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

DUKAKILE AGNES MATHEBULA: (sworn states)

MR LEWIN: Thank you.  I would Joyce Seroke please to lead your evidence.

MS SEROKE: We greet you Agnes.  Can you introduce the people that are accompanying you?

DUKAKILE AGNES MATHEBULA: This is my sister and my son.

MS SEROKE: We welcome them as well.  You have come to tell us about the death of your husband who was shot on the 25th of June 1993.  Can you tell us the situation that was prevailing at that time and what led to his death?

DUKAKILE AGNES MATHEBULA: I don't know whether you will allow me to start right at the beginning until to the incident of his death.

MS SEROKE: Yes you may.

DUKAKILE AGNES MATHEBULA: In 1988 whilst we were at home my husband was at work and he came back at 5:20.  He left a paper and said that he's going to his brother's place and I remained at home with the children.  At 6.:30 a lady and a gentleman arrived and they were enquiring about somebody that I didn't know.  At 5:45 as the child went out my child said come and see there is so many taxis going by.  But I realised that they had already gone around the corner and there were some that were parked on the third house from ours.
 They were enquiring about this third house where the taxis were, and they wanted to know whose house was that?  I told them this is Mathebula's house.  They came and they 
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called the other lot and said this is the house we are looking for. I was carrying the child and they said I must not move.  They said you are going to go with me to the house and they did that and I went to the bedroom.  They lifted the bed and they were carrying firearms.  They searched the wardrobes and in the children's room.  They found nothing.  Even outside there were people all over.  They said that we must finish the job that we came here for today, where is your husband?  I said I didn't know where he is.  They said we must find him by tonight.  Has he gone to a meeting?  I said no, not to a meeting, he's gone to his brother's place.
 Some left and some remained.  They brought him into the house and the let him sit down in the house, then they wanted to know how do I know Mathebula.  I said I know Mathebula he deals with milk.  This man he sat down and he we were waiting for my husband.  They came back with Mr Mkosa, they let him sit down as well, and they said that we must wait here until he comes back.  
 They stayed there for some time and this man said he was going to work nightshift, Mr Khosa.  When he wanted to go they refused to release him.  They said that they won't do that until Mathebula comes back. They sat there from 6 o'clock until 12 o'clock at night.  At about 11:45 a telephone call came through at my neighbour's house.  When I went to respond to this telephone call I was accompanied by five people.  Somebody asked me who are those policemen?  They answered, they said they are allowed by the law to do whatever they want to do.  They wanted to know how did I know that they are policemen, I said I don't know as well.  They said you sit here and eat, we won't leave until we find TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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this man.  We sat there but they didn't find him
 At about 12 o'clock some left and brought Mr Mahlangu who is a mayor presently and they asked me whether do I know him?  I did not know.  They decided that they must finish off with this man, but the others didn't agree with that.  They said no, not this man but the man that we came to look for.  
 When they left I wanted the proof that they are policemen, how will I know?  A young man of the Lord moved and he showed me a card and waved it at me and said you will never see us anywhere.  And they said that we must finish this job within these two nights.
 My husband never slept at home and he phoned in the morning and he told me that he is escaping, he is going into exile.  He stayed there for a week until he went into exile, and he came back in 1993.  
 It was in 1992 when he came back.  There was IFP and ANC violence at that time, and he was requested to come back and work wherever he was working before and he worked for two months.  Around about the 23rd of June 1993 whilst we were sitting at home with him and the children at about 6 o'clock there were gunshots all the time.  At about 6:30 the shots were coming nearer our house.  A young man who was a member of the MK said we must leave because these gunshots are nearing our house.  Two of them escorted us to run away from the house.  When I got to my sister's place they left me at the gate.  At 12 o'clock there was going to be Dingaan Thobela's boxing fight and we watched this boxing at my sister's place.  
 After this he said we must go back home.  We did that but although we did not agree with this because I did not 
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trust because these people might still be shooting there.  We were five in total.  When we got at home they said I must put the light on but I told them no, this house is on fire.  And when we got there it was burnt down already.  We saw opposite Vusumuzi Hostel there was a casper that was standing there and I decided I am going to run away because I don't trust these people. We left everything as is.  
 The following morning we came to Rabasotho and we went with the one casper and they examined how serious the damage was.  We could not stay in the house and stayed in my sister's house instead. 
 On Sunday there was still a fight and shooting.  On Monday he was going with this one gentleman who was doing a temporary job at the same work where he was working and they left round about 6 o'clock in the morning.  I was at my sister's house since then because I could not go back to my house.  Round about 8 o'clock I thought I should try and see if there is anything I could find, some clothing in the house because the children were not there.  
 Round about 9 o'clock there were some people calling out from IFP, from Vusumuzi, they said come and take him because we finished him off. I couldn't believe them because I knew that he was at work.  I went to the neighbours and I stood outside for an hour at my sister's place and I saw three ladies coming running towards me and they found me still standing there at the gate.  They just burst out in tears.  I wanted them to tell me what happened. They were still crying these ladies.
 They told me that a telephone call went through in Tombeka at his parents place that they have killed him already.  They had bombed the house and there was still 
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shooting and they decided that we should rather walk to my house and there were neighbours who were there already.  But these ladies did not agree that we should go to the house because we would be shot.  We remained at my sister's house instead.  
 My employer they have already sent a vehicle to come and fetch me.  We left with this vehicle.  We found him lying on the ground and the one that he was shot with was already taken to hospital. That's how far the story goes about his death.  I knew that he was killed by the IFP.

MS SEROKE: Agnes you have started the story from 1988.  At that time where was your husband working?

DUKAKILE AGNES MATHEBULA: He was working in the committee for the community.

MS SEROKE: Was he a member of a political organisation?

DUKAKILE AGNES MATHEBULA: Yes he was an ANC member.

MS SEROKE: At that time when he was a member of the community committee what was he doing and how was the situation in Tembisa at that time?

DUKAKILE AGNES MATHEBULA: At that time a lot of things were happening in Tembisa.  There were these political rivals. It wasn't clear whether we were fighting against the IFP or any other organisation

MS SEROKE: His work as a community worker what was he doing?