Human Rights Violation Hearings — Port Shepstone — 1996-08-12

DR MAGWAZA: Let's come back to the police.  It looks like your matter did go to the Port Shepstone Police, because according to history it looks like they were aware, they know about the death of your son.  Do you have any knowledge inasfar as this is concerned?

WITNESS:   Yes, it looks like Ngcobo went to give the statement to the police as the police were asking.  Now, Mr Ngcobo was my neighbour.  I was always at work.

DR MAGWAZA: Is there anything that you gave to the police?

WITNESS:  No, nothing.

DR MAGWAZA: Let's come back now to your family.  You also say that you went to Gamalakhe and you were separated from the children.

WITNESS:   No, I took my children with.

DR MAGWAZA: It was hard, I had - the situation was just so volatile I had to take my children with.  Every morning I will go to work at six.  I board the bus to work.

DR MAGWAZA: I thought you were saying you built some - you rented some shack or something.

WITNESS:   Yes, I did, yes.  My son was doing computer science in 1991.  He was staying at Gamalakhe.  That's where I had - he was hibernating.  After that he went to Durban to his uncle.

DR MAGWAZA: Yes, it seems to me that your family was scattered all over.  Tell us just briefly about your children.  How were they affected about this, the loss of their brother and not having a home and being all over in the city.

WITNESS:   Yes, my children were highly affected, and one, the other younger one, also wanted to commit suicide on the day when his brother died.

DR MAGWAZA: Is there any other thing that you could tell, any change that you could tell from your children?

WITNESS:   Yes.  Often times they are naughty they always say - make mention of the fact that this person and this person has killed our brother.  You know, they often talk about this issue.  Even at the hospital - one other is suffering from sugar diabetes will always come to the hospital, and just look down and avoiding to look at me complete.  He is also a relative.  He is the very one who's alleged to have shoved the assegai through my son.

DR MAGWAZA: How is your health?

WITNESS:   I have a sugar diabetes since that time.

DR MAGWAZA: Is there any treatment that you get?

WITNESS:   Yes, I take tablets from work. Are the children fine and going to school well, or working well?   ---   No.  The one who was studying computer science is still looking for the job, he is not employed yet.

DR MAGWAZA: Yes, I get your story quite well.  It's so hard and difficult to lose a child.  We are just trying to figure out how can we be of help to this situation so you could also feel that we are by your side.  In times like this people do say this is what you can do for me to help me get out of this situation.  What are you saying?

WITNESS:   I don't know really what to say because I have this load.  My children are not working.  The other girl is working somewhere in the industrial site and gets paid R70,00 weekendly, and the other girl is attending school.

DR MAGWAZA: We do hear.  What I will say is that as we are here, coming here to listen to everything, and taking the requests of every witness, we want to compile all this what we hear in these hearings and take it forward to the President, and the President will take a decision and see what to do.  Thank you very much.

DR MAGWAZA: There is one thing I want to follow here, but if you are not free to say this - we are trying to get all the truth.  You keep referring to the person who was the first one to shove the assegai through, and you keep seeing the person, and I want to go back to this, because we want to gather every single thing to write.  Please tell us about this person who had the assegai.  You also tell us at times you want to - you look at him but you don't feel like looking at him.  Tell us.  If you don't feel like maybe you should not say.

WITNESS:   I may say this here, but some people here who are sell-outs will go and tell him.

DR MAGWAZA: Will you also tell us about the person who said he witnessed this, he saw this, so that when we try to investigate the issue further we may get in touch with him.  Who is he?

WITNESS:   The name I don't know, but the surname is Ngcobo.  I have just forgotten his name.

DR MAGWAZA: The people you say were affected and died from this incident, would you happen to know their names?

WITNESS:   You mean the ones who died?

DR MAGWAZA: Yes.

WITNESS:   I know them.

DR MAGWAZA: Who are they?  You know the sell-out has no work here because you are telling us the names of those who died.

WITNESS:   They have their - they do appear in the list.

DR MAGWAZA: We will go through the list.

DR MAGWAZA: Landelwa, we have heard your story.  I just wanted you to explain to me.  Somewhere you make mention of the name, of the attacker's name.  In the statement there is the name appearing there.  Is that person still around, or what happened to the person?

WITNESS:   You mean the one who killed him?

DR MAGWAZA: No, the one who instructed the people to kill.

WITNESS:  No, he has died.  Yes, he has died.

COMMISSIONER: Mrs Radebe, you mentioned in your statement that some people were kidnapped by this group.  Do you remember that?  Will you tell us a little bit more about that.  You said after they had killed your son they chased some of the witnesses away and then they kidnapped three people.  You mention the names Malinga, Nchengizwa and Jabulani as being people who were kidnapped by this group.

WITNESS:   (No reply)

COMMISSIONER: Do you follow the question?

WITNESS:   I am listening.

COMMISSIONER: Now, what happened to those three people that were kidnapped?  Are they still around?

WITNESS:   You mean the ones who killed my son?

COMMISSIONER: You said that after your son was killed.  Okay, so you don't know what happened.

WITNESS:   The child who saw this is here.  Mana Dladla, that's her name.  She is the one who saw and witnessed this.

COMMISSIONER: Mrs Radebe, do you know the name of any policemen or police officer, investigating officer, who looked into this case?

WITNESS:   No, I don't know.

COMMISSIONER: When you said that the police laughed at you, made a laughing stock of you, was that the last time you had anything to do with the police?  You said you reported it to ... (incomplete)

WITNESS:   No, I never got hold of the police or went onto the police after that.

COMMISSIONER: So as far as you know there was no case ever held with regard to your son's death?

WITNESS:   No.

COMMISSIONER: Do you have your son's death certificate?

WITNESS:   Yes, I do have.

COMMISSIONER: We'd like to get a copy of that death certificate from you.  Do you have it with you here?  Oh, sorry, we do have it.

WITNESS:   I don't have it with me now.

COMMISSIONER: We do have it already.  And you said that you made a statement and you got assistance from the young man who was sitting at this table earlier this morning, is that right?

WITNESS:   Yes.  I gave the statement to them.

COMMISSIONER: Mrs Radebe, thank you very, very much for coming in to see us today.  As my colleague, Dr Magwaza, has said, it's a very, very difficult and a hard thing to lose a child, and we can see that your memory of him from over six years ago, or five years ago, is still very much alive in your mind, and we express our sympathies to you.  We will make investigations.  You have mentioned the name of the person who you believe led the attack on your son, and we will follow this matter up.  We will hand it to our investigative unit to see whether they can get to the bottom of this - who did it and why it happened.  Have you - are you still working?  You said at the time of your son's death you were working in a hospital.  Are you still working in the same hospital?

WITNESS:   Yes, I am still employed at the hospital.