Human Rights Violation Hearings — Grahamstown — 1997-04-08

CHAIRPERSON: Which one of you is Mrs Temtem Kuhlane

TEMTEM KUHLANE: I am.

CHAIRPERSON: And who is the lady accompanying you.

TEMTEM KUHLANE: Evelyn Muhane.

CHAIRPERSON: Are you also going to testify or have you just come to accompany her?

EVELYN MUHANE: I have accompanied her, but there will be certain details which I will be adding.

REV XUNDU: Thank you very much.  We would like you both to stand so that we can get you to take the prescribed.  We would like to ask you, Temtem Kuhlane, to stand.

TEMTEM KUHLANE: (Duly sworn in, states).

REV XUNDU: Thank you very much.  Evelyn Muhane, could you please stand.

EVELYN MUHANE: (Duly sworn in, states).

REV XUNDU: Thank you very much.  They have both been sworn in, Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: We thank you and we would like to ask Ms Tiny Maya to lead your testimony by way of questions.

MS MAYA: Thank you Chairperson.  Firstly, I would like to greet you Mrs Kuhlane.  You are going to tell us about Mntunyane.  Is his name Mntunyane or Mntuntyane?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: His name is Mntunyane.

MS MAYA: What was Mntunyane to you?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: This child had come from Port Elizabeth and was staying by me.  That was, one afternoon when a boy by the name of Michael came there looking for Mntunyane and I said that he was not there.  He wanted to know where he was and I said he had gone to herd the cattle.  He left and Mntunyane came back.  Late that night this boy knocked on the door and I heard when they closed the door.  I slept.  His father was still alive then.  At sunrise I went to his room, found that he was not there and I sat and waited for him to return.  We all sat outside and waited.  Then a police car came driven by Putumeni and stopped in front of us, in front of our house and I was called.  Putumeni said something and left.  I was called back inside the house and told that Putumeni had come to tell us that Mtunyane had been shot dead.  He was my first born son.
 During the week a pile of clothes was brought to me.  It was red with blood.  I took the clothes and put them outside and that is all.

MS MAYA: Can I just take you back a bit.  How old was Mntunyane?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: He was a young man.  Although he was unmarried and he did not have any children.  He was not married yet, but he did have children.

MS MAYA: Was he in any way politically active at the time when he was shot?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: Yes, he was.

MS MAYA: In which way?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: He was involved in the youth organisation.

MS MAYA: Do you remember the name of the organisation with which he was involved?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: While he was at school he was part of COSAS and when he started working, I am not sure whether I should say he was in the youth or what, but he was involved in politics.

MS MAYA: Did he ever encounter any problems with the leaders in the community?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: No, but I do not know whether to refer to him as a policeman or as a councillor, whether he was a policeman or a councillor, but his name was Ntsikelelo.  He was here in Grahamstown and he would come there and it was evident that this child who had come to the house had heard that he was going to come and that he had come so that they should go and attack him, because the following day this woman came to tell us what happened.

MS MAYA: Who had come to go and attack who?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: This boy that this lady said his name was Michael came later that, had been there earlier the day and came there that evening.

MS MAYA: Do you know Michael's surname?  Does he live in the area?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: Yes.

MS MAYA: Would you be able to remember later what his surname and details are?  Is he still there?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: Yes, he is still there.

MS MAYA: If possible, we would like you to provide us with his details later.  What did you hear, what else did you hear when you were told the child had been injured?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: We were told that he had been shot and that the police had gone to fetch him.  This is what we were told the following day.  We were told that an ambulance had been called and the police had also come and that the ambulance was escorted by police vans.  We thought that he was taken to the hospital and we phoned the hospital and we were told that there was no such person.  In the meantime he had been taken to the police mortuary and, from what we heard, he was taken like a dog and just thrown there.

MS MAYA: Did you ever hear who shot him?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: This woman who says that he was shot in our house told us.

MS MAYA: Who did she say shot him?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: She said Ntsikelelo shot him.

MS MAYA: Do you know what Ntsikelelo's surname is?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: Yes, his surname is Botha.

MS MAYA: What did she say what happened?  Why was he shot?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: He was shot because they objected to the presence of councillors and police at that stage and it was known that he was going to come to the location and that is why the youth got together and went there.

MS MAYA: As far as you know was anyone else injured in this shooting incident?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: He was the only one who was struck, the others all survived.

MS MAYA: Is there anything else you would like to add?

EVELYN MUHANE: Do you mean a complaint or something?

MS MAYA: Possibly a request which you have or a wish you would like to express.

EVELYN MUHANE: I have spoken to my sister and she has expressed a wish that she be assisted with these children, because she received his corpse and she buried him in spite of their not having been any official post mortem report or an inquest saying how he died or whatever and there was no official inquest and there was no one prosecuted.

MS MAYA: Did you ever go to attornies?

EVELYN MUHANE: I was called, I was never called.  It would have been better if I was called to see that he was dead, but I was never called to identify him.  Not even in his coffin.

MS MAYA: Was there any reason why?

EVELYN MUHANE: I would say that it was because of the grief, because at the time his father was still alive, but he was also very mixed up at the time and preferred that we rather not see him.

MS MAYA: How old are his children now?

EVELYN MUHANE: They have already been circumcised.  Two have been circumcised and the one has not, they are still studying.

MS MAYA: So, there are still expenses involved in educating them.  Are they living with his mother?

EVELYN MUHANE: Two of them are living with her and the other one does not.

MS MAYA: Thank you very much.  Is that all you would like to say?

EVELYN MUHANE: Yes.

MS MAYA: Mrs Kuhlane, is there anything you would like to add?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: No, that is all.

MS MAYA: Thank you very much.  I would like to hand you back to the Chairperson.  Perhaps there are other questions which they would like to put to you.

CHAIRPERSON: Ntsiki Sandi.

ADV SANDI: Thank you Chairperson.  Mamas I would like to ask you, apart from Kuhlane, is there any, did Mntunyane use any other names.

TEMTEM KUHLANE: in the location he was known as Beggar, but in his identification document he uses the name Mntunyane.

ADV SANDI: At the time when Mr Botha appeared in court in connection with these charges did you ever attend?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: No, we were never informed and we never attended.

ADV SANDI: This Mafu in whose house this took place, who is she?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: I think she is Botha's mother-in-law.

ADV SANDI: Is her house close to where your house is?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: Yes, it is not too far.  We get along well.  They live in the area.

CHAIRPERSON: The testimony which you have given that this person who killed him was or the person who saw him being killed, who did you say it was?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: I would say that it was the woman who came to our house to tell us?

CHAIRPERSON: Who is she?

TEMTEM KUHLANE: That is the mother of the Mafu home.  I do not know what her names are, because when we call her we call here Mama Nenye.