Special Hearings — Women's Hearings — 1997-07-29

SARAFINA THANDI MAVUSO: The story I have come to relate here, it is a long story.  It starts from 1990 when the violence erupted in Thokoza.  My husband is a Priest.  He is the one who use to bury the children who had been killed during the violence.  He had the gangster, we did not know that this man was a gangster leader, but he also had his own gang at night, but in 1992 we really began to realise that he was involved with gangsters.  They started shooting these children and my children had run away.  In 1993 on the 15th of January our children were no longer living in their homes, because he started killing boys.  He said he did not want boys who were wearing takkies, they are bringing crime in our area and he said the Law gave him authority to kill the children.  Indeed, it does seem like he was given authority to kill the children, because he use to kill a lot of children and nothing happened to him and he use to beat up children.  He would injure these children and wherever there had been children, where there had been death or anything in the family, the families would suffer for that.  That is when we realised that this Baba was not a proper Priest.
 In 1992 they use to burn the houses of children where, who were involved in ANC activities.  We, somebody also came to warn us, by a SACP, that man said to me please do not sleep here in this home, your house will be burnt and, indeed, when I came back from work at half one I realised that my husband had hired a car, he phoned my employer during the day.  I use to work at Rooikop in the offices before I started a day centre.  Indeed, my employer did allow us to go and live in the yard there, because they knew my husband to be a Priest and when I arrived home my husband had hired a car and our neighbours told us that, really, it was a good thing you did.  These boys came late at night, they kicked the doors and somebody said, no, then one other person said there are no people here, but all those things we assumed that had happened, because violence was strong in Thokoza.
 We were not even sure who this kind of violence was targeted to, but my husband, in the 90's, we realised that he was the wrong person even though he was involved in church activities, was a cruel person.  At the end of 1992, because I was no longer working I started a day care centre. When I was at home, I think, I can remember it was in April, I was going to the creche teachers meetings, he came out of this yard and said please, Mama Vuso, are you also going to boycott my tuckshop and I said to him, why should I boycott your tuckshop, because he said the boys around here say I am the one who killed people and therefore people must boycott my shop.  I said, Baba Khumalo, was that we do not get informed properly.  I thought I, as a person, as a God's person, he will be touched and realise that as a God person he should not be involved in this cruel activities.  Why should he be boycotted, but it was not like that.
 And then he therefore spotted me and I eventually told him that I will join what the community is doing although nobody has formally informed me of this activity.  And Baba Khumalo spotted all of this in December 1992.  One of the child's houses was burnt, Spongile, in our neighbourhood's child was burned.  The man from next door screamed and said Spider's child is burning and Mama Vuso went to this place.  During the day there was a young boy who said, who was sent to Mama Vuso that a letter was written to me and Baba Mavuso said, God has written in his Book, but I said that things got a bit quiet and we were greeting each other when I was going to day care centre and he said in January we had a camp in Eden Park.  That is when we realised that we are being harassed.  
 As we came back from all these meetings they would stop our combi, they would get off, they would get everybody off the combi and they would harass us, they would take our Bibles and shake them and all the documents will fall and they would follow us up until we arrive to our section, but they would not come inside the house.  All those things we use to just give them, hand them over to God, that God will look after us, but there were soldiers who use to stay in his house.  There were bags that were used there to protect this house, the kind of bags that they use to use in councillors' houses around and this and this things.  But we did not know why those bullet proof kind of bags were put all around his house.  
 On the 15th of January we were still asleep.  That is something I think I do have a belief in.  I was just giving you a background to this whole incident.  We were asleep at home and my grandchild, Thumelo, was six years old then and her mother had not managed to come and fetch her.  All my other children were no longer living at home.  It was only me and my husband and Thumelo.  I think at around about 20 to 12 or 25 to 12 I was fast asleep, but I heard my husband waking myself, wake up, we are being attacked.  I said, my God, who could possibly attack.  I said please just get up.  Our house is burning and my daughter's room was burning and this, I think, I did see these people who attacked us. 
 On all those things I think God gave me the wisdom to be like intelligent.  My husband said just take the children and run away.  I took off my gown and I sort of put it off and took it off and put on my clothes, off, and put them down.  I ended up being naked.  At that stage, I think, I had lost my mind.  I was a bit confused.  There were AK47's explosions all over.  The whole area was dark.  We just could only hear these AK47's and Thokoza was going to be an attack.  They use to switch off the lights a day before they attacked.  I said we are going to be attacked on Friday.  On Thursday night the lights, the whole, lights in the whole township will go off then we would know that on that particular day certain families would be attacked.
 On that night the section was very dark at night and nobody was helping us.  The only thing we could hear was the sound of an AK47.  After my husband had pulled me, pulled us out of the room I was standing between the window and so, there was a headboard, a huge headboard and I was just confused at that stage.  I could hear the bullets zooming past me and fell onto the end of the bed and bedroom was started burning.  And my husband said, please, I told you get out of this house, you are going to burn inside.  The kitchen is not burning, I have poured water all over.  When I, when I got out I locked the room.  During that time the guns quiet.  So suddenly there was just silence, but when he came back I lost the key, I could not find the key, because God is very trustworthy.  
 I saw my, I regained my mind and I found the key and I opened.  I said, but now why are you locking.  We got out with the keys and went to the kitchen.  As we were in the cupboards he said, please open the door.  He wanted to make sure that whoever came inside will grab him and grab the gun and he opened the door.  He opened the door and he managed to get out, but there was nobody outside.  I was still holding my child.  The child saw the flame coming through the kitchen and this child ran outside.  When this child just stepped a few steps in the kitchen they hit this kid on the arm and said, granny, they have shot me.  The bicep was just hanging off this child's arm.  Then I realised that there was no need that I will be saving my child, because I had already saved this child.  Then they shot this kid and then kept quiet and I got out.
 When I got out I just took a few steps and I heard a bullet coming through my leg.  I have got a big hole. I fell there and an AK bullet got out and hit right on the soil and dug on the soil.  So, because I was bleeding I lost consciousness and Nana got out of my arm and went around the house, but the hole, that this child knew and saw all these men who are attacking us.  They saw he had a huge head and that he, now he says he wants to be a soldier, he wants to go and shoot Baba Khumalo, because he saw him on that incident.  And my husband pulled me out behind the outside toilet and he went to the soldiers, he went straight to the soldiers and the soldiers were staying in this house.  He said, please, come and see what this man has done to you.  I know you are looking after, my house has been burnt, the child, my child, a child has been also killed and my wife has been killed, but I was not killed.  Also, the child had managed to escape, was not shot and the soldier did come.
 During that time in Thokoza there was no car moving around after seven.  There was no ambulance, there were only police after seven.  The soldiers came and phoned and came to witness what was happening and one of the soldiers said, damn it.  One of the soldiers said, damn, we are looking after this guy and yet he is going around shooting people.  That I heard with my own ears when one of these soldiers said that.  And then I pulled myself, I dragged myself while they were phoning for the soldiers, ambulance, because there are no ambulances from outside who use to come there, but unfortunately one of the guards who were working from the hospital, he heard when they were following the ambulance, this boy who was working at the hospital, brought his car to come and fetch us.  
 They could not find me, because I had been dragged and fell over the fence and went to the neighbours.  I do not know if, but even those this guy was on the opposite party, but on that day he accepted me, assisted me.  He opened the door for men and I got into his house.  That is when the soldiers found me after I had been shot.  My husband did see when I was shot, because I was shot on my leg, foot, on my thigh and on my feet.  My husband did see that bullet, because he just saw this fire explosion or fire sparks, but through God's grace my husband was not shot.  He got a bucket of water and poured on the soil.  As I was lying down there I could hear the gun sounds again.  It was after we had taken the unit, we just put on the cupboard in the kitchen.  The whole cupboard, even today, you can see that it was just fortunate that somebody managed to survive.  
 The only person I did see was one boy who jumped through the fence and ran passed me.  Through God's grace this guy did not kick me, did not finis me off.  He just ran past me, but I do know this boy and he ran past me and these people were scared off by a drunkard who started shouting, saying they are finishing off Mavuso's house.  We could even hear when they were running away back to the car that they were driving in.  It was a combi and that is how I was taken through to Natal Hospital where I was kept the whole of Saturday morning and my husband had been taken away by the police.  One of those White policeman was Lategan.  We use to see them at the house of this man.  They use to get food there and be supplied with drinks.  That is the guy who took my husband to Newnie Park, but by God's grace, at Newnie Park they use to kill people, but they did not kill my husband there.  
 They just kept him there the whole, the Sunday.  He said may I please go and see my wife in hospital.  They took him and brought him to the hospital.  They saw me, because I had been admitted at the hospital.  They said put down a statement.  I said why should I write down the statement, why do you not take out your gun and finish me off, because I do know you are going to tell so and so to come and finish me off like he has killed so many other children at the hospital and finished them off.  Lategan begged me to write a statement.  I refused.  I said go and tell this gentleman that I am in this hospital, in this ward to come and finish me off, but that Sunday afternoon, after Saturday in Natal Hospital was very full of a lot of people and there was one sister who called Baba Mavuso.
 Please, she said I am not chasing away your wife, but the situation it is very precarious.  I am not safe here, I have taken your wife and hidden her in another room, because there were lots of people who were hanging on the walls.  What are you in Thokoza, what is your position in Thokoza.  Baba Mavuso said I am a Priest.  Maybe many people are surprised that there have been so many people who have been killed by Boers, there are many people who are killed, but today it is my situation.  Maybe that is why many children come, young people to some, see my family and we were card carrying members of the ANC and our husband was very active.  He use to smuggle the card of the ANC to hostel, to the very people who had come to attack us on that night.  
 So one of the boys who died from Balfour was pointed out by a man who is working in Parliament of this other party now.  That guy was killed.  He use to come and say, Baba Mavuso, let us go to hostel.  I want to go and give them the card, but if you go to the hostel they will not, the suspicion is not aroused and Dr Ledwaba went to Babu Mavuso that Mr Mavuso, please may we take your wife to a private hospital.  Babu Mavuso said, yes, I do not have money, because we do not have medical aid.  And Babu, this doctor said Babu Mavuso, it cannot work out like that, but on Monday at around ten Dr Ledwaba came with my husband.  I was brought to Johannesburg hospital.  During that time it was still a private hospital, in 1993, But what, all what happened in our lives, we were very happy.  
 In 1994 to see the birth of democracy and the ANC winning although we were still very sore and hardened, because even the ANC branch did not come to see us when this incident happened to us.  They did not even send us a card and when I came out of the hospital we had no place to stay.  My children were scared of us and the Coloured people in Eden Park took care of us.  That is why I said there is a breadwinner of our home since my, since the 1992 my husband was isolated and they also cut off his maintenance, because they said he was a communist, because he was associated with ANC and I was the breadwinner who had been injured.  
 While I was still in Eden Park and I still had gauze on my thighs, they started organising children, because that was the only way we could survive.  I asked the librarian at Eden Park so that I could, that actually if they could bring children for story telling maybe I, some of these parents if they see that I am still committed to look after the children, they would give me peace and space, they will give us something to eat.  That is how I, we started, we were very, very isolated by all the Ministers of the Thokoza, because, but as a Minister he was not supposed to be involved in the politics, but so many other things we tried to avoid him.  These kids use to come to ask him to bury their children, the youth who had been killed.  During that time the Priests wanted the qualified Priest.  Maybe there were only about two Ministers and one of them Ndlovu, who also died who were qualified to officiate on funerals.  He use to produce these books.  That is why we got involved in the activities of the ANC and we were shot, but we would like to thank God that the blood of many children watered the tree of freedom.  That we realised that in the long term many families will realise what this man was doing.
 They were asking why were you not, as a man, shot, but they shot the woman.  They were saying you know who shot this woman, but we thank God, because at the end of the day He told us, we told them who were responsible in this incident in shooting, but I only saw them as I was passing through the passage to the neighbours, but I really also would like to thank the TRC for requesting me to come here as an isolated woman.  Even the ANC today knew that I was a good speaker, because of many other activities I was involved in.  I asked them not to elect me into any position, but my husband is just a Priest.  If children in the community want testimonials and other things my husband does that, but as the breadwinner I am crippled, I am disabled, I am not able to run the pre-school.  I have employed educated women to help me run this pre-school, because I myself am not in a position to do it, but I am isolated.  At the end of the day all my aims and goals attending the university, by this time, where I could bridge the children are the foundation, we as women, who run the pre-school.  
 If the foundation is not correct, if children cannot get this foundation they are not even going to go any further in school and university.  We have taken this as a bridging course.  I am still using that small garage where by, but when I should be bridging those who are going to school, I should take these others outside to go and play.