Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

WITNESS:   I only know of the friend who came to fetch him, but it later transpired that the very same friend was sent, and that particular boy who went to fetch him was also killed after about a week.

UNKNOWN: Do you have any idea as to who killed him?

WITNESS:   No, I don't.

UNKNOWN: You further talked about Mr Vanto.

WITNESS:   Vanto has got some knowledge with regard to what was happening to my son.  He is the one who knows the story from start to finish.  He is the one who can relate it even better than I.

UNKNOWN: Is Mr Vanto alive?

WITNESS:   I hear that he is staying at Isipingo, but I can get hold of him if he is needed.

UNKNOWN: You further went on to talk about a certain neighbour who tried to intervene when they were attacking your son.

WITNESS:   I know the house, the house is still there at Ebukweni, but I have forgotten the surname of the person who intervened.  Because he is the one who tried to intervene when they were killing my son.  These people were so many, and he asked them as to why they should be following a 15-year-old as many as they were, and they were quite old men.  So he is the one who showed us where my son was killed.

UNKNOWN: Who told you about this whole incident?

WITNESS:   This is the person who intervened.  He is the one who saw, and he is the eye witness.

UNKNOWN: Are there any other people who saw what was happening, or did he identify any of the attackers?

WITNESS:  It was dark at that time so he could not see properly, but they were all blacks.

UNKNOWN: Now, with regard to the case, you said you went to report the matter to Umlazi Police Station.

WITNESS:   Yes, I did report the matter.  I even have the inquest document.  They even sent me a notice.  Nobody was found guilty in that matter.  These were the results of the inquest.

UNKNOWN: Do you remember who the investigating officer was?

WITNESS:   I don't remember him quite well.  I am not sure whether his name is written in those documents.

UNKNOWN: It is quite clear that your son had also received threats, but there is somebody else that you didn't make mention of.  That is Mr Dlamini.

WITNESS:   Mr Dlamini was a Special Branch.  He is the one who used to come to my place looking for Thubelihle, and he never used to get him.  Even all the other police force were always coming to my place looking for Thubelihle, and I was asking myself as to what he had done to deserve to be hunted down in the manner that he was.  All sorts of police used to come.  Even the soldiers in Casspirs used to come.  Dlamini also threatened me, and he told me that he will ultimately get my dog.

UNKNOWN: And you moved from Umlazi, you went to stay at Ntuzuma.  Does that have anything to do with the death of your son?

WITNESS:   I was also hunted down by the Special Branch.  That was way back in 1972 or '73.  When you are working in a factory if you don't see eye to eye with the people in the factory they call you a communist, and at the time I was referred to as a communist, and the Special Branch told me that they have been investigating me for quite some time, and now I realised that our lives were in danger because my son was also hunted, so I went to Ntuzuma.  Even my son used to go to Ntuzuma to seek refuge.

UNKNOWN: There is another question that I want to ask you.  Did your wife ever get a call that told her that the son was dead?  Who was phoning your wife?

WITNESS:   The person who phoned my wife never identified him or herself, but immediately thereafter there came a car.  I think it was a grey or white car.  These people had come to tell my wife that her son had died.  This person did not identify himself.  He just drove his car and went away.  She also did get a telephone call as well as a car that came.  When she tried to find out more about the death of her son the person just drove off without explaining.

UNKNOWN: Is it the same person who told you that your son had died?

WITNESS:   Yes, it's the very same person.

UNKNOWN: How did you know that your son was at the mortuary?

WITNESS:   We never heard that he was there.  This man just told us that he has died, and he was no longer there, we should go and look for him.

UNKNOWN: Now, coming back to your family's welfare.  According to you or your own opinion how did this affect the whole family?

WITNESS:   In 1986 that year was a very difficult year for us as the Khumalo family because we had just buried my father on a Saturday, only to find that my son had died on a Friday.  I was severely tormented.  I was depressed.  I got so disorientated I didn't know what was happening to me.  Even my daughter, Nokhulunga, was affected, and I do suspect that she was severely harassed.  At times, whenever we speak about Thubelihle, she would cry because they were the only two children with my other wife.  She is now a teacher, she is teaching at Umlazi, but I can see that she has been psychologically affected.  She does have some traits of being psychologically affected, even though at times she tells herself that she can cope and she is coping with it.  I think she was severely affected.

UNKNOWN: One other thing that I would like to find out from you is - Thubelihle had two mothers.  Now, can you please tell us about the other one, because she never came to give testimony as to how she was affected.

WITNESS:   She was also affected because she believed that she would have a son who would take care of her, and she believed that her daughter would also have a brother, but whenever she thinks about this she is very - she had some growths in her stomach and she ended up being operated on.

UNKNOWN: We thank you, Mr Khumalo.  My last request after hearing to story is according to your own opinion what do you think or what do you expect of the Commission?  What do you expect the Commission should do for you, as well as Thubelihle's mother?

WITNESS:   I think if the Truth Commission can investigate properly and see as to who killed my son and why they did it, and that they should come forward to this Truth Commission to give their reasons as to why they did what they did.  What had he done to deserve such death?  Maybe I can be satisfied and reconciled.  I have never seen them.  I do not know them.  It was alleged that they were so many, and it's not easy for me to know who they were.  If this Truth Commission has the power it can bring them forward.  I think I would appreciate that very much.

UNKNOWN: What about his mother?  What do you think his mother expects from the Truth Commission since she has lost a son?

WITNESS:   I do see that my wife has been shattered.  She is suffering from depression.  When you have a son you always have the hope that your son will maintain you when you grow old.  Now with girls, girls get married and they move away from home.  Now she had a hope that she had a son who would look after her after she has got her pension.  Probably Thubelihle could be working by now and he would be maintaining his family.  Maybe I could also lean on him, he could also help me in many ways.  As you know that when we grow old we do put our trust, as well as our hope, in our sons.  If the Truth Commission could help me.  I still have other children who are still very young.  He could have probably put them through schooling, or university.

UNKNOWN: We do hear your request.  We take these requests and make the recommendations and pass them to the State President.  He makes the final resolution as to what should be done in each particular case.  We would like to thank you very much for the courage that you have shown by coming here and giving this testimony.  We also thank your wife for having come to support you in such a difficult time.  We also request you to bring Thubelihle's mother so that she could also get help.