Human Rights Violation Hearings — Grahamstown — 1997-04-07

REV XUNDU: Thank you, Mr Chairman, I would like you, Mam, to take an oath.  Nondithini Irene Nosakele Kiva, please stand up.

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: (Duly sworn in, states).

REV XUNDU: Thank you.  I will lead her with questions, Mr Chairperson.  We have your story here in front of us.  I would like you to give us a picture of what was happening in Adelaide during this time when Andile was murdered.

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: It was on a Saturday, it was on a Saturday.  Andile went to visit his friends in Dubane.  They were chased away by the soldiers.  They found him, they assaulted him with rifle butts.  The took him to the police station.  When they arrived there they assaulted him.  In the morning they took him to the hospital.

REV XUNDU: How old was Andile at the time?  Was he at school or was he not at school?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: He was about 19 years old.  He was not at school, he was working.

REV XUNDU: Was he a member of any organisation in Adelaide?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: I think so, but I am not sure.

REV XUNDU: What was the reason for his assault?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: It was a time when the police found you in the streets, they would assault you even if you did not do anything.

REV XUNDU: You are saying that the police were beating everybody in the street?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes, people were assaulted that year.

REV XUNDU: Nobody was protected?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No.

REV XUNDU: The police you mentioned here, Mbulelo Tom, you said that Mbulelo Tom said your dog is dead.  Do you know him?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes, I know him.

REV XUNDU: Did he born there?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No, he was not born in Adelaide.

REV XUNDU: When he said that your dog is dead, what was the reason for him to say this?  Please keep quiet at the door.

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: He was in a Hippo and he told me that Witbooi is dead.  When I tried to cry he said, why do you cry, your dog is dead.

REV XUNDU: Did they, was there any conflict between him and your son before?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No.

REV XUNDU: Was there a charge laid?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No, there was no charge laid against him.

REV XUNDU: Was there any inquest?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No.

REV XUNDU: Did you lay a charge against him?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No, I did not.

REV XUNDU: Why did you not lay a charge against him?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: I think we were not aware.

REV XUNDU: As you are here today in this Commission, what would you like the Commission to do for you?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: As Andile was a breadwinner, he was helping his mother to support the children, but my mother died and she
left the children alone.

REV XUNDU: These children are Andile's sister.  Nobody is supporting them and nobody is paying for their education.

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes.

REV XUNDU: Would like us to help them?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes.

REV XUNDU: In which standards are they?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: The other one has passed standard ten and the other one is doing standard six.

REV XUNDU: Do you have anything else you want to add?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No, there is nothing.  They are homeless if the Commission can help them to get a place to stay.

REV XUNDU: Thank you.  Thank you Mr Chairperson, I hand over to you.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Sandi.

ADV SANDI: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  You said that you did not lay a charge against him?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No, we did not.

ADV SANDI: Were you afraid or what was the reason?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes, we were afraid, because at that time it was difficult to go to the police to lay a charge.

ADV SANDI: Were the police protecting people in the community?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No, the people were not protected.

ADV SANDI: In other words you mean that you were scared of the police?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes, we were scared of the police in the community.  You would not go to the police station to ask the whereabouts of your family member, they would beat you up.

ADV SANDI: Thank you, Mam.  Thank you Mr Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Nosakele, what is your relationship between yourself and Andile?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: He is my cousin.

CHAIRPERSON: Where is Andile's father?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: He passed away when they were still young.

CHAIRPERSON: In other words, Andile was your responsibility?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: When you were giving your testimony, if I heard you correctly, you said this incident happened by the, the police were in a Hippo.  Where was this Hippo?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: It was in Spikunye.

CHAIRPERSON: What happened to this Hippo?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: I do not know.

CHAIRPERSON: What happened to, what do you think happened to Andile?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: I am not sure, because they were chased away by the police and they ran away, but they managed to find Andile.

CHAIRPERSON: Everybody who was with Andile was chased away?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Were these members of an organisation?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: I do not know.

CHAIRPERSON: You said that this Hippo got an accident.  Was it in Dubane location?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Are there any other questions?  June Crichton.

JUNE CRICHTON: Ma Kiva, can you hear me?  Can you hear me?  There is just one question I want to ask you.  There was a witness to this attack by the name of Zibangele.  Who is he?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes, there was a witness by the name of Zibangele.

JUNE CRICHTON: And so, he saw the whole incident.

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: No, but, because he ran away, he did not see.

JUNE CRICHTON: But was it him that came to tell you about it?

NONDITHINI IRENE NOSAKELE KIVA: Yes, he came to me saying that they were chased away by the Hippo.

JUNE CRICHTON: Alright, thank you very much.  Thank you, Mr Chair.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Nosakele, we thank you for coming to this Commission.  It is very painful to see that your cousin was killed like a dog.  As you have already said that Tom said that the dog is dead.  It is very painful that after he was murdered there was no court case.  You did not get any compensation as a family.  What Tom said that Andile is dead, it is very painful.  We thank you for coming here on behalf of your sister to tell the story to the Commission in order to show that Andile was not a dog, he was a human-being.  We, as the Commission, we will investigate about this matter.  We will make sure that the death of Andile will not be like the death of an animal.  We will try to ask Tom questions if he is still alive in order to know what was happening at that time.  Maybe Tom will know that the death of a person is very painful, it is not like the death of a dog.  We thank you very much.  We will come back to you to get some clarity on certain issues.  Thank you.