Human Rights Violation Hearings — Heiderveld — 1996-04-24

DR BORAINE: The next witness before the Commission is Thelma Melane, I would ask her to come forward please.  Ms Melane can you hear me all right.

MS MELANE: Yes sir.

DR BORAINE: You can hear me, and you can hear the translation all right.

MS MELANE: Yes sir.

DR BORAINE: Good, thank you very much.  First let met welcome you very warmly to the Commission this afternoon.  I am going to ask you a few questions to help you tell the story that you have brought with you and which you have carried in your heart and mind since 1984.  But before that, I have to ask you to take the oath.  So if you will please stand.
NOMPUTUMO THELMA MELANE Duly sworn states

DR BORAINE: Please sit down.  Ms Melane you have somebody with you - next to you.

MS MELANE: Yes there is, she is a woman who was there at the time when my brother was killed.  She is a witness, she is an eye witness when my brother was shot.

DR BORAINE: Can you tell me her name please.

MS MELANE: Her name is Priscila - Patricia Glepu.

DR BORAINE: And you want her to give evidence as well today.

MS MELANE: Yes I would like her to make her statement as well.

DR BORAINE: Could you - I'll think you'll have to repeat that name because I didn't catch it, just the last name if you could tell me again please.

MS MELANE: She is Patricia Glepu.

DR BORAINE: [indistinct] Glepu - Ms Glepu.  I am going to ask you Ms Glepu can you hear me, Ms Glepu you are also going to speak today, so I also have to ask you to take the oath, so if you will please stand.
PATRICIA GLEPU Duly sworn states

DR BORAINE: Thank you.  Ms Melane you are going to tell us about your brother and what happened to him but before you do that, perhaps you could tell us just a little bit about yourself and about your family and where you come from and who you are just so that we can get to know you.

MS MELANE: My name is Nomputumo Thelma Melane, I live at Khyaelitsha at Litter Park.  I am here representing my father who is now in the Transkei.  When I heard that we are going to get help, there are people who are trying to find out the truth from the past, so I decided let me come here and represent my father.  Because I didn't want his son's case just to disappear like it did.

DR BORAINE: [indistinct] is there anything else you'd like to tell us before we start the story and what happened to your brother.  Do you have a family?

MS MELANE: I have a father and a mother and brothers and a sister.   And a husband and children.

DR BORAINE: Thank you very much, your brother's name was Ginana.

MS MELANE: He was Ginana Vellem.

DR BORAINE: So you had a very distressing experience which started on the 19th of February 1984.  It was a Sunday afternoon, can you tell us what happened please.

MS MELANE: Yes I am going to tell you.  It was on a Sunday afternoon when my brother was shot, that time I was living at Langa.  I was fetched by my sister-in-law he was his - with her husband, they told me that I am being wanted at home.  I was quite shocked to see them.
 I asked them is there anything that happened they didn't tell me anything, they just took me.  Then we went to Guguletu.  I didn't go straight home, because my home is also in the same vicinity.  My sister-in-law took me to his - to her house.  I tried to ask them what exactly happened here, they didn't tell me.  We went home instead, when I got there, I found out that it was full of people and my father was on his feet and he was telling people what was - what had happened.
 That's when I realised that somebody has died, but I thought - I didn't see anyone - I haven't seen all of them but I could see that my father was alive.  He was telling other people that he was just resting on a Sunday.  And Ginana was sent to the shop by one of the neighbours to buy cigarettes and matches.  Ginana bought all these things from the shop.  When he was getting out of the shop somebody snatched him - a man.  He tried to free himself because he was snatched quite roughly.  He asked him what have I done, why you snatching me like this, no he didn't reply, this man.
 A woman from no 81, no 21 Ms Johnny that is her name, asked this man what has this child done, but the man didn't say anything.  But he went up the street with him, the street that leads to 83.  This woman tried to free my brother from this man, while my brother wanted to free himself, and this man took something from his waist only to find out it was a gun.  Then my brother managed to free himself.  He stepped back, no he didn't run, he was stepping back, he - this man shot him the first time on his chest.  And my brother asked what have I done, he shot him again the second time but he missed.  Now that bullet went straight to no 8.
 My father heard the first shot, he heard the second shot too.  And now he could see now his son coming approaching the house.  He got up and said isn't that my son, falling down there.  Then my father shouted no that is my son, leave him alone.  The shot went again on this - on the third shot my brother fell down.  Then my father threw himself over - over my - over my brother.
 My brother was asking what have I done and this man was still standing over him and he still wanted to shoot but now he ran out of bullets and he was pointing at my brother's head.  The police van arrived and this man got into the - into the van - then it's then that we realised that this man after all is a policeman, even though he was in a civilians clothes, so he left.   They left my brother lying there on the ground.  My father tried to get transport to take my brother to the police station, but he didn't get it.  He tried to get other means.  When my father got back the neighbours had already taken my brother away, the whole street was out - try to help.
 So when my father came in, the neighbours had already taken my brother to the police station, so my father followed to the police station.  When he got there, he found that my brother was on - on a chair, on a bench.  He held his hand, my father could see that he was already dead.  He closed his eyes and then my father fainted right there in the police station.

DR BORAINE: Thank you for telling us that story, could I - before you go on, could I take you back just a few steps so that we can make absolutely sure that we understand, are you all right.

MS MELANE: Yes I am all right.

DR BORAINE: How old was your - your brother Ginana.

MS MELANE: He was 17 years old.

DR BORAINE: 17 Years old, what was the name of the man who grabbed him and shot him.