Human Rights Violation Hearings — Welkom — 1996-10-10

MR DLAMINI: Well, as the other colleagues have just said, there are certain people who will help us in this case.  It is your lawyers who will help us why this case was dropped, And again the Magistrate, they are going to help us with the Magistrate, who that Magistrate is who dropped the case, and why he dropped it.   And we shall make every attempt through our investigation unit to see if we can't have a contact with Caswell Kwekwe.  If he does not come himself forward - he may not come because he won the case, but we have got the powers to subpoena him so that he can come and tell as to why he shot a boy of 10 years.  And we may get some of the evidence from that principal, Mrs Sidilwane of Kroonstad.  That's a well known family in Kroonstad.  I know it very well in Kroonstad.  We may also get in touch with Mrs Sidilwane so that she can give us her own story.  You look simple, but you are very broad-minded people.  I must say so, for the things you have asked here for other people who didn't have an opportunity of coming forward, who lost their children.  You have asked that the tombstones must be erected for those children too.  To me that is very exciting.  You are speaking about that communities should be given a political education of tolerance.  The people who are broad-minded will say those things, and we want to commend you for that.  Another commendation I want to give to the support you are giving to each other.  We have had cases here where, when these things have happened, they divided the family, there were divorces and separations, but you, you are still together, sharing the pain together.  To me that needs to be commended, and we thank you very much.  We shall do all what we can do to assist you.  Colleague Gcabashe has already identified one of the other areas where you can be helped immediately, the Health Services, and we have got people here, who are working here for the Truth Commission, who must have contact with you so that they can channel you through that you do get these Health Services.  Thank you very much.  God bless you.

WITNESS:   We thank you, Sir.

COMMISSIONER: (Incomplete) ... pain which has been with you all the time, which has been a cancer eating, biting on you about the death of your son, Mzi Isaac Tau.  But before you tell your story we are going to ask you to take an oath.

LAURA TAU: (Sworn, States)
Mama, it would appear that you are still coming with the same stories.  Blacks mothers have a common experience of losing their sons.  All of them it is about the sons, sons, sons, sons of mothers, and this is a really painful thing, as you know that in our communities when you have got a son that is your investment.  We invest in our children.  Now, when you tell this story, Mama, somebody is going to help you.  And take your time.  If you feel like crying, do cry.  If you feel like crying, do cry.  We'll pause and wait for you.  If you want to drink water, do drink water.  We'll pause and wait for you, because you are telling a very painful story.  And Professor Magwaza is going to lead you.

PROF MAGWAZA: Good morning, Mama Tau.

WITNESS:   Good morning, Ma'am.

PROF MAGWAZA: Thank you very much for having come over here today, and we would like to express our sincere thanks for having been prepared to share the experience with us.  We know it's a painful experience, but we are here to support you, just to let you know that we are with you.  I will start by referring to your statement.  According to your statement you live at House No 2954, Pumulong, Kroonstad, and you were born in 1946.  That is correct?

WITNESS:   That is correct, Ma'am. You are here in connection with the death of your son, Isaac Tau, who was shot dead by a white policeman.   ---   That's true, Ma'am.

PROF MAGWAZA: When you are ready, Mama Tau, can you please just tell us about your son.  We'd like to know more about him, and we want to keep good memories of him, all of us.  Just tell us briefly about how old he was at the time, what was he doing?  Was he a member of the political organisation, or not?

WITNESS:   Mzi was 17 years old and he was shot on the 15th of May by a certain policeman who had hidden under a plastic in a certain van, which had an emblem of Protea Furnishers written on it.  I was not present, I did not see all this because I was at work at that time, but a short while after I had come back from work I called Mzi and I wanted to send him to the shop.  After about two or five minutes a certain boy called Oba Mugimane came and told me that Mzi had been shot by a passing vehicle.  I tried to find out from Oba as to why he thought it was Mzi who had been shot.  He said it was Mzi because he had seen him, and I had just sent him to the shop at the time he got shot.  And he spoke to Mohawu, Mzi's brother, so that they could go and verify it, but Mohawu refused, and I also didn't go there.

PROF MAGWAZA: Just to ask a few questions, Mama, regarding the events.  What was happening at that time?

WITNESS:   On that particular day there was absolutely nothing happening, because there was transport.  I was working at Sasolville House Creche, and I travel on foot, and there was absolutely nothing along the way.  There were no riots or unrest whatsoever.  And when I sent my son to the shop I knew that there was nothing going on, there was no unrest within the area.

PROF MAGWAZA: Had there been any ... (incomplete)  (Pause)  We know, Mama, this is a very painful day for you today.  We will give you time to - just to come down, and when you are ready you can answer some of the questions.  I will ask one question, and then you will answer me if you are ready.  What I wanted to know was at the time when your son was shot, in your area, Pumulong, had there been unrest other than on this specific day?

WITNESS:   There was absolutely nothing.

PROF MAGWAZA: Was your son politically involved in some of the organisations?

WITNESS:   Not that I was aware of.  I have never seen him attending any political meetings.

PROF MAGWAZA: In your mind, Mama Tau, why could have your son been shot on that day?  In your own thinking and your own understanding.

WITNESS:   Do you want to know the reason why he was shot?

PROF MAGWAZA: Yes.

WITNESS:   I have absolutely no idea.

PROF MAGWAZA: I will come back to your statement then.  You are saying that after your son was shot there was an inquest, and in that inquest you became aware for the first time who shot your son.  Can you tell us more about that?

WITNESS:  A certain detective, Detective Lihlu Nyana, together with Detective Nhlobe, they came at my workplace and they said that the Attorney-General was calling me at court.  We went to fetch Mr Tau from his workplace to take him to the court.  The prosecutor gave us a certain paper where there were certain dates written that we should attend court for five days.  We attended court for that five days, up til on the fifth day, when the Magistrate addressed the court, and he said that he has not come to give sentence to the person who has killed the other.  He said that he was reserving his judgment, and that was the final.  There was a certain man who was looking for - or a State pathologist.  It was a white State pathologist.  The State pathologist explained in court that the person who shot my son had shot my son with a bullet that was used to kill wild animals.  That is all I have to say.

PROF MAGWAZA: This man, this white man who shot your son, was he there during that day?

WITNESS:   Yes, he was present on that day.  That's how I got to know that it's the police who shot my child.  They were detectives from Kroonstad and they were testifying that they were not the ones who killed my son, and the fourth accused admitted to shooting to son, and that's when I first got to look at him.

PROF MAGWAZA: Do you know what his name was?