Human Rights Violation Hearings — Port Elizabeth — UNKNOWN

WITNESS: Thozama talked to me.  We talked through her letters and there were times wherever she was she would take a chance and phone me.  Her fear, number one, she never wanted to be a fell out.  That is why she was prepared to die.  She knew that she did know the end of her life, but she did not want to be informed, come what may.  Secondly, when she started to be ill, she started being ill after she was harassed and frustrated by the police.  After she was bitterly tortured by the police, now you must remember that she was my only daughter, she was a very delicate girl,  she was just a nervous wrack because to her that was very new even though she cared about politics, but she did not anticipate the torture by the police.
(?) Mrs Mani, you have done something wonderful.  There is a tendency to think about men as having gone through this torturous period and the stories of women have not been surfaced and told.  We know that there was a special breed of torture for women.  Women were raped.  Women were not given the toiletries they needed during menstruation.  Women were beaten and psychologically sort of dismantled by the police.  We have not heard those stories yet and I think your coming here to describe what your daughter went through, and I hope that is an encouragement to other women who went through this, to come before the Commission to talk about it.  
There is also another section of victims and perhaps survivors of women who have presented stories about their husbands, their sons and their daughters who have not focused on the harassment, the psychological breakdown and torture that happened to them, because women tend to say that is secondary, their families comes first.  I think it is very important that as the women describe what has happened to their husbands, their sons, their daughters, that also they give testimony to what happened to them.  South Africa, I do not know if you are aware that there is a high incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure among the women who have gone through the torture, the women whose husbands were tortured, the women whose children were tortured.  Two psychiatrists, Cobbs and Grea, in their book "Black Rage", observe that the torture and the rage that people feel affects them significantly.  We have yet as South Africans to determine what happens physically, not just psychologically, physically, to the people who are enraged by what has happened to them.
Again I would like to thank you, not only for speaking on behalf of your daughter and presenting the story of your daughter, but for representing all the women dead and alive who also paid the ultimate price for our freedom.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Ladies and gentlemen, we are getting worried now.  It is getting dark outside.  We are getting worried about the security of this building.  We have requested that two cases that were supposed to be heard today, we had to postpone them.  We thank the people who have co-operated with us on that one.  We would have loved that these hearings could be over today.  I would like us to call the last witness.  When the witness is coming up on stage, those who want to go out can leave so that we can be able to close the doors.  Thank you.

WITNESS: IS EXCUSED
We call Olive Mpahlwa.  Those who want to leave can please do so quickly so that we can close the doors.  Those people who are deciding to leave please leave because we are going to close the doors at any time.  Thank you.  We are now going to close the doors.  Could you please be seated.  Please calm now and settle down.  We are going to close the doors.  We have to finish up.  I will give you 30 seconds.  Mrs Mpahlwa, welcome.
Mrs O N MPAHLWA D.S.S.
(?) Nokwanda, we thank you for your patience, for waiting until it is this dark.  We know that you are not quite well, but I am going to let you speak freely after you have confirmed your names, that your name is Olive Nokwanda Mpahlwa who was born at Idutywa at a place that we used to know as Transkei?  The evidence that we have here in front of me is about Monwabisi Mbeki who was born on 8 October 1959 who disappeared in 1981.  Could you please continue.  Please tell us who was Monwabisi.

WITNESS: Thank you.  Because I know that I am not so good at recalling history I wrote down even though you do have the statement in front of you.  [Information lost due to recording] ...elaborating a piece of statement than you have in front of you.
(?) Please feel free to read it.