Human Rights Violation Hearings — Newcastle — 1996-09-11

MR LAX: form a union for the Zulus.  In 1986, 1st of May, we took this day as a Workers Day and we didn't go to work as usual, but we heard that people were going to Kings Park and they were going to form an organisation or a union.  We took a decision then that as NUM's members we will work this day.  Many of us went to work on that day.  Unfortunately other people went to Kings Park.  There employees came back and explained to us that they have buried COSATU, now the union now it's NUMSA.  If you are still holding on COSATU then you are in trouble.  But what the chief said is that if you've killed a COSATU member then you've killed a communist.  And this was put in our agendas if we had meetings, and they used to say even if we are many they will be able to destroy us because they have soldiers, because they don't want COSATU in South Africa.

CLIFFORD MENDISI SIYOLO AND EPHRAIM NGCOBO: I think there are a few things which he didn't mention.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... so we can get to the actual incident.

WITNESS:   When he explained about the meeting which was held in Arena Mine Stadium.  On that day after the meeting, because we couldn't agree on one thing, because others had beliefs on NUMSA they didn't want to agree that they - they kept on insisting that it was Xhosas' union.  They were interested in forming their own Zulu union.  One of our colleagues was stabbed.  I think that's the only event that he left, because one of our colleagues was stabbed.  If I continue explaining as he explains I'll explain, I'll try and put and fill in if there's something left.

MR LAX: There was one thing that you mentioned in your statement, if I can get back to Mr Siyolo, which you didn't mention this time round, and that was you said that after this meeting, but before UWUSA was formed, the attitude of management changed quite substantially, and they became quite difficult and they fired certain people and so on.  Maybe you can just briefly cover that issue.

MR SIYOLO: The truth is that after UWUSA was formed we had a welfare department inside the mine.  This UWUSA union and Mr Ntombela received offices in that department, welfare department, so they were working together.  He was working together with the administrators.  If he wasn't there administrators will be there.  This led to difficulties, more especially on the side of the NUM.  Say, for instance, if there were employees who were fired we had difficulties because we, as shop stewards, NUM shop stewards, we were supposed to go and see Mr van Zyl, who was white, and he was the had of the security.  Or we were supposed to see Mr Zachariah, a Sotho guy.  He was also difficult.  He was so difficult that if a mine employee had a visitor this man will make sure that they'll arrest that visitor.  We also had a police station near the mine, Driefontein Police Station.  Workers didn't like his behaviour.  They decided to negotiate and sit down and talk about this issue.  They were confused why is this black person doing this thing, because we were fighting for our rights and we were being oppressed by whites, but now here's a black person doing this to us.  We decided that we were supposed to go to the manager and explain to the manager that we need him to fire this person.  Of course all - Zachariah, the Sotho guy, was also the head of the securities.  As they were leaving the office - our office was outside the mine.  It was a place where we were selling home-made brew, iJuba.  They gave us that place to sell liquor.  When they left there they went to see the manager, the hostel manager.  Lucky enough they saw Phumelani Mdletshe.  He was from town.  I think it was about 10 to 11.  Phumelani on that day he was from town to buy a tie.  So they told him that we are going this way.  They went with Phumelani.  They told the manager their grievances.  They told the manager that they want him to fire this person today, not any other day.  So the manager did that.

MR SIYOLO: Was this before the 5th of June?

WITNESS:   Before.

MR SIYOLO: Okay.

WITNESS:   Before.  It was early in May.  van Zyl came.  He came with his rules and regulations that as from that day there will be no person that will go and see the manager before he sees that person.  The problem was that when you come from underground you will pass the manager's office, but when you are going to Mr van Zyl's office you are supposed to go a distance like from here to Nxanthu(?).  It wasn't a nice thing for employees to accept it.  Phumelani Mdletshe was never wanted in the mine, and this was also another problem, because this guy was the one who was resolving our problems.  He was the organiser of the NUM.  He was employed full-time by NUM ... (inaudible - end of side A) ... we realised that we couldn't do anything.  We were now forced to meet the manager because the shop stewards have failed to negotiate with the manager.  They have tried up until the 5th and they have failed, and workers had been fired.  And we also realised that - after they have fired an employee we have realised that they were trying to promote NUM so people couldn't go to UWUSA.  There were few workers who wanted to join UWUSA.  What happened was that on the 5th we took a decision that before we go underground on the 6th we will ask the manager to explain to us that how are we going to work because the organiser has been fired, shop stewards are not called back to work.  Because in Pretoria we agreed on the negotiations that NUM will - if I am not mistaken on the 13th when Cyril Ramaphosa was there we agreed that NUM was going to negotiate for the workers.  Black workers were there and NUM was there for them.

MR SIYOLO: Can you come now to the actual day of the massacre and explain to us what happened?  We understand the background now, but we are running out of time, and I don't want to be unfair to other people.  I want to be fair to both of you, so you can tell that story now.