Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pretoria — 1996-08-13

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Mafuya, I am going to assist you with your testimony, but before that I will just ask you to take the oath please.

MR MALAN: Mrs Mafuya, will you please raise your right hand.

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: (Duly sworn in, states).

MR MALAN: Thank you.  You may sit down.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Mafuya, you are coming to speak to us about your son Godfrey who was shot and wounded in 1985.  I am going to ask you in your own words, in your own time to relate your story to us.

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: In 1985 on the 7th of December, it was during riots, they shot my son with eight bullets.  He was at that time 15 years.  Where he was, it was at the back opposite of our yard.  I heard the gunshots.  They shot multiple times.  Then the Hippo came to fetch me.  Before I saw this Hippo at the gate then the policemen said they are warning me.  That is when I left with them on foot.  I refused to get inside the Hippo.  I want to see where my son is lying.  When I got there I found the ambulance and Mr Mongigomo from the Sowetan Newspaper.  They took my son.  When I tried to board the ambulance they refused.  They took him along to Kalafong Hospital.  I followed them in a taxi.  When I arrived at Kalafong he was transferred to H F Verwoerd Hospital.  When
PRETORIA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
2 J N MAFUYA
I arrived at H F Verwoerd Hospital following the ambulance I learned that he was in the Intensive Care Unit.  During the night when I went to H F Verwoerd he was in the Intensive Care Unit.  He was there for two months.  
 They transferred him back to Kalafong Hospital.  That is where he died in 1987 on the same 7th day of December 1987.  He was crippled by then.  I use to feed him, he was on a wheelchair.  There were still two bullets in his head and two on his body.  They only extracted four bullets from him.  His hands were lame.  I use to feed him, wash him and then take him back for treatment to the hospital until he became very ill and then they could not bring him to me during weekends and also during Christmas.  He passed away on the 7th of December 1987.  His body was swollen, his head also.  They took him to Kalafong Mortuary.  On Monday I wanted to inform Mr Ledwaba who is an Undertaker.  Then him took him on the very same Monday to his mortuary together with the documents.  
 We tried to arrange for the funeral thinking that we will bury him on Saturday at half past 12.  On Thursday the police came at Ledwaba when informed by the Sowetan that the person who sued the State for R250 000,00 has died.  Then they rushed, the police rushed to Ledwaba Police Station and then they took the body and said to Mr Ledwaba if he does not give them the body they would stop his business.  Then they wanted him to release the body so that they take it away.  Ledwaba sent someone to us and said the police arrived and they forcefully took the body.  I tried to refuse, but they did it without my permission.  I told them that I had a lawyer.  The lawyer investigated, phoned several times even to the Government Mortuary.  They did not PRETORIA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
3 J N MAFUYA
know about my son.  
 Friday at 12 o' clock the police phoned the undertaker to come and get my sons's body because he is at the Government Mortuary.  The undertaker said he is at the Government Mortuary and then we phoned the lawyer.  They collected they body at the Government Mortuary.  The lawyer got inside the mortuary.  When he left they asked for identification.  They, he started to stand next to the window to identify they body.  They said they will bring him on a stretcher.  They did cut him to extract the bullets, even on his feet were cut because on the wheelchair he could not sit straight, but he leaned on the wheelchair.  We took him to the Ledwaba's Mortuary and Ledwaba said because it is already late, this boy is already bleeding and then I would set my fridge so that we can prepare him, but we will not bring him at five o' clock, but at seven o' clock the evening because he is bleeding excessively.  We agreed on that.
 On Friday at seven o' clock Ledwaba brought him to the house.  They did put in some cottonwools where he bled or where he had cracks.  At half past seven there were a lot of soldiers around the house.  They were inside the tent, some of them inside the house watching on us.  The whole night we are within the company of these soldiers inside the tent.  They are watching on us.  On Saturday at 12 o' clock there were police who came to the house and said to me it is now time, you must bury your son.  We went out.  At the front it was a Hippo and two private cars for the police and the hearse and the family car.  There was a bus.  They never gave people a chance to get on board the bus.  People feared to board the bus.  When we arrived at the graveyard they 
PRETORIA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
4 J N MAFUYA
said the bus that was accompanying us must get inside the cemetery yard and then they started locking the gates.   We buried him whilst they were watching on us.  People, when we arrived at the house, they never had food.  They said now we are going to throw away the food that you prepared for the funeral.  
 Since 1985 I started suing the State.  My case was only heard two times in a year.  It ended in 1989.  In 1989 it only, I appeared before the court for eight times.  On the fifth day Mr Holiday who was a policeman accompanied by his lawyer did not arrive at court.  The Judge now said these people are not arriving at court.  They sent a cheque for R36 000.00.  That is how the case ended.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you very much.  Mrs Mafuya, if you do not mind, I would just like to ask you a few questions.  Just to start where you ended.  You said they sent a cheque for
R36 000.00.  Who is the they who gave the cheque to you?

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: I am referring to the police.  The police sent a cheque for R36 000,00.  They took R2 000,00.  I received R34 000,00.  Then they said do you want us to give the
R34 000,00 for the tombstone.  Then they said, they did destruct or destroy the tombstone.  I tried to fix the tombstone with some glue or some things, cement sort of.

RUSSELL ALLY: So it was the South African Police that they gave you this cheque?

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: It is so.

RUSSELL ALLY: The Attorney, who was he, what is the name of the Attorney.

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: It was Advocate Cells and Mrs Gitch.

RUSSELL ALLY: You mentioned Constable Holiday.

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: Yes, Sir.
PRETORIA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
5 J N MAFUYA

RUSSELL ALLY: Did Constable Holiday actually admit that he was the one who shot or how do you get to this name?

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: It was the first time that I saw him at court.  Even to hear his name as the person who did shoot my son in such a gruesome manner, asking myself.  I thought he was shot by a lot of policemen, but it transpired that he was the only person because the son tried to run and hide, but he was following him until my son fell down.

RUSSELL ALLY: Now you said that on the day that your son was shot, on the 7th of December 1985 by the Riot Squad, you say that there, that there was rioting in the township of Atteridgeville.  Can you just tell us a little bit about what was happening on that day?

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: On that day it was a funeral of a certain school child.  He was one of the Comrades, but I am not sure as Comrades did attend the funeral.

RUSSELL ALLY: So it was a funeral and did anything happen ...

JOYCE NOCAWE MAFUYA: Yes.

RUSSELL ALLY: ... on that day besides the funeral?  What actually happened that led to the riot, the police being active in the area?