Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-10-25

WITNESS:   I don't know because they were Inkatha members who were going to Ulundi.   They are also affiliated to Inkatha.   Because when we ran away, we saw Shabalala and Shabalala was fighting with us.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: (END OF SIDE B)

MAPULE RAMASHALA: 3A/0 (START OF SIDE A)

MAPULE RAMASHALA: ... I was offered the services of an ambulance to take me to E Section.   When I got there I was seen by Mdluli.  And Mdluli grabbed this letter away from me.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Who is Mdluli, was it a policeman or what was he?

WITNESS:   He was the commissioner of police, but he was staying at Gawula(?), but I don't know where he originates from and he asked me where I was taking the letter to.   He asked me whether I was tired of being what I was, but I never answered him back.   Then he hit me with a bunch of keys, the very big keys, prison keys.   He tore up the letter that I had got from the doctor as evidence, and they were - I was supposed to be given pension on the basis of what was written on that letter.   My teeth were wired and I couldn't get my feet into my shoes and my set of teeth had to be extracted.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Did you go back to the hospital?

WITNESS:   I lost everything because he took the letter as well as a certain ticket that I was having with me and I had to start afresh and they couldn't detect as to when I started having treatment, where did I end, I just had to start everything from scratch.   I asked the doctor once more to make me another medical certificate and make me a few copies so that whenever one gets lost I would remain with the other copies.   He prepared the letters as well as copies and I did not go back to my place.   I have got five daughters-in-law as well as grandchildren, and we hired some space from a certain yard and that is where we are staying.  And I feel unaccepted, I am scared to face the people.   I never go to any gathering, whether it is a community gathering or whatever gathering there is within the community.   Standwa(?) was also encouraging me to come.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: (Inaudible) ...  in raping you, did anybody else know?

WITNESS:   They never knew it.   This is what troubles me because I need to integrate back into the community.  I need to reestablish my social life.   I have never told this to anyone.  Only my husband and my rapists know this.  Whenever we have gone out I can't remain in a place where there is a lot of people, I just can't face the public.  But since I have spoken about this, they told me - she told me that I shouldn't be troubled by this whole situation, because the real people who should be embarrassed are the ones who raped me, because this deed was just dastardly according to her.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Where are these boys who raped you?

WITNESS:   I don't know where the rest of them are, but I know where Justice is, because he grew up in front of me and he was Alfie's bodyguard.   Alfie was the mayor. What does Justice say when he sees you?   ---   I don't know because when I greeted him I knew that probably they had come to kill me because they were killing other members of the community, but he never asked me or answered me, he just pushed me inside the house and that is when I started being stabbed and raped at the same time.   When I got into the house, I was already bleeding, and ever since that time my husband has got dizzy spells and epilepsy.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: (Inaudible) ... at all?

WITNESS:   Yes, we would go to the poly-clinics, because whenever you go to King Edward, they would tell you that you must go to a clinic that's nearest to your place, and at times they would give us prescriptions and the prescription tablets are quite expensive.   And at that time my husband was not working, when he left work he got an amount, a lump sum of R3 000,00.   And we put this money aside, we invested it, and each month we get R9,00 interest and ever since then I haven't been able to work, so we have absolutely no income.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: If we can try and assist you, as well as your husband, counselling?

WITNESS:   I would appreciate that effort.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: We want to try and assist you so that you will be able to talk about this incident.   The more you talk the better it will be.

WITNESS:   I feel better because I do go to church, because at first I used to hide myself away from the public eye.   And ever since I've seen Numsa, I would always go to church.   I thank that the opportunity that I have been offered by this commission to come and voice my feelings out to talk about something that I haven't spoken about for years.   Now, I feel I am a little bit relieved that I have been offered this opportunity to come before this commission.   I got injured, I sustained bodily injuries and I had to have my womb removed.   And my husband is suffering from epileptic fits.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: Is he also not getting any treatment?

WITNESS:   No, he doesn't get it.  At times he goes to Johannesburg to get some better treatment.   We are not getting any pension and my documents were torn up by the doctor and when I went back to the doctor they said that doctor was not working there any more.   Thereafter, I lived the life of a social recluse.   I was not happy and other people who were my age, I could not associate with them, I was even scared to talk to my daughters-in-law.   Because I didn't know how they would look at me.

MAPULE RAMASHALA: I shall hand over to the chairperson, if she has any questions then I will come back to you once more.

CHAIRPERSON: (Inaudible) ... and then may I come back again.   Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED COMMISSIONER: Mrs Ngubane, this is a very touching story.   What touches me most is the family fabric that has now been broken, because your husband saw all this and he accepted you back.

WITNESS:   Yes, he is the one who looked for the alternative residence, and we built up a shack where we could stay temporarily.   And whenever I think of going to my place, that memory always comes back to me as if they are going to attack me once more.

UNIDENTIFIED COMMISSIONER: You told us that this matter was a closely guarded secret, but now you said just now that you are scared to face your daughters-in-law.   Do they know?

WITNESS:   Now, the way I felt, I think my conscience made this to be like it is, because they never knew anything and this thing is staying inside me, I can't relate it to them.   And this makes me quite tense and it makes the relationship between me and my daughters-in-law quite tense, because I can no longer speak to them in the manner that I used to.   Now, I feel a bit relieved because I am facing other women and I feel that by talking about what happened to me, it sort of brings some sort of relief to me, and I find some solace in talking to you.   And I always feel I am to blame because I went to that place to just check how my family was, so some times I feel I invited the trouble myself.

UNIDENTIFIED COMMISSIONER: Lastly, if something happens to a person, you feel degraded, you feel dirty.   How - what did you do in order to be able to cope with the situation?

WITNESS:   I felt very degraded.  I felt dirty.   Because this has never ever happened to me, I used to hear stories of women being raped, but I never knew it would ultimately happen to me and especially that I am a Christian, it still places me in a state of confusion.

UNIDENTIFIED COMMISSIONER: We thank you.   I shall hand over to the chairperson.

UNIDENTIFIED COMMISSIONER: We were still asking you and it is very obvious that you were traumatized.   I don't know whether I heard you properly when you said you get R9,00 interest.

WITNESS:  Yes, we were not getting a lot of money when my husband was working. And he got a lump sum of R3 00,00 when he stopped working. He had to stop because he was a danger to himself and we got a sum of R3 000,00, which he invested, but we get R9,00 every month.