Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pretoria — 1996-08-15

MR LEWIN: Mrs Morudu, if I could ask where actually do you stay because we do not have that detail?

MATLAKALA ELLEN MORUDU: I stay at Mamelodi.

MR LEWIN: Thank you and could you tell us a little bit, you mention the first time the police arrived with the Hippo.  You mentioned a name Titing Masango.  Do you know what happened to him later?

MATLAKALA ELLEN MORUDU: May you please repeat your question Sir.

MR LEWIN: You mentioned the person who came with handcuffs
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and cuffs on his legs and said his name was Titing Masango.  Can you identify him any further?

MATLAKALA ELLEN MORUDU: Yes.  Titing Masango was one of those who was arrested during the Delmas Trial.  It was Titing Masango and Jabu Masinga and Nell Potswane.  I forgotten the other ones name.  They were arrested during the Delmas Trial.  I knew Moss was operating underground.  I will not deny that.  He was also a member of the ANC here in South Africa and he was operating underground.

MR LEWIN: So you are in no doubt that Moss's disappearance had to do with his political activities?

MATLAKALA ELLEN MORUDU: No, I have no doubt at all.  I knew he had political inclinations.  I want to know where he is.  If at all he is dead I want to know where he had been buried.  No one can bear a child and thereafter not know where your child ends up.  That is what is hurting most.  I want to know where he is.  That is when, maybe, this pain would go away because I know where I had buried my husband.  I want to know where he is.  If at all he is alive he must come back to me.  If not the people must tell me what they did to him.  Then I would be satisfied.  Really, I would forgive those people if at all that happens.
 At present I will not forgive anyone because I have not explanation where he is.  I will not ever forgive the past regime.  My child got involved in politics because of the trouble we had because of the past dispensation. That is why even the, my child could not go through school because while he was still a member of the COSAS he was expelled from school because the teachers said he was going to educate our children as regards to politics.  He went from school to school, but he always got expelled until he decided to 
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operate underground.  He did not want to skip the country.  I once asked him, Moss, what is your job or what are you doing and he said to me, where is the Bible. I said the Bible is in the bedroom.  He asked me to open up Jeremiah five, Verse one and read it and you will see what it says to you.  I read that verse and I was satisfied thereafter and I realised what kind of job he was involved in after reading this verse.

MR LEWIN: Thanks very much Mama, we all understand.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Morudu, we sympathise with you regarding what happened to you.  We also thank you for the names you have given to us, the names like Junior.  We will try in whatever way we can to investigate about Junior's whereabouts and also the police who had arrested them to get to know what they were looking for from the boys.  We will also try to establish whether those people who claimed that Moss was working for them, know where Moss is.  It is true that heroes like Moss cannot just disappear.  We have to know where they are and if at all they are dead, we want to know what happened to them.  We thank you for being here and please come, pass our greetings to all your family.  We thank you once more.
 We are now going to adjourn for tea and we will therefore ask those who have these hearing devices to place them back and take them after we come from the tea break.  I would also like to tell you that these hearing devices are not going to work outside this hall and they will be of no use to you if you take them outside.  We will therefore come back at quarter past 11.  May we please all stand and wait for the witnesses to leave the hall first.  
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