the Comrades who will attack them.  That's his claim.

MR MALINGA: No, they were not attacked.  They were never attacked at once.  It's only because they, Mkonza, wanted us to be his follower.  Each time we tried to convene a meeting at Umvolo somewhere and we asked for the key, he would refuse to give us the key because he was not a supporter of ANC.

RUSSELL ALLY: Where any houses of any Councillors or any people who were thought to be members of Inkatha or part of the Black Cats, were any of those houses ever attacked, burnt, that you know of ?  I'm not asking if you did it, I'm asking if any houses were attacked ?

MR MALINGA: Their houses, some were attacked and some were set alight on that very day that they were attacked I think that they were also confused, they were not sure as to which house they were attacking.  They ended up attacking their own houses as well.

RUSSELL ALLY: Now we know that there were also many attempts made throughout this period, the 1990's, to try and bring about peace in your area, in Kwadela and that the National Peace Accord also got involved.  In your opinion, were these efforts successful, the involvement of the National Peace Accord in Kwadela to try and bring the different groups together, to try and bring about peace ?

MR MALINGA: Yes, that was successful but Mkonza was against all that because he will start again suddenly when it stable and send his Black Cat members throughout the location and instruct them to  the surface.

RUSSELL ALLY: In August, I think you actually referred to this, the Weekly Mail sent reporters to your area and they actually had interviews with both you and Napoleon Mkonza.  Do you remember those reporters ?  You actually referred to it when you were speaking earlier, and the reporter says that this warring that was taking place in the township, he says that this will only come to an end when people like Napoleon Mkonza and Philemon Masinga, Malinga sorry, Philemon Malinga, start talking to each other again.  Has that happened ?  Do you and Mr Mkonza talk to each other after all these years ?  How do you see peace coming in the township especially between you and those who you believe were the perpetrators of this deed against you and your family ?  How do you believe that peace can come, that this conflict can finally be resolved ?

MR MALINGA: If they may attempt to pay back the way I want them to pay, I think there will be peace thereafter.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you very much, Mr Malinga.

MR LEWIN: Thank you Doctor Ally.  Tom do you have any more questions ?  Mr Malinga, I'd like to thank you very much for coming.  A lot of what could be said in summing up, Doctor Ally has already said.  We have noted the one extra thing that hasn't yet been mentioned, that I have noted, is your request for a tombstone to be raised for your mother.  We will certainly check through with the case numbers and see what we can do to assist in this matter.
 It's fitting perhaps that we should the testimony to-day from the people of Ermelo with this extensive account of a dispute which still seems to be going on and which has caused so much grief and so much pain and suffering and so many deaths in the community.  We'd like to say thank you very much for your part in bringing this information to us.  Thank you very much.