Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietersburg — 1996-07-19

MR MATHIBELA: These police, I cannot say I knew them at the time. Zacharia and others were arrested later, after I was shot, Zacharia and Simon Mathibela and his little brother.  They came to my house looking for me and they asked for Chipa Mathibela, my nick name, and they came asking for Chipa, they asked my mother and they woke up everyone.  They came with three cars at the time but I was not there.  They knocked on the windows and some of them went into the house.  They took Simon Mathibela and they went to Zacharia's place.  We stay close to each other, they went to his place and they took him and his little brother who they didn't actually want, they wanted Zacharia and me.
 Zacharia was the publicity secretary and the police knew him, we didn't know them because they work with chiefs, but they knew Zacharia because, as I told you we were supposed to write lists and letters before we had meetings.  That's why I think they knew us at the time, they knew active people at the time. They fetched Zacharia, Simon and Lassie but that day they wanted me and I don't know why they were looking for me.
    This person who directed them to my place, I think didn't know where I was at the time so they only found Lassie and Simon.  They took them to Buffelkop in  a police van and assaulted them for the whole day.  When they arrived at the police station, my other comrades and I had a mass meeting.  It was not for the Youth League, it was just a mass meeting and I realised that I was soon going to be arrested, and we realised that they were not actually looking for those people, they were looking for me and they missed me because I was not home that day. I started looking for comrades in my village and we all went out.  We wanted to go to the police station, we wanted to be arrested, all of us because we realised that they actually didn't want those people.  
 On our way to the police station, the soldiers came and
and they started beating us.  I ran away to the field and I think the police heard about that incident, because we had a meeting that day.  My brother Dali and my mother who's now dead as well as Zacharia and my father came to the police station asking the reason why they arrested them, and they told him that they're actually looking for Chipa and Zacharia. They said they wanted to arrest us because we were comrades.  When they heard that we were marching to the police station, they released those guys and they came back home.

MR MALAN: Thank you very much, just one last question. If I read the statements correctly, then the policeman shot you without talking to you and they got in the car and they drove off, they didn't arrest anyone at the time?  Is that correct?

MR MATHIBELA: Yes it's true.  After I asked the police who Lesiba is, because his colleague was still in the shop, after shooting me, all the people in the shop came out of it and I fell about 20m from the van and they all looked at me.  They never arrested us and they didn't talk to me and they didn't open a case, they just drove off and my friends took me to my younger brother's place. Even at the hospital the police came, but they never said anything to me. Up to now the police never opened a case.  I was never arrested.

MR MALAN: Thank you very much Mr Mathebela for your evidence, we will further look into it and we will process it.  We may, at a future occasion also perhaps listen to the evidence of Zacharia if he's around when we're in town again.  We would hope that your case in Pretoria against the police will soon be finalised an that you will get well compensated then.  Thank you very much for coming to us, we wish you well.

MR MATHIBELA: I have one question.  When you say you want Zacharia to come and give evidence, I want to know if you will call him to Pretoria or here, so that I can go and tell him?

MR MALAN: We will liaise with him or you if we would be hearing him, we don't know, we have his full statement, it may not be necessary to hear him again orally, but if we are around and if we deem it necessary, you will know and he will know. Thank you very much again for coming to us.

MR MATHIBELA: Thank you very much. Actually Zacharia is supposed to be here with me today but I think he was not able because of transport problems, but he was prepared to come, thank you.

MR MALAN: Again, go well!