Human Rights Violation Hearings — Newcastle — 1996-09-10

WITNESS:   In 1992 it was about 10 midnight I received a call, a person who identified himself as Mr Thango from Eshowe.  He called for my husband, he said he wants to speak to my husband.  So I said to him, "You can talk to me because he is still busy."  So he insisted and said he needs to speak to him, not me.  I called my husband, and then after he spoke to the telephone he said to me - he looked scared, and I said, "Why are you scared?"  So he said, "Some people are coming to kill us."  So I said to him, "Let's run then."  He said, "Ja, we must run."  And I asked him, "Who are coming to kill us?"  He said, "Inkatha people are coming after us."  So at that time lots of things have happened from 1989 to 1990, and I could see that they were fighting with Inkatha, even though I didn't know why they were fighting.  I said to him, "We better run," and Mrs Dlamini said we mustn't run away.  And she said, "If you run away now then you'll always run away for life, so better stay inside the house."  So he said to me if he could die I must know that he has been killed by Themba, who is a member of Inkatha youth from section 1.  I said to him, "I think it's going to be difficult because I don't even think that I'll survive myself."  So he said to me, "No, we will survive.  They are just scaring us."  So he said we must go to bed, we must go to sleep, but I was too scared to fall asleep.  There was my child - his child actually, and a child who came to visit.  So I told them that they must close the windows and the doors because we are scared that we might be attacked.  At about quarter to 11 we heard a gunfire.  I am not sure whether it was windows.  He woke up quickly and went to the door, and at that time they were smashing the windows and we realised that these people were many.  I went to the telephone in my bedroom.  I called 92689.  That number was Madadeni Police Station number.  The person who answered the phone said it's not Madadeni Police Station, so I said to the person, "Okay, can you please do me a favour, call the "police station and tell them that in No 697 in Madadeni we are in danger?  People are smashing windows, burning, and many people are outside armed."  And that person said to me, "It's okay, I'll do you that favour."  I don't know whether that person called the police station, but what I can tell you is that it was actually at Madadeni Police Station.  They broke the windows, they broke the doors, both doors, and my husband said to them, "Okay, you can come in now."  So they didn't want to come in.  They started speaking to each other, saying, "You must go first."  And one person shouted out and said, "We've been looking for you for a long time," and this person said, "We must get inside and kill him inside the house.  And my husband said to me I must hide myself under the table, and he was now crying, and I could see that it was the end and I realised that all of us were going to die.  I really don't know what actually happened.  Those people who were standing at the kitchen door came inside, and then he left the house, he ran to the neighbour, and one guy shouted out and said, "Come this side.  Here's the dog this side."  And then they attacked him.  He was screaming, asking them what exactly did he do, why are they killing him.  They chopped him.  They had forks, spears, lots of weapons.  Some weapons I can't even name them.  I am not quite sure.  Other people are calling some weapons as bayonets.  And then one of them said, "Guys, you think we are actually going to kill this man, or what?" and then one person answered back and said, "Ja, we are here to kill him."  And then I realised that he is now dead, and I heard one person saying, "It's okay now, we've killed him."  At that time the house was on fire.  I went out through the front door, and I could hide myself in that smoke.  And then one guy said, "There's another target," and one person answered him back and said, "No, we've killed the person we came to kill.  We don't want to kill women."  I ran, and then two guys chased me.  I ran to a third house.  I hide myself under the tree.  They passed, they couldn't see me.  I crawled to the door, I knocked.  But people at that time were scared, scared for their lives.   They said to me, "Don't wake up.  Just lie down there as you are, because they will see you and they will kill you," and they asked me, "Where are your kids?"  I told them, "Maybe they have ran."  And then when my kids left the house they ran into the direction where they attacked their father, and their father was still breathing at that time.  He spoke to them and said, "Deli, where's your mum?" and they said, "She ran as well."  So he said to the kids - he actually asked the kids if I was still alive, and they said they don't know, and then he said to them they must take care, and that's when he died.  After 30 minutes this group of people went to Sikananda Mavuso's house, and they also went there as if they were going to attack him, but nothing happened except that they broke his windows, and I am sure no one got hurt there.  What I heard afterwards is that they were singing, singing a song that says, "Thank you, Father.  Thank you for saving us from sinning."  And then I stayed there.  They didn't want people to come as I was grieving, and then after a day police came.  I was surprised who called them, because when I called they said it wasn't at the police station.  Now I was surprised who contacted them.  When they arrived there they took my husband's corpse.  They came to me and asked me questions.  I stayed there until my relatives and my husband's relatives came.  Sometimes at night I couldn't stay inside the house, and I was scared because they used to come with weapons.  When I saw them I was scared, and people were also scared to come and stay with me.  On Sunday we decided to go to my husband's home where he was born.  That's where he was buried.  After a week I went to KwaZulu Police, I asked them if something was going on or investigation was conducted, and then they - because my husband before he died told the police that, "If I die Themba Nkabinde will be the one who would have killed me."  And then one policeman said to me, like he was teasing me, that, "Guys who are real guys are dead."  And I asked him, "All I am here for is to - I want to know what's going on.  Is there any investigation about my husband's death?"  And they said, "No, this is a difficult case."  I told the police, "It's not a difficult case because he told you who would have killed him if he died."  After seven months after I buried my husband I went back to my house, because my husband's family advised me to go back to my house.  After four months having been in my house a Ford Granada came, and people who were driving that car asked me if I am Mrs Madela, and I said, "Yes, I am Mrs Madela."  So they said, "Are you sure?"  I said, "Yes, I am sure."  They said to me, "We are referring to Madela, the one who was killed here."  So I said, "Yes, I am the one."  So they said to me, "We are here to tell you that we are coming to fetch you tomorrow morning.  Where you are going you will see.  We won't tell you now."  So I started crying, and the driver said to me, "You mustn't cry, I am Mr Matha."  And then the other one said, "I am

COMMISSIONER: /"Mr Mkhize."

COMMISSIONER: Mr Mkhize."  The other one said, "I am Mr Majoze."  I told them that I can't go with people that I don't know, and they said to me, "If you refuse that you will come with us we will take you now."  So I said to them, "No, I don't know, but I'll see tomorrow, but where are you actually taking me?"  They said, "You will see."  And then after they left I told my neighbours that, "These people who came here they now want to take me," and then I took my clothes, I left the place.  I didn't even know where to go.  (Pause)