Human Rights Violation Hearings — Tembisa — 1996-11-28

CHAIRPERSON: I'd like to call the person who will be our last witness today, Nana Molalose.  Can we have quiet in the Hall please! Mrs Molalose, can you hear me through the headphones?

NANA MOLALOSE: Yes.

NANA MOLALOSE: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, and again I would ask Hlengiwe Mkhize to lead your evidence.

MS MKHIZE: Mrs Molalose, welcome here this afternoon.  Regardless of the fact that you are the last one, your statement is as important and we will give you enough time. Can you tell the Commission about yourself.  Your statement  talks about things that happened in Natal.  Wen did you arrive here and where are you staying?

NANA MOLALOSE: I'm staying in River Park Section 2.

MS MKHIZE: Is it your own place.

NANA MOLALOSE: It's my own house.

MS MKHIZE: Can you tell us about your matter that we can see is one of those painful events of people who lost in the time of the struggle?

NANA MOLALOSE: I was staying here but the children were still down in Newcastle in a new location called Number 7.  My son was a councillor there.  He is the one who established this place.  He was not so powerful and he did seek help in this regard.  After some time, I think there was a misunderstanding because you can never blame anybody TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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and he was being blamed because of him being a councillor.  When he wanted to resign, the community refused.  When time  went on I got a telephone message saying that the house was burned down and my son Bongane was inside.  But fortunately he didn't die but he burned his shoulder way down to his back.  I found (end of side A)...
.......these people were actually looking for me. I said to 
him, "Why don't you run away?"  He said, "I'll be back".
 In those days, while I was expecting him to come back, I heard that he had passed away.  These people came and they took me out of the house because had a spaza shop, they killed him, they chopped him and hacked him, they had slit his throat.  You couldn't identify him clearly from the face. they didn't damage his body much, it was his face and they had slit his throat.
 The things that I had in the house, I removed them, the sofas and the television and the wardrobes and stove and fridges and even his furniture, we removed them and we took them to a store.  When I realised the damage I decided that I could never stay here and I tried to seek some help because there were some girls that I left at home and I sought help that they should give them some clothing but nobody helped me.  And these girls were studying with the assistance of their brother, but because of this and because it was restless there they had to come and stay with me.  Whilst I was at home I was being harassed, I had to leave everything as it was, running for my life with the children.  I would come back in the morning because they used to come at night and harass us.  I used to run away and come back in the morning.
 Fortunately we went to another village and buried him TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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there.  We could not bury him here.

MS MKHIZE: We do understand your pain, the fact that you were harassed even when you were grieving.  These people who came to tell you in the morning.  Hoe did they explain to you?

NANA MOLALOSE: They said to me, he was killed by the community.  I said, "But how can this community kill him
because when my son decided to resign, they refused."  But the thing is, in the township, it's the youth that normally agree and bring disputes. And then that's where the disagreement came from.  When he wanted to resign because of these youths' resistance the elderly didn't agree and therefore the youth decided to do what they did.

MS MKHIZE: You said the time he was in the community, was he a member of any political party?

NANA MOLALOSE: No I'm not aware of that. All I know is that he was a councillor. He became a councillor because he was a building constructor, he was building houses for people and he used to intervene and even the police used to rely on his help. People used to bring identity documents and take them to the offices to show them how many people need accommodation.  He used to help people with accommodation. As far as political affiliation, I cannot tell you.  All I know is that he helped the community with accommodation, houses.

MS MKHIZE: I'm asking you this question because in those years people who were in any political organisation, should they die, they would be buried by those people who belonged to their party.  Were any people from any political party at the funeral?

NANA MOLALOSE: No they never did. Even the councillors that TEMBISA  HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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were working with him, there were four in number and the other one was shot in his leg, and they said we are also scared for our lives. Truly councillors were killed, Baker was killed and another councillor that I don't remember, it was another one that was killed first and Baker was killed when he wanted to see his child which was burned inside the house. He was shot whilst visiting his children in hospital 
and thereafter three councillors were killed after Baker.

MS MKHIZE: Maybe this shows that it is possible that he was killed when the community had a dispute against their councillors and they were resisting the former government.

NANA MOLALOSE: I think it is so.

MS MKHIZE: Can you tell us about your other child, about his death.

NANA MOLALOSE: Are you talking about the one who was burned inside the house?

MS MKHIZE: The on we're talking about is Makethlane.  What happened to Bongane?

NANA MOLALOSE: Bongane, the house was burned while he was inside it.  That is the one I said managed to escape in flames. And the hacked him but he did not die.  He was here on Sunday.

MS MKHIZE: Did he give a statement that he was tortured.  Yes he is still alive but he's just surviving.  You can just hear him crying.

MS MKHIZE: The house that you had in this place, did you finally sell it or what happened to it?

NANA MOLALOSE: The other house was his store and then there was this house that was in my name but they also burned that house as well.

MS MKHIZE: This place where your house is, which political TEMBISA  HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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party is predominant, because in Natal areas are divided according to political parties.

NANA MOLALOSE: I would say in Newcastle the predominant party was the ANC.

MS MKHIZE: We thank you very much.  You say where did you bury Mathelane?

NANA MOLALOSE: We buried him at Mondhlo.

MS MKHIZE: You removed him from Newcastle and you buried him at Mondhlo?

NANA MOLALOSE: Yes because it was very difficult here.

MS MKHIZE: You had another house in Mondhlo?

NANA MOLALOSE: Yes.

MS MKHIZE: We thank you very much, I'll take you back to the chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Hlengiwe. Joyce Seroke?

MS SEROKE: Mrs Molalose, I see that you are carrying some photos, is there anything that you'd like to show us? Is this a house that was burned down?

NANA MOLALOSE: Yes.

MS SEROKE: Is this area called Seven? Was it a shack town?

NANA MOLALOSE: Yes.

MS SEROKE: Proper houses were not built yet?

MS SEROKE: Yes.

MS SEROKE: Mathelani, was he chosen or elected by the residents of Seven?

NANA MOLALOSE: Yes. He established this place because he was collecting the identity documents to show the people in the municipality that there are so many people who are homeless.  That is when this place was established.

MS SEROKE: As you're here, how is the situation in that area called Number Seven?
TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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NANA MOLALOSE: In the manner in which I was just disturbed, I just go and pay the rent for these erfs that I still have but I still haven't sold them, I'm suffering from cardiac problems.  I'm very fragile.

MS SEROKE: Where is Bonganise, is he here at Seven.  No he's here with me.