Human Rights Violation Hearings — Tembisa — 1996-11-28

MS MKHIZE: What involvement - they could see in which language he can speak, did he do anything, did he have any leadership problem within the community, because some people TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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might speak Xhosa but they might not be ANC, or they might speak Zulu not being Inkatha members, that's why we are asking what was he exactly doing within the community to show that he is an ANC member.

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: He was a section committee.

MS MKHIZE: Your child you described, how old was he?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: He was nine years old.

MS MKHIZE: When you found him how was he killed, did he have some wounds or what did you see?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: I didn't hear you well.   They way he was shot it seemed as though he wasn't shot with bullets.  It was like bullets which have got some salts which can stick on the body.

MS MKHIZE: Rachel you said that your son, the person who attacked and killed him was Amber, was this Amber a policeman or just an ordinary citizen?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: He was just an ordinary citizen, and he was an IFP member.

MS MKHIZE: Who saw him attacking the house which led to the death of your son?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: He was seen by my neighbour.

MS MKHIZE: Is Amber still around within the community?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: He's staying at Vusumuzi.  Whether he is still there or not now I don't know.

MS MKHIZE: When you say he was seen by your neighbours, which one, the neighbours who were just before you?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: Yes.

MS MKHIZE: Lizo told us that his parents didn't say anything because his parents were in hiding, he was the only one who was shouting after he was shot, how could he have seen that?
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RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: When I arrived in the morning my neighbour told me that her husband woke her up and told her that the Inkatha people are coming and when she woke up and she peeped through the window she saw them.  She said the only person that she recognised was Amber.

MS MKHIZE: What time was it?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: It was 6:20 in the morning.

MS MKHIZE: Was it visible that you can see a person coming?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: Yes.

MS MKHIZE: From your neighbours did they tell you exactly why the Inkatha people were attacking them?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: They way they explained was that they were looking for their brother to go and stay in Vusumuzi.

MS MKHIZE: When you say the brother is Amber from the Sokale family?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: Yes that's true.

MS MKHIZE: Where is Mrs Sokale at the moment?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: You mean my neighbour? We left him at home.

MS MKHIZE: Didn't he like to come before the Commission to give his view?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: I don't know.

MR LEWIN: Mrs Phalane could I just ask one final question because your case is something that strengthens all of us, the way that you have survived this double loss, both your husband and your son being killed in this way, how do you feel now, yourself about the situation, has the situation improved?

RACHEL KUNA PHALANE: I am hurt and I have got high blood pressure at the moment.

MR LEWIN: How do you feel, are there things that you feel
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we as a Commission can do for you?  It's all right, just take your time please.  I would just like to thank you for coming forward.  We would all like to pay tribute to the way in which you have carried on with your life in the face of such losses which must be so painful for you.  What we will try and do is investigate the reasons, try and find out what exactly happened, why it happened.  
 There's very little that we can say to console you except the fact that you have come forward and the fact that you tell us the story in the way that you do gives us strength, because it shows us how people can actually survive this sort of incident.  We wold like to commend you for that and to thank you very much.  And we are obviously there whenever you need us.  
 If there are other people who know about the incident, the details or information that has not yet come forward we would appeal to people please to come forward to the Commission.  Mrs Phalane thank you very much indeed for coming.