Human Rights Violation Hearings — Welkom — 1996-10-09

WITNESS:   Patrick Mwilwa.  When I was coming from the launch I left my son together with other Comrades and as I proceeded towards the shop, that is Mr Mwilwa's shop, I saw two Kombis, Mwilwa's Kombis, and they were full of people inside but I never paid much attention as to what sort of people they were.  And there is another person by the name of Banadidi Bukha who said he was looking for Habanyani.  And I didn't know as to what he was looking for Habanyani for.  At about 10.00 in the evening I went home and I switched on lights.  I heard some gunshots outside and I went back to the launch to investigate as to what was happening.  And I was these cars moving from Mwilwa's shop and they were proceeding out upwards the street and the doors of the cars were not closed.  And I waited to see as to what was going on but I couldn't make head nor tail of what was taking place.  And the Comrades dissuaded me from going out to investigate as to what was happening because people were being assaulted outside.  And I went away.  I went to sleep.  Then the following morning my wife's sister came to ask me as to where my son was.  I told her that didn't know where he was and she asked me as to whether I had observed or heard anything about the gunshots that were fired the previous day and she said we should go and  look for my son.  We went away to look for my son because we had sent him away.  We went away looking for him and we came across other Comrades and we asked them as to where Walter was and we were told that he was together with other Comrades.  We went back to my place.  I few moments after I got to my place I heard some noise outside.  I think it was about past eight in the morning and I went outside to investigate what was happening.  I came across the anti-Comrade gang who were having shovels as well as pangas and I was running towards Mwilwa's shop.  And when I got to Mwilwa's shop I saw this group of Comrades in front of the shop and they were stoning Mwilwa's shop.  And Mwilwa went away.  Then there's a certain person Banasi's husband, John Dibuka, he was having a firearm as well as a panga in his hand and the other ones were having shovels and they were coming towards us.  We saw some pick-ups and they went past these people who were armed and at that time the Comrades had already left the scene.  When we got to the Methodist Church we saw the police and they were chasing the Comrades.  We saw a Cressida from Bloemfontein and we asked ourselves as to why they were stopping because they could see that there was commotion.  At the time, the Comrades got some petrol out of this Cressida.  They went to burn Banasi's shop and thereafter they dispersed.  I stood at the corner of the church and I could hear some gunshots.  As was still listening to that, I decided that I should go because I was in danger.  As we were still there, I saw two policemen.  They were a little bit further down, maybe half a kilometre from where we were standing and we heard some  gunshots.  Thereafter I went home and when I got home I got a message that my son had been shot.  I went out and tried to investigate as to where he was.  I was told that he had gone to a doctor's surgery and when I got to the doctor's surgery I was told that he had been chopped with these shovels as well as pangas and the doctor could not help him.  He was taken into an ambulance.  I got into the ambulance and the ambulance proceeded to the charge office and it waited there for plus/minus 30 minutes and I asked them as to why they were wasting so much time because my child was injured and he needed medical attention but they never answered me.  They were busy talking to the policemen.  And this ambulance took rounds in the town.  It never went straight to the hospital.  And it was being driven at quite a very low speed.  They were not really concerned about my son's injuries.  We got to the provincial hospital and he was taken into the hospital.  They remained there for quite a few minutes then they came back and they said they could not admit him and we had to take him to Pilinomi Hospital in Bloemfontein.  We proceeded to Pilinomi with him and when we got to Pilinomi we were told that they could not help him so he had to be taken back to provincial hospital in Welkom and we came back with him once more.  We stayed for quite some time at provincial hospital until he died without him being attended to.  Thereafter, after about some time when he was already buried I received a letter from the magistrate who was telling me that he wanted me to come to his offices and see him.  When I got to the magistrate he took out certain statements and read them out to me and he asked  me as to whether I understood.  I said, yes, I did understand, and he said the police said they could not get whoever shot my son.  And I asked the magistrate as to why he had called me because this matter was supposed to be dealt with in court and we were discussing it in the office and I did not understand if that was really procedural.  Because the police had shot my son, that's why they said there could not be any case.  That was the end of the whole matter.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Ephraim, for this very sad, moving story.  I'm just going to come closer to your statement.  What was really happening in the township.  You speak about movements in the township.  Comrades, police, the Dibuka anti-Comrades moving around the ... (inaudible) ... all of these people heavily armed.  What was happening in the township?  Can you tell us?  What was the occasion?

WITNESS:   When this started it had some connections with Patrick Mwilwa's business, when the Comrades closed down his business.  Some other Comrades were arrested because of Mwilwa.  That's where the whole fracas started because on that very same weekend the Comrades reached a resolution that they were going to speak to Patrick so that his business could be reopened but they never actually got to speak to him.

CHAIRPERSON: You say that Patrick was responsible for the arrest of the Comrades.  What did Patrick really do?

WITNESS:   What I heard is that Patrick was driving together with the police so that they could arrest the Comrades but what had happened before that, I don't know.  But Patrick was with Banasi, Dibuka, they are the people who actually started the whole fracas. Was Patrick and Dibuka the members of the community?   ---   Yes, they were residents at the Masilo location and they were business owners.  The other one was having a shoe repair business, the other one was having a supermarket.

CHAIRPERSON: How were the relationships between these business people and the Comrades?

WITNESS:   According to my own observation it was quite fine and smooth.  I think the person who caused all this was Patrick Mwilwa who got the Comrades arrested.

CHAIRPERSON: Would you say that he was a sort of spy for the police?

WITNESS:   I could say that together with Banasi - they were informers.  Because when these things happened they kept on informing the police and the police were helping them.

CHAIRPERSON: When you say that they kept on informing the police, informing the police about what?

WITNESS:   I do not know where the whole thing started but I think it's the car that was driven by the police and where there was Mwilwa which took the Comrades to the police station.

CHAIRPERSON: I want, Ephraim, just to repeat my question again.  You say that Patrick Mwilwa and Dibuka, the reason why they had to be enemies of the Comrades is because they are the ones who were reporting the Comrades to the police.  Now, my question is, they were reporting them about what?   What is this report they were taking to the police about the Comrades?

WITNESS:   That they had shut down his business.

CHAIRPERSON: Do you know the reason why the Comrades shut down the business of Mr Patrick?

WITNESS:   I do know the