Human Rights Violation Hearings — Sebokeng — 1996-08-07

CHAIRPERSON: Alishia Bukiwe Galela, Dr Faizel Randera will conduct the testimony.  He will also administer the oath before he starts.  Mrs Galela may I welcome you to the stand and I hope that you are comfortable and we are eagerly waiting to listen to your testimony and Dr Randera will help you with that.

DR RANDERA: Thank you Chairperson.  Mrs Galela you are going to tell us about Biyose Hamilton Galela.  I am going to help you as you tell your story if there are any problems.  But before I do that and allow you to tell your story can you please stand to take the oath.

ALISHIA BUKIWE GALELA: (sworn states)

DR RANDERA: Thank you Mrs Galela.  Mrs Galela this is your time, please take your time in telling your story.  You can go ahead, thank you.

MRS GALELA: It was in September in the morning on a Monday, but he was shot in the evening at the hostel. Or there was a shooting on a Sunday evening, it was an Inkatha shooting.  Then on Monday in the morning my husband heard rumours that there was a shooting at the hostel.  We had relatives at the hostel because we are Xhosa and we come from the rural areas.  Then he came to tell me that he was going to the hostel to go and investigate, see if the relatives were not injured.  He went out, it was at about eight in the morning, then he went heading to the hostel.  As soon as he had gone out I felt that I should also follow
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but I had my doubts.  Then he got to the hostel and there Inkatha had been inside the hostel.  There were clothes inside the hostel but I don't know what hostel it was that the Inkatha was there and they were watching the Inkatha so that they could not escape and at that time soldiers came to the vicinity.  They told them to come to a particular spot and they must sit down.  They said they must sit down and be calm.  Then they sat down.  They knelt on their knees at that moment, as they were still on their knees after a few moments they were sprayed with teargas, they sprayed teargas on them as they were still kneeling.  According to my child who was there she told me that she saw her father who was at a distance and the teargas affected their eyes and they were trying to run away from the teargas.  That is when my husband got shot.  It was on a Monday.  There was no transport because there was some sort of a boycott on that particular Monday.  There was absolutely no transport at that time.  My elder child asked me where the father was and I explained that the father had gone to the hostel and I knew nothing.  He also went out to go and see his friends  then he came back and asked whether the father had not come back.  I said the father had not come back.  Then he started shaking.  Then he started telling me that it meant that whatever he saw was the truth but I didn't know what he was referring to.  He went out the door.  I took a R2,00 coin and my intention was to head for the hostel because I also wanted to investigate as to what had actually happened.

CHAIRPERSON: Take your time, if you want relax a little bit or have a glass of water please relax and when you feel you are right to continue then you may continue.

MRS GALELA: I took a R2,00 coin and I went outside of the
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house and I went towards the tarred road, that is the main road because I thought there was transport and my intention was to go to the hostel.  I stood for quite a long time there waiting for the taxi and I saw there was some violence.  There was absolutely no calm.  At that time a youth appeared and asked me what I was doing there.  I went on my feet to the hostel because there was absolutely no transport.  When I got to the hostel I could not see anything amiss, I could not see any people.  I went back into the house, it was on a Monday and on Tuesday we went to search for him at the hospital.  We could not get him.  Then on a Wednesday we went back to the hospital and we tried to search for him, but we just could not get him anywhere.  Then we heard a rumour that if I couldn't get him at the hospital I might as well try to look at the mortuary.  Then I went to the mortuary to search for my husband and I got him.  He was dead.  As a person who disappeared on a Monday what was happening through all these other days because I only got him on a Thursday, what was happening to him all these other days?  Because I got him on a Thursday and he was dead already.
 We went to Transkei to bury my husband.  We stayed in Transkei and my eldest son who had seen the whole incident taking place came back to Johannesburg.  After quite some time we received a call that we were wanted in Johannesburg because the culprit who had shot my husband had been arrested, and we were wanted.  We had to appear in court.  My eldest son went to court.  The case was remanded and we were told that we would be notified.  We waited and waited to be called to go to court but up till today we haven't been called. But we got a Vaal Vision newspaper, we read it, HRV/810 that/...
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that my husband had been killed by John Booysen who was a soldier.
 Now my question is as he had been instructed to sit down and be calm why was he shot because he was not fighting?  
 The second question is at the time that he was shot he was kneeling down, he was on his knees, what had he done?  And after he had shot him, knowing fully well that he had shot him, why didn't he come to us to notify us that my husband had been shot and killed, because I had to go up and down trying to look for my husband.  My children had to go out of the school because I had problems financially.  Even today I still encounter problems.  Now I have told myself that I am a widow because of Booysen.  What was all the reason behind this?  
 Now I will request this Commission, I just want to tell this Commission that I do not have much to say but I want my eldest son who was there to elaborate because he saw this incident taking place.

DR RANDERA: Mrs Galela the pain is most certainly still there, just take your time.  Have you finished?

MRS GALELA: Yes I have finished.

DR RANDERA: Can you just introduce these two young people who have come since you came onto the stage, are they your sons?

MRS GALELA: Yes they are both my sons.  One was present when this incident took place.

DR RANDERA: Can you introduce them to us please.

MRS GALELA: The other one is Witness and the other one is Caswell.

DR RANDERA: Who was with your husband on the day?
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MRS GALELA: /...
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MRS GALELA: It is Witness.

DR RANDERA: Mrs Galela I am going to take your request.  Your son Witness is here.  I am going to ask him briefly to tell us what happened on that day.

MRS GALELA: Thank you.

DR RANDERA: Mrs Galela, Witness can you please tell us what happened.