Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... Mrs Mbanjwa, and another witness yesterday, you suffered the abduction and disappearance of your child.  From what we have heard it would perhaps even be easier to know that your son was not alive, rather than to never know whether he will return or not.  You have also given us a graphic description of what life was like for you in 1990.  You said after the attack upon your area you returned to your house to find the area littered with dead bodies, and you had to abandon your house and its contents.
Like Mrs Mbanjwa you have conducted an exhaustive search for your son, and we cannot promise that we will be able to find him for you, or to find out what happened to him, although we will try to do that.  In your statement you said that you wanted your son's name to be included in monument to the victims of violence, and this is a wish that many other witnesses around the country have expressed, and we feel sure that this is something that the Government will undertake.
So we thank you very much for coming in and having the courage to relive those memories of those terrible days, and we wish you strength and courage in the future.  Thank you very much for coming in.

MR LYSTER: We greet you and we welcome you here today, along with other members of your family.  Can you hear me properly through the earphones?

MS MAZIBUKO: Yes, I can hear you.

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... with you on the stage?

MS MAZIBUKO: It's my aunt.  She is Ntombikhayise Mdluli, as well as my cousin.  My name is Thembalihle.

MR LYSTER: (Inaudible) ... Mrs Ntombikhayise Mdluli who will be talking to us today, is that correct, about the disappearance of her son?

MS MAZIBUKO: Yes, she is the one.  She was not around when her son disappeared.  It's my elder brother.  He disappeared at school, so Ntombikhayise was not around, she was at work when the son disappeared.

MR LYSTER: Sorry, it's clear that this is very upsetting to you.  If Mrs Ntombikhayise Mdluli can stand up and take the oath, and she can just tell us who her son, Eric Khumalo, was, and then if you want to fill in something that will tell us about how and when he disappeared you may do so.

NTOMBIKHAYISE MDLULI: (Sworn, States)

MR LYSTER: My colleague, Mrs Gcabashe, will assist you with your evidence.

MRS GCABASHE: Good afternoon Mrs Mdluli and your family.

WITNESS:   Good afternoon.

MRS GCABASHE: We are so glad that you have been able to come before us to tell us this hurting story so that we can all know what happened before.  Before we start with your evidence I would like you to tell us more about your family.

WITNESS:   I have eight children.  The other one is in standard nine, the other one standard 10 -  my daughter.  I had only one daughter.

MRS GCABASHE: Is it Thembalihle?

WITNESS:   Thembalihle is my sister's daughter.

MRS GCABASHE: You have seven sons?

WITNESS:   Yes, I've got seven sons and one daughter.

MRS GCABASHE: And the gentleman, the young man next to you, who is he?

WITNESS:   He is a neighbour.

MRS GCABASHE: Can you tell us more about your family.  Is the father still alive?

WITNESS:   I separated from their father.

MRS GCABASHE: Is he still alive?

WITNESS:   Yes, he is still alive.

MRS GCABASHE: You are staying at Sally Drive(?).

WITNESS:   We are staying at Shongweni.  I am just working at Sally Drive.  Yes, at home - my home place is at Shongweni.  I would like my daughter to tell you about the story.

MRS GCABASHE: We would like you to start.  We know that it's painful.  Because you are the one who gave a statement, and you are the one who have taken oath, we would like first to hear you whatever you can say, and if there's anything that you have forgotten we will ask her to take oath, and thereafter she will be able to give evidence.

WITNESS:   We were writing the statement together.  My son was schooling at Wozamoya High School at Shongweni.  It was on February 1987.  They had to go and collect their results.  There were rumours that there is something wrong, and as parents we couldn't understand what was it that was wrong.

MRS GCABASHE: Can you explain really what was it that was wrong, something was wrong?

WITNESS:   They said that children mustn't go to school to fetch their reports in 1987.

MRS GCABASHE: How did you came to hear about that?

WITNESS:   We just heard from rumours. Were these the young boys who were talking about this?   ---   Yes.  My young boy said to me, "Mama, I will go to fetch my report since the others too are going there to fetch their reports."  They left to go and fetch their reports, and we get news that Eric Khumalo have been kidnapped.

MRS GCABASHE: Do you remember the young boy who gave you the news?

WITNESS:   I don't know him.  He died.

MRS GCABASHE: You don't even remember the name?

WITNESS:   Yes, I don't even remember the name.

MRS GCABASHE: Can you explain, did they tell you who kidnapped him?

WITNESS:   He was kidnapped by the Inkatha people.  They met him on his way to school.  He didn't know that they were going to sort of kidnap him, that's why he insisted that he should go to school.

MRS GCABASHE: You can continue.

WITNESS:   They came to tell us that they have kidnapped Eric and other children which we didn't know.  We went around looking for him.  We went to one of the Inkatha leaders to ask if ever he know anything about him.

MRS GCABASHE: Who was this man?  What was his name?

WITNESS:   His name was Mandla Ndlovu.

MRS GCABASHE: When you asked him what did he say?

WITNESS:   He said he didn't know Eric.  He said we must go to the police, and we went to the police to inquire about this.  The police came to assist us to search for him, but we couldn't find him, and we were assisted by the police from 'Maritzburg.

MRS GCABASHE: Can you tell us about your search?  How did you go about searching for him?

WITNESS:   We started at Mpumalanga at Hammarsdale.  At Mpumalanga Police Station they couldn't help us much.  And then the police from 'Maritzburg came to help us.

MRS GCABASHE: Do you still remember these policemen from 'Maritzburg Police Station?

WITNESS:   I can't remember them.  I didn't know them.

MRS GCABASHE: You can continue.

WITNESS:   They helped us to search and they were using a helicopter.  And also the newspaper people from Ilanga they also came to find out as to whether we have found him or not.  On the following day we went to the mortuary to look for him and we couldn't find him.  They said we must go to Mpumalanga and wait, and they're going to sort of investigate if they can't find him.

MRS GCABASHE: We know that it is painful, and please take your time.  (Pause)  Were you staying in the Inkatha region or place?  Why do you have to report to an Inkatha leader?

WITNESS:   We were not at the Inkatha place, we were at the UDF section.

MRS GCABASHE: Why did you have to go to report at the Inkatha stronghold?

WITNESS:   (No reply interpreted)

MRS GCABASHE: You told us that they asked for a photo, the people from Mpumalanga Police Station.

WITNESS:   They told us that they're going to search for him.

MRS GCABASHE: Did you hear anything after that?

WITNESS:   No, we didn't hear anything about it.

MRS GCABASHE: Did they open a case to say that they are now searching for the person?

WITNESS:   No, they didn't.

MRS GCABASHE: Have you ever been called to court to find out about the result of the investigation?

WITNESS:   No.  They didn't help us, because if you go there during that time they didn't even both themselves to help us. You were told that you mustn't go there.  What was happening at that time at the place?   ---   It transpired that this man was harassing people.  He wanted people to fight.

MRS GCABASHE: There was no violence before?