Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pollsmoor — 1996-11-26

ADV POTGIETER: [indistinct] to announce the  last witness on the role before we get to the luncheon adjournment.  We are not complaining.  We invite Fikiswa Olga Mtuze to come forward, thank you.
Ms Mtuze, good afternoon, have you got a member of your family with you - who is she?

MS MTUZE: It is my sister.

ADV POTGIETER: Welcome to you as well.  Thank you for accompanying your sister and supporting her, because this is obviously not an easy process to testify - to have to recall, which is in most instances very-very difficult things to recall, but thank you for coming with.
Ms Mtuze, I am going to ask you, because you are going to be giving the testimony, I am going to ask you to stand and to take the oath.  Just the one, I assume it will only be the one  - will both sisters talk?

<UNKNOWN>: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Oh! that's fine.  Then before I administer the oath, I am going to ask you to state your full names for the record.

MS BOY: My name is Audrey Boy.

ADV POTGIETER: I am sorry, can you...[intervention]

MS BOY: My name is Audrey - my surname is Boy.

ADV POTGIETER: Audrey Boy.

MS BOY: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you very much.  Then I will ask both of you to take the oath
FIKISWA OLGA MTUZE Duly sworn states
AUDREY BOY Duly sworn states

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you, you may be seated.  Your testimony will be facilitated by my colleague, Glenda Wildschut.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Afternoon Ms Mtuze, are you comfortable there?

MS MTUZE: Yes, I am comfortable.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: I wonder if we could ask the briefer just to bring your microphone a little bit closer to you right.  You are going to be telling us today about the shooting of your son, Botamani Mtuze. And maybe you can start by telling us your understanding of what had happened in August, 1985.

MS MTUZE: Botamani was my son.  On that particular day he was not at home, he was with my sister-in-law.  The day of the march to Pollsmoor, because there was the chaos, I phoned Langa telling my son not to come to Nyanga from Langa, because it is too chaotic and that there are Casspirs everywhere.
Unfortunately he had already left.  He took a train and he used to arrive at Guguletu station.  He got onto the train, coming to me.  Nobody informed us where he was, but nobody answered the phone.  I was worried,  I didn't know where he had gone to.  We slept that night, the next morning I went to work.  There was no news.
My sister phoned me at work. Telling me that my son had not come home.  I then left my work and tried to search for him.  For three days we searched for him.  Police station, hospitals - even at his friend's places.  We were just trying to find out if somebody had at least seen him.  Somebody then said he saw him at the station, saying he is going home, we carried on searching. 
On the 7th day, the following week, my sister said I should go to work.  She would take over.  My children had no father,   I had to support them.  I went back to work.   My sister, then told me, that ANC comrades were taking a list of children that had been lost.  My sister encouraged me to go back to work the next day as well.  She said that she would go with the comrades to the mortuary.  They did not find the body. 
My sister, then went searching with the comrades, to the mortuary.  My manager called me at work - saying my sister was there to tell me that they had seen my son.   I did not expect my son to be dead.  I was just glad that they had found my son.  I put on my clothes and then I left, because they said they had found my son dead at the mortuary.  This is still on the 7th day.  We went home. 
Then we tried to prepare for the funeral.  My family was supporting me the whole time.  After that, as I was broken in heart and spirit, the days went by after the funeral.  After the funeral, each time I would see my son's friends or children his age, I would just break.  My heart would break, because I would think my son would be here as well, if he had not been shot.
My sister would try to encourage me, asking me not to blame the Lord, because his will had been done.  The years went by, on the fourth year, if I am not mistaken, I was summoned to Wynberg.  I had no clue what it was about. I then, at the bottom of the letter saw my son's name. 
We went to Wynberg after all those years.  My sister was at work so I went with my eldest son.  We just saw boers everywhere, we don't know who killed my son, amongst them.  When we got into the court room, this man was called up and I was called up as well.  I went on the stand. 
The first thing that happened there - they asked me if I wanted to know about my son.  And I said - yes.  What hurt me the most, was that they showed me his pictures where he had been already shot.  I asked where he had been shot.  They said he was shot at 112.  This was away from the station, to the house.  I asked what he had done?
Then somebody said - that these boers in the Casspir were trying to protect themselves, because they were not safe.  People were throwing stones.  I asked if there was no other way they could have protected themselves, then shooting my son in the head.  There should have been a way to protect themselves - rather than killing.
The Magistrate said that there was no other way they could have protected themselves.  And that was it.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: [indistinct] your son was at the time?

MS MTUZE: He was 16 years of age.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Was he at school?

MS MTUZE: Yes, he was at school

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: And I suppose you had ambitions for your son?

MS MTUZE: Yes, he is a child who made us happy, even at home.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Was he doing well at school?

MS MTUZE: Since the day he had started school, he had never failed.  He was doing std 6 at the time.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: So I suppose in the minds of your family and yourself, he was - he was - there was a bright future ahead for him.

MS MTUZE: Yes ma'am

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Can I  just ask if your sister would say anything and add anything to what you have said right now.