Human Rights Violation Hearings — Sebokeng — 1996-08-05

PROF MEIRING: Do you think that the police may have thought that he was a member of the PAC, that they looked for him, that there was some misunderstanding?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: Yes, they thought he was a PAC member.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you.  I read in your written statement that you say that on that day, on the 18th March many people went to the police station because you were tired of the dom pass.  You were very tired of the dom pass.  Can you tell me a little bit about that.  In which way did
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the dom pass disrupt your life?  What was so bad about carrying a pass?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: People hated the dom pass.  Because if you were a Lesotho citizen you would be taken back to Lesotho.  And you wouldn't just go free.  People were disturbed in many a ways by these dom pass.

PROF MEIRING: Did you have to carry it with you every single day?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: Yes, sir.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you for the answer.  After your husband died you buried him.  May I ask whether there was any compensation, did you receive any money from the government to help you with the burial, with the funeral and also afterwards with your family?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: No, no compensation of any kind did we get.

PROF MEIRING: And what happened to you afterwards?  How did you cope with your children, being a single mother then?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: I was working when my husband was alive, I had to put in extra effort to the work that I was doing.  Mr Mtembo helped us a lot.  We would go to his place every time and get the intestines of a sheep and then we would carry on with life.  There was nothing else to do.

PROF MEIRING: Were the intestines of the sheep to eat?  Was that as a meal for you and your family?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: Yes, he was giving us the intestines so that we can live on, so that we can eat.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you.  Just two more questions.  The PAC was very active in Vereeniging area in those times.
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Was it only the PAC or were there other political parties also active?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: I think it was only the PAC because every time we would only hear PAC, PAC.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you.  Then just a last question.  I see in your written statement that you say when the police vehicles came one came driving a cannon.  Can you please describe that to us.  Did you see a cannon with the police vehicles?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: It was a saracen, an armoured vehicle.  This is the vehicle that was pointing to the people, to the crowd.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you Mrs Mabona.  Sorry to bother you with the different questions.  I do think that some of my fellow Commissioners, committee members, would also like to ask a number of questions.

MS JOY SEROKE: Mrs Mabona, you say on your statement PAC said people should not go to work on that day.   Did you actually believe in what they were doing?  You thought what they were doing was something that was acceptable?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: No.  You see PAC it was the only organisation.  I was just taking part as an onlooking, just to have a look at what was happening.

MS JOY SEROKE: Did you believe in this protest?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: Not at all.

MS JOY SEROKE: You say you were singing hymns at the police station.  Now these hymns that you were singing, what kind of hymns were they?  And what meaning was contained in the hymns?  Were you satisfied?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: We were singing these hymns as Christians because we were just rejoicing.  And we
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didn't know what will follow thereafter.  We were just joyous because we thought that same afternoon we would get a message.

MS JOY SEROKE: After a long search for your husband where was he shot?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: My husband was shot behind the shoulders.  Just in the middle.

MS JOY SEROKE: You further said they didn't have any space at the police hostel.  Why was there no space?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: I don't know.  Maybe their rooms were full to capacity because many people really died on that day and they couldn't fit in all the rooms.

MS JOY SEROKE: In other words you say many people died.

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: Yes.  Now they didn't have enough place to keep them all in.

MS JOY SEROKE: You say the government promised to bury these people.  Did it happen?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: Yes.   They said you don't have to worry about buying coffins, we will provide coffins and the cars to transport the corpses to the cemetery.

MS JOY SEROKE: You say the police came to ask you questions, to interrogate you, to even tell you that your husband was a member of the PAC.  How were they interrogating you?  Were they angry or were they just soft with you?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: They were very angry when asking such questions.  They were asking us whether our husbands are the ones who burnt their passes.

MS JOY SEROKE: You say they said they will give you a consolation prize or they will compensate you for the death of your husband.  Did you receive the compensation they
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promised you and if you ever received it how much was it.

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: No, I didn't receive anything.  I only received promises and promises.  They sent me a letter to confirm that but I never got any compensation.

MS JOY SEROKE: I thank you, madam.

DR RANDERA: Mrs Mabona, I don't want to make things more difficult but I just want some clarification.  You said that on the day when people were going to work there were other people saying you can't go to work, if you do you will be killed.  Is that what you said?  I know it is not in your statement but that is what you said earlier on.   Is that what people were telling you or were they just saying you must go to the police station?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: They said if you go to work, if you don't go to the police station today in the evening you will never spend time in your houses, we are going to burn you.  Now we all wanted to take an initiative to go to the police station then.

DR RANDERA: You also said that people hated the dom pass, but you only went to the protest as an onlooker.

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: That is correct, sir.

DR RANDERA: Was your husband a member of the PAC?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: No, he was not a member of the PAC.

DR RANDERA: I want to just go to the hostel and in your statement you say they told us that the government will bury them.  Does that mean that most of the bodies were in fact buried by the government or did you have a special burial for your husband?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: I don't know about the
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others.  The police station - we were just told that the government will assist in the burial of these people.  That is the only word we got.

DR RANDERA: Were you given any assistance?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: Yes, they helped.

DR RANDERA: And at the end of your statement
"They promised us consolation prizes for our late husbands but they didn't do that".
Now I want to ask did you report the death of your husband first of all to the police, was there an inquest held?  Was there any investigation at the time and did you get to know about the investigation?

MRS KONSATSAMA ELIZABETH MABONA: We were never called, there was never an inquest about the death of my husband.  I was never even called about the consolation.  Nothing of that nature took place.

DR RANDERA: Thank you very much.