Human Rights Violation Hearings — Duduza — 1997-02-04

CHAIRPERSON: ... ask the witnesses to stand please.  Okay.  We are grateful for your presence and first I must introduce myself that I am not Dr Randera, who is supposed to be chairing the proceedings of the day, he will be, he will be chairing the proceedings tomorrow in Benoni and I must repeat, ladies and gentlemen, that we welcome you here.  We say to you, good morning.  You are all welcome at today's hearing.  That is we welcome you all for these first hearings of the year 1997.  It will be observed that we are starting the hearings at a time where the TRC is inundated with applications for amnesty and this is going to make the hearings the more meaningful and this is going to all go well not only for the TRC, but even for the communities that will be involved or they are going to get engaged in reconciliation, because reconciling from a position of information, reconciling from a position of knowledge of what has happened to the people, what happened to the victims is far easier than when we just talk about reconcile as though we say forget the past when we know that forgetting is very difficult, but we are striving and struggling largely for forgiveness and it is in this background that we are starting the hearings of year and it will be observed over and above that we are starting the hearings in this area, the East Rand area, which had carried most of the burden in the 80's and the 90's.  So with this I say, can we rise and get Reverend Friedman to open the occasion with a prayer, but he will be led, sorry.
OPENING CHORUS AND PRAYER

CHAIRPERSON: Could we, in Reverend Friedman's prayers, remember the Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, okay I will wait.  Can you settle down?  Thank you, thank you.  I was saying could we, in Reverend Friedman's prayer, remember the Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is lying ill and yet we fervently believe that sooner or later he will recover and be with us.  So this gives an account why he is not with us here today.  We will pray for him at all times.  Perhaps, first, I should introduce the members of the panel, but, perhaps, even before I do that, let me thank the Mayor of Duduza, Ntombe, for her services that show the welcome she extends to us, how hospitable she is and we thank you and your fellow counsellors.  Could you please stand, Ntombe.
 Then I would like to introduce members of my panel, of the panel.  On my far left I have Mrs Joyce Seroke.  She is the Committee member of the Human Rights Violations Committee.  Next to me is Dr Russell Ally who is the Committee of the Human Rights Violations Committee.  On my right I am flanked by Mr Hugh Lewin, he is the Committee member of the Human Rights Violations Committee.  Speaking to you is Thomas Manthata, member of the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee and before we can proceed I am going to request Mr Hugh to guide us on how to use the earphones.

MR LEWIN: Thank you, Mr Chair.  I would just like to
explain that we do have an interpretation system in the hall.  What we are going to do today is that through the loud speakers you will be hearing Zulu, but we do have these earphones available for other language speakers and the channels for those who need these, who have the earphones.  Channel one is Afrikaans, channel two is English, channel three is Zulu and four is Sotho and I would like to make the point that these earphones are very expensive and they are useless outside of this hall and apart from this system.  So when people leave the hall or go outside, please leave the earphones and the mike behind.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Okay, okay.  One further request with regard to the earphones is that could the young ones who understand English as much as possible give the earphones to our elderly people who may know just one language and, of course, give them to some of our visitors who may not know one or the other language.  We are requesting the young ones to be as gracious as all that.  Next, I am going to request Mrs Seroke to read to us the list of the witnesses, for who they appear and on what issues they will be testifying.  Over to you Sis Joyce.

MRS SEROKE: I am going to call upon the witnesses who are going to render testimony today.  I am going to start with Veronica Nukwindla who has come to testify with regard to the shooting and killing of her brother and I am also going to call upon Khanyisile Zulu who has come to tell us about the loss of her father Joseph Zulu.  I will continue to call upon Puleng Moloko, she will come and testify with regard to the necklacing as well as the killing of her sister Maki Skhosana as well as Titus Mazibuko who will come before us to testify on his own behalf with regard to the torture as
well as Esau Xaba who will come to testify on his own behalf with regard to the shooting that he went through.  Wellington Ndumo, he has also come to testify on his own behalf with regard to the torture and violation.  Sarah Mabaso who has also come to testify on her own behalf with regard to the bombing of her house.  Lastly, it will be Thelmah Gqinebe who will testify on behalf of Oupa Gqinebe who was shot and killed.  Chairperson, those are the names of our.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Sis Joyce, thank you.  Even before we proceed I am going to request Dr Russell Ally to welcome us, the visitors in our midst.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you, Chairperson.  Obviously, everybody who attends this hearing is a special guest and we extend a welcome to you, but there are also some others whose presence at this hearing we want to acknowledge.  The Reverend Elias of Bokwane, Reverend Sipho Mazibuko.  The Truth Commission has also been attracting a lot of international attention, people in other parts of the world are very interested in the work and how we go about dealing with the conflicts of the past.  So we are very pleased to welcome some visitors from the United States, lawyers who are interested in the work of the Truth Commission and have come to visit us.  We have with us Vincent Warren from the National Conference of Black Lawyers and Maria Scalia, Gene Callahagn, Mara Lee from the National Lawyers Guild, a special welcome to them.

MRS SEROKE: Do you not want them to stand?

RUSSELL ALLY: Do they want to stand so we can see who these infiltrators are from the USA.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Russell.  Without delay, yes, I have just been reminded that it is true it might may be too hot in here and we would have loved the people from first aid to be around here in case we have, you know, people who cannot take the heat.  So, yes, thank you, we have come to a point now when we are going to have the first witness and our first witness is going to be Veronica Nukwindla.  Veronica Nukwindla who is appearing for Vincent Nukwindla.  Veronica, you are welcome.  Who have you brought along with you.

VERONICA NUKWINDLA: Selby Nukwindla, it is my son.

CHAIRPERSON: Selby, you are welcome.  We hope you will be a strong support to your mother.  Veronica, can you stand and take the oath, please.

VERONICA NUKWINDLA: (Duly sworn in, states).

CHAIRPERSON: As I have requested already, Veronica, relax.  I am going to lead you.  We would request you to tell us fully about, is that your son or your, your son, Vincent, and what it meant to the family.  Can you please tell us about the death of Vincent and how you discovered his corpse.

VERONICA NUKWINDLA: Vincent, I do not know how he died, but we heard that he had died.  We tried to go to the mortuary, to the Government Mortuary to locate him and we found him there, he was shot.  On his arm his skin was peeled and there was no flesh at all on his hand.  There were bullet wounds on his head.

CHAIRPERSON: And then what did the family do?