Human Rights Violation Hearings — Heiderveld — 1996-04-24

CASE NO: CT/00600

TESTIMONIES FROM: MLANDELI  MQIKELA [son]
 NTOSILE  MQIKELA [father]

DR BORAINE: Mr Mqikela can you hear me?

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes.

DR BORAINE: Have you got the earphones all right - okay I will be speaking to you in English the translation will be into Xhosa is that all right, is it coming through all right.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes I can hear it.

DR BORAINE: Mr Mqikela I have to ask you to please stand for the taking of the oath.
MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA Duly sworn states

DR BORAINE: Thank very much.  Mr Ntosile Private Mqikela that is you.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Yes that is me.

DR BORAINE: Stand please for the taking of the oath.
NTOSILE PRIVATE MQIKELA Duly sworn states

DR BORAINE: Please be seated.  Mr Mqikela you have come to tell a story about what happened to you and yourself in 1985 I think it was.  It was a very grim experience and it's not easy to go back and to think about these awful events again.
But we need to hear your story, so as to have a completed picture as possible of what has taken place in South Africa between 1960 and 1993.  So I hope you will feel very relaxed you are amongst friends and to assist you in telling your story I am going to hand you over to fellow Commissioner Mary Burton.

MARY BURTON: Thank you, perhaps for those of you who have a programme of the days hearings in front of you, this is the second family on our programme because we are still awaiting the witnesses who will testify to the first story.
Mr Mlandeli Mqikela welcome here this morning, I hope you will feel comfortable and relax as we give you a chance to tell your story.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: I am sure I will.

MARY BURTON: It's good that you have your father here with you.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Okay.

MARY BURTON: You were at school in New Crossroads in 1985 and there came a day when there was a meeting and all the students went to the meeting, is that right?

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: That is all true.

MARY BURTON: And then the police arrived and told you that the meeting must disperse.

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: That's right.

MARY BURTON: Would you like to tell us a little bit more about what happened then. -

MLANDELI WALTER MQIKELA: Okay, yes I am ready to tell you - I would like to tell you what happened.  I can't remember the exact day, but it was on the 2nd  of October 1985.  I was the 2nd of October 1985 when this incident happened.  I was at school, at X-3 and I was doing std 7 that time.  
We didn't have normal classes that time even though we were coming to school, there was something that prevented us from coming to school.  The previous Saturday of that incident, we had a funeral of one of our students called Stambile Matiso.  In that funeral many people were beaten up and there was also a bomb, there were also lot of police.  The police were also beating people up in there - in that funeral.  Food was also thrown out  end of Tape 11, Side A ...  [indistinct] during the discussions in this meeting we saw the police they were outside the fence.  It was around - it was after ten, they forced themselves into the school.
We went to call Mr Jimba our principal, we spoke to him, he told us to disperse because our meeting was illegal.  We tried to plead with him, and the principal also tried to plead with the police to tell the police to leave.  But they said no, they were just going to stand outside the yard - outside the school premises.  We were almost 3,000 that is my estimation I can't really recall.
I live at Nyanga East they blocked the way - they blocked the way to my place.  We also saw the soldiers wearing brown uniform and the police were wearing blue uniform.  Seeing that the way to cordon off street was blocked by the police I had to take another route.  I took NY78, I  was with a colleague, his name was Simon Skeye who use to live at Guguletu at that time, no 53.  While we were at NY78 we were told to disperse by the police, and we were shot at but we didn't care about that, we just ran.
Well I decided let me obey the police, and I was just trying to - to get back home at Nyanga East.  All the way we were hiding, hiding away from the police, all the way to my place.  When I was trying to get to the terminus road, on my way to my home.  When I was still at Terminus Road, the police approached me, there were too many.  I was trying to go to New Crossroads, I saw several policemen.  Some were in their vans, they were quite a group, a large group, they were in their uniform.  I was also in my uniform, because I was from school.  
They were talking to me in Afrikaans, they said there is another one, I was so confused and it was so - it was clear on the road, there was on-one else on the road.  I just told myself I shouldn't run because I could see that they were coming straight to me and I was forced now to go through KTC that's where I ran too.

MARY BURTON: Take your time.