Human Rights Violation Hearings — Grahamstown — 1997-04-09

ENOCH MALI: He was Niki Nzima.  When I heard in May, I found out that he had gone off and committed suicide by shooting himself, but he lived in another location.  Then I said, no look, what about my blood because I don't even know why I was shot.
 And I am now going to an Attorney and I went to Dullab and he came to me after I was discharged from hospital on the 17th of February.  He was with Jack February.  Dullab is an Attorney from Grahamstown.

ADV SANDI: What did you and Dullab decide?

ENOCH MALI: He said that he was going to try and conduct this matter as far as he could.  We then found that the matter wasn't getting anywhere.
 On the 13th of January 1989 I came to Grahamstown and I found Dullab sitting there.  I asked him what happened and he said no, he got a letter from investigating officers saying that no such person ever existed.  I said to him, look don't pretend that you can't think.
 Everyone in Fort Beaufort knows what happened to me, how can you agree with something that you don't know about?  And he said that he was going to take the matter to the civil court, but I should pay him R250-00.
 I said look, take this matter to the civil court because I am going to hate this person for the rest of my life and so are my children.  And he seems to be targeting people that aren't very educated.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Sandi, excuse me for a moment.  There are
certain people who do not have earphones, because there are people who are making use of earphones without really needing them, because they understand Xhoza.  Perhaps they didn't hear me this morning, but I am appealing to people who understand Xhoza not to make use of the earphones and in stead make them available to people who don't understand Xhoza.
 Could the logistics officer please stand?  I would like everyone who understand Xhoza, to please give her the headphones.  And those people who do not understand Xhoza, could they go to the room over there and get earphones?
 I am sorry to disturb you, but I am noticing that a number of people are just sitting here and they cannot hear  what is taking place because they don't have earphones.
 Thank you very much, Ntsiki, could you bring your witness to an end?

ADV SANDI: Yes.  Mr Mali, let us round off now.  There is a request which you made in your statement asking for an investigation to be launched into exactly what happened.

ENOCH MALI: Yes, please.  The municipal police, we know who they are, they were criminals who were recruited  and dressed in the green uniform or the blue overalls, they had no education and they were given firearms.
 That is a bit problem which we had because these people are still there now and even at this point in time, these people are still given high posts.  So, we still have that problem.

ADV SANDI: Is there any other request which you would like to make?

ENOCH MALI: I don't know what else the Commission can do, but I would definitely like to know why I was shot.  I cannot
just reconcile or forgive without knowing.  Because we still live with these people.  My child is still going to grow up and know about these atrocities that took place because one can forgive, but you cannot necessarily forget.

ADV SANDI: Thank you very much Mr Mali.  Mrs Danster, we have made a mistake when we took your oath, we mentioned a wrong name.

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: (sworn states)

ADV SANDI: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Mrs Danster, you are here to talk about Nceba Danster, what is your relationship to him?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: Nceba Danster is my brother's son.

ADV SANDI: How old was he at the time?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: He was born in 1948.

ADV SANDI: You said that he was shot, can you please tell us what was happening?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: Nceba was shot on the 7th of May 1986.  I was at work at the time.  I was working in the Lukhanyo Day Centre.  It was after lunch, I've just washed dishes.
 I went out.  I saw people looking at the direction of my house, I then went out.  I went in to tell the co-workers that I was going to be back, I just wanted to go and see what was going on.
 When I was on my way there, people were looking at me as if they knew that something happened.  When I was about to reach my home, Nomsa Reysman came to me together with Sbongile Yantolo and Nomfundo Gabashe.  They were coming from the street of my home.
 They were coming towards me.  When I was passing them, they said that we shot Nceba Danster dead.  I did not answer them.  I saw my  mother sitting outside, calling Nceba,
because she could not walk.
 Nceba used to go at home to look after my mother because she was over 80 years old.  My mother just heard gunshots and she called out for Nceba.  She was sitting outside because if the teargas was dispersed, Nceba used to come and go home and take my mother inside the house because she could not walk at that time.
 I heard that my mother was calling for Nceba and I couldn't see where Nceba was.  At the house that he used to visit, the door was closed.  I went through the yard, I then went to the backyard, Nceba was alone.  He was red with blood.
 He was wandering around.  I went to Mr Nazo's house, but he was not there.  I found out that he went to Nondulu to try to a car.  I tried to take Nceba and I put him in the chair.  I was then covered with blood.
 Mr Nondulu together with other people who were coming to help, they came.  Mr Nazo said that here is a car, Makazi, because people referred to me as Makazi.
 I told them that we must take him to Alice because if we are going to take him to that hospital, the police will go ad arrest him.

ADV SANDI: Were you going to take him to Victoria Hospital?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: Yes.

ADV SANDI: Did you manage to get there?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: When we were on our way to Victoria Hospital, there is a village called Mxenge.  He then passed away on our way to the hospital.  After that, one young man who was with us said to me, it looks as if he has passed away.
 I then became unconscious, I woke up in the hospital. 
The nurses then told me that they will call the investigators because Nceba had already passed away.
 If I remember well, one investigator Memani came.  They took his body.  I then said to Mr Memani we are not going to go there and report because if we are going to report this case, we are going to be arrested.  I requested him to go and report this case himself.
 And I also asked him to phone my brother who was an investigator in Port Elizabeth to inform him about this.  We then went home, we left Nceba in Alice.  Mr Memani then went to give a statement, he then said that when he arrived Nomsa and her friends were there and they were saying that they killed him.
 They were not aware that he was already dead, they thought that they just injured him.

ADV SANDI: What is the relationship between Nomsa and Nceba?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: Nomsa was one of the Amangundwana and Nceba was a member of ANC Youth League.

ADV SANDI: How was the funeral?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: We were told to bury him on Wednesday.  My brother from Port Elizabeth said that that is not going to happen, we are going to bury him on Saturday.
 We were told that only 200 people are allowed and we told them that we have relatives and friends, so I told them that they cannot only allow just 200 people.
 My brother then told them that we are not going to do that.

ADV SANDI: ; At the funeral, were you disrupted by the police?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: No, there was nothing because my brother went
to the Station Commander, telling him that he does not want the police to come and observe the funeral and disrupt the funeral.  They were just there, they were standing in their caspers.

ADV SANDI: Was there any court case opened?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: Yes, in Port Alfred.

ADV SANDI: Why did this go to Port Alfred?

XOLOKHAZI DANSTER: I did not ask, but one investigator Gani came and told us that the case will be conducted in Port Alfred.