Amnesty Hearings — Vanderbijlpark — 1999-05-14

CHAIRPERSON: Okay, very well.  Okay, we will take a short adjournment and would you let us know once you are ready?

MR BERGER: Thank you.
COMMITTEE ADJOURNS
ON RESUMPTION

MS TANZER: Just for the record, Mr Nosenga has to leave early today, the witness protection officers say they've only got one van and they've got to be somewhere else, so if you don't mind I'm standing in for him obviously and he will be taken back to the prison now.

CHAIRPERSON: He shall be leaving earlier?

MS TANZER: He's leaving right now.

CHAIRPERSON: Already! Okay.  Alright but as long as you make sure that you go through with him the evidence that's going to be lead in his absence so as to be able to deal with those matters that he might want you to deal with?

MS TANZER: Yes I'll do that.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes very well.   Yes Mr Berger?

MR BERGER: Thank you Chairperson.
	Chairperson, thank you for the adjournment.  The next witness is Matseleng Miriam Molete.  She will be giving evidence in Sesotho.

CHAIRPERSON: Very well.

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Yes Mr Berger?

BERGER: Thank you Chairperson.
	Ms Molete, where were you staying at the time of the attack on the 17th June 1992?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: I stayed in Amatola Street, number 717.  That day we left for my sister's house at number 17 Slovo Park.  The very 17th day of June.

MR BERGER: So on the night of the attack you were at number 17 Slovo Park?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: That is correct.

MR BERGER: And who was together with you that night?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: I was with my sister and her husband and my husband and my child.

MR BERGER: What was your sister's name?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Do you mean all their names?

MR BERGER: Yes, your sister's name.

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: The eldest is Mokgoedi Florence Molete.  The other one is Jeanette Puleng Molete.

MR BERGER: No, I'm asking you only the sister who was with you that night.

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Before the attack we were together, they left and I was left with Florence.

MR BERGER: And Florence's husband?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: She did not have a husband at the time, it was Jeanette who was with her husband.

MR BERGER: And your child Mieta?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Yes.

MR BERGER: Who is Pule Thomas Lekabe?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: That was my husband.

CHAIRPERSON: What was that name again?

MR BERGER: Pule Thomas Lekabe.
	And he was with you that night at number 17 Slovo Park?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: It was myself, Florence, Pule and Mieta.

MR BERGER: Okay.  Now can you recall when it was when you first heard something happening that gave you an indication that something might be wrong?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Whilst we were sitting after they have left, my husband was from a doctor, he was asleep and Mieta was also asleep.  I was left with Florence.  Florence said she's tired, she wants to go and sleep.

ADV SIGODI: Could you speak slowly please?

MR BERGER: Slowly please?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Whilst my husband was asleep and my child also I was left with Florence.  Florence then stated that she wants to go and sleep.  I said to her I want to take a bath.  At that time I heard someone breaking windows.  There's a hole there at my sister's place and we peeped through and I could see that they were breaking at Puleng's place.  Those were men breaking.

MR BERGER: Ms Molete, sorry, you say we peeped through, who was it who peeped through?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: It was myself and I called Florence to come and see that people are attacking Jeanette, that is Puleng.  Thereafter ...(intervention)

MR BERGER: I'm sorry, when you say you could see people were attacking Jeanette, your sister?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: They are neighbours and their houses are separated by a fence.  Whilst we were looking outside we saw people.  They wore red headbands and others white headbands.  Whilst we were observing this they immediately started breaking the house in which we were in.  From there they were at the window, breaking the window of the bedroom I was in.  They peeped through the window, these men, and they were speaking in isiZulu and they said take out your firearms and I said to them we do not have firearms.  They broke down the left side of Florence's shack.  Others were throwing in stones until they smashed the wardrobe's door.  When they entered, some entered through the side where they had broken down the shack.  From there they hacked my husband at the waist, thereafter there was blood all over the house.  Because we had just arrived, everything was upside down, we could not get anywhere.  They took him out through that opening.  The others entered, those were the ones who broke down the door.  They attacked Florence.  When I tried to assist or help my daughter, Mieta, trying to whisk her into another room because I thought they would smash her head with stones.
	Then I came across a White man.  This man tried to hack me with a panga.  I tried to grab it, that is when he cut this finger I'm showing to you.  When I tried to turn then he hacked my daughter on the head.  Then there was brain that I could see.  I tried again to turn then he stabbed me with a sharpened instrument on my right side eye with a sharpened instrument.  Then I turned and threw myself down on my knees.  I spoke in Zulu even though I'm not au fait with Zulu, I said that this is my life day ...(indistinct).  Thereafter, this man was a White man, he wore balaclavas, he was next to me.

MR BERGER: If I could just stop you for a moment?  I'm not sure if part of your evidence was correctly interpreted.  You said - it was interpreted that you said he struck you on your right eye but you were pointing to your breast.   Where were you struck?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: It was this eye, the wound was not that big but when I was a hospital it was the eye that gave me much problems.

MR BERGER: Were you wounded in your breast?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Not that much, it was just a minor injury because it was a sharpened instrument that stabbed me.  I suffered a lot of pain whilst at hospital.

MR BERGER: Okay, let's go back to this White man who attacked you.  You say that he was wearing a balaclava, what else was he wearing if you can remember?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Do you mean the hands?  He was all black.

MR BERGER: Anything you can remember.  Sorry?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: Okay.  To can identify that he was a White person, the area of the eyes was not covered and his nose protruded through the balaclava.  They broke down the door.  The house was ...(indistinct) and there was moonlight and I was very close to him like where the table is, I was here while seated because I was holding the child at that time.

MR BERGER: Besides the balaclava, can you remember what else he was wearing, a shirt or pants?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: He wore black clothing, those were outside except them, the White man, except them.   He wore a balaclava and black clothing and the area around the eyes was not covered and the nose protruded through the balaclava.  Those who were at the door, seemingly they were on alert for anybody who would run out of the house.  They were in camouflage, there were two of them with guns.  I saw them as I threw myself down.  There was blood all over and it was slippery.  What I said it is my last day.  Then they got out and chanted a slogan, " Usotho, Usotho".

MR BERGER: The two men who you say were wearing camouflage, was that some sort of a uniform that they had on?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: These overalls with multiple colours and they wore caps.  Their faces were not concealed.  They were White men.

MR BERGER: And what weapons did they have?

MATSELENG MIRIAM MOLETE: I do not know different types of guns, they had guns.

MR BERGER: You were continuing and I stopped you, please continue?