Human Rights Violation Hearings — Queenstown — 1996-07-22

BONGANI FINCA: Revd Xundu is going to lead the witness.

REV XUNDU: Thank you sir, kind sir.  Ms Batyi, is this your son?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

REV XUNDU: What is your can name?

UNKNOWN: Machonane.

REV XUNDU: Thank you very much.  I know that you have come to this Commission, because
 your son, Vuyo was taken away from this earth in a very painful way.  We would 
 now like to ask you to tell us a bit about what happened to Vuyo and just very 
 briefly about your family background as well.

UNKNOWN: I had five children including Vuyo I had five children.  The eldest is Temba, then
 Monde, then Notandu, then Vuyo, then Andile is my last born.

REV XUNDU: Was Vuyo working?

UNKNOWN: No, he was at school at Mbaxo.  He was still a school child.

REV XUNDU: Which organisation did he belong to?

UNKNOWN: He was a member of the ANC, COSAS.

REV XUNDU: Was he at COSAS?  Was he a member of COSAS?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

REV XUNDU: In terms of number 3 of your statement, your child Monde, to which organisation did he belong?
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UNKNOWN: Monde was a member of the ANC in the UDF.  He was a member of QUWU.

REV XUNDU: What is that?

UNKNOWN: I don't know, I didn't, wasn't too familiar with the political struggle.  He is going to tell you.

REV XUNDU: I will come back to him, but he was also part of the political struggle?

UNKNOWN: Yes, that's right.

REV XUNDU: It is clear that in 1985 there was a consumer boycott?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

REV XUNDU: What happened during that consumer boycott?

UNKNOWN: This is what happened.  The consumer boycott was organised because people were complaining about certain things.  I myself was complaining about things.
 And then meetings were held for us to unite against the authority of the Whites and we decided that each of us were complaining, all of us were complaining although we were all working.
 We always used to attend meetings and it became apparent, I sell liquor and we decided that we will sell liquor because the comrades were going to get drunk and then not take the struggle forward.
 I still sell liquor to this day.  We then decided to stop selling liquor so that the comrades did not get too drunk.

REV XUNDU: What was the reason that you people disagreed with the comrades?

UNKNOWN: What happened was that they kept coming there since they knew that I sold liquor.
 And Andile Sishoba would always be among them and they 
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would come and look for liquor there.  And since I used to sell it, there was always liquor there.   And I always had stocks in reserve.
 They used to come there every day at night, looking for liquor and one day they had a clash with Monde and there were a lot of children.
 They came and they were silly and the clashed with Monde and Monde said you know how we live here, that we sell liquor, why are you doing this.
 They clashed and Andile ended up leaving.  But he never stopped that, he kept of coming to the house and harassing us for liquor.
 With these children, and they would come and just do what they - as they pleased at my place.

REV XUNDU: You said that the one that didn't get along with these people was Monde?

UNKNOWN: Yes, he was also accused of being "pimp", whereas the struggle started in 1976 at a place called Quanxa.

REV XUNDU: Tell us, the 19h of September 1985 at 8 pm, you were staying at Bongweni.

UNKNOWN: This is how this started.  First Mbosela Makapela was burnt that day.  Let me say people phoned me to tell me that Mbosela Makapela, since he was Monde's friend had said that he and Monde were "pimps".

REV XUNDU: Did you know of Mbosela Makapela?

UNKNOWN: Yes, I knew him, they grew up together.

REV XUNDU: Why did he say that he and Monde were informers?

UNKNOWN: Because he was being burnt at the time, he was being burnt.  Those who burnt him wanted to know
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together with whom were you an informer and he said Monde and I.

REV XUNDU: And did they then come from there and try and bomb your place because of that?

UNKNOWN: Yes.  People did inform me during the day that we were going to be burnt, but I didn't want to believe that because Monde was a comrade.
 And these small children, Notandu and Andile were also in the spirit because even the older one was influenced, but I didn't pay any attention to that and the comrades when they were arrested, because Monde and them were all arrested, when the place was burnt, Monde and Notandu were in detention.
 And I was taking all the necessities to them, because Andile Sishoba was also one of the comrades that were in detention and I was taking things to them, because there were police that I used to get on well with, and I used to take what they needed to them in detention, and when there was one who was arrested, that wasn't found, I would go to their homes and I never thought that this would happen to me.

REV XUNDU: Let's do this.  On the 19th they came to your place, and threw petrol bombs and did you see any of them?

UNKNOWN: Yes, I did.  I saw them.  The person that came in was Zola Majikela, he came into my yard.  No, on the first day I saw Samson only.

REV XUNDU: It was at night?

UNKNOWN: Yes, it was at night.  They threw things to my house thrice, but the first time I saw Samson Mabanga only.  He was at a house opposite me.
 When I heard these shots, my house has big windows see,
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so I ran to go and peep and we saw Samson because there was electricity where he was and there was electricity at my place too, so we saw him jump the fence, running away.

REV XUNDU: In the evening, was that still in the evening?

UNKNOWN: Yes, it was in the evening.  The electric lights were on.

REV XUNDU: On the day of the 20th what happened?

UNKNOWN: The second time we were still sitting there, not suspecting anything, thinking that it had stopped and I had done washing and there was washing at my uncle's place.
 At about 7 pm - and I decided to go and take the washing off the line.  When I had taken the washing off I heard that people aren't singing and I looked and saw that the comrades had arrived and they were throwing petrol bombs at my place.

REV XUNDU: Were they talking or were they quiet?

UNKNOWN: No, they were quiet.  The people that I saw that day that came in into the yard were Boy-boy Mashinwana and Zola Majikela.  In front were a taxi person and another and Mandla Nobokolo and another one Gerald Mgole and Nquks Gwatshu.

REV XUNDU: Just hold on.  After that, did you go and report this to the police?

UNKNOWN: I did not report it then, I just left it.  I reported it on the third day in the morning.  There was no way I could report it in the evening.  I heard by their song when they came again.

REV XUNDU: What did the police say?

UNKNOWN: I heard by their singing when they were coming again and they threw the thing again.  On the
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Wednesday morning they came again and they threw something into my yard and Zola Majikela and Boy-boy came in. 
 Maningi Tsotetsi was busy on the outside.  There were plenty of them, some of them I didn't even see.

REV XUNDU: You say some of them weren't from Queenstown?  Was it in the evening?

UNKNOWN: No, it was in the morning.  This happened for three days, it was in the morning.  We were on the inside of the house, the windows had been broken, there were only frames left.
 And we were looking at them from inside.

REV XUNDU: Did you go to the police this time?

UNKNOWN: Yes, we did go to the police.

REV XUNDU: What did the police say?