Human Rights Violation Hearings — Krugersdorp — 1996-11-11

MS SEROKE: And even the Hippos' were standing at the street behind our street.  Nkonza came into the house and he left for the police station.  That is when the Hippos' passed by and they were laughing.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Ms Seroke.  Dr Ally.

RUSSELL ALLY: Mrs Nomandla, you said that you were a member of the ANC Womens League, your daughter was part of the Youth Congress.  What about your husband, was he also a member of the ANC?

UNKNOWN: No, he was not a member.  He was not a member of any organisation.

RUSSELL ALLY: What was his work when he died, at the time of his death?

UNKNOWN: He was working at the Telephone Department.

RUSSELL ALLY: Now, I just want to ask you a few more questions about Mazimzims'.  You say initially they were Comrades.

UNKNOWN: Yes, that is true.

RUSSELL ALLY: Does that mean they were part of the ANC structures?

UNKNOWN: Yes, that is true.

RUSSELL ALLY: And then subsequently, how long were they in existence before this inicident that you are talking about?

UNKNOWN: They did not leave the ANC openly.  They were doing the things as if they were doing these things for the ANC, but at the same time they were working for the police.

RUSSELL ALLY: How did you come to find that out?  Was that
common knowledge in the community?
KRUGERSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
7 N A NOMANDLA

UNKNOWN: For me to understand that they are members of the Mazimzim.  They sent one man to my house to call me.  It was in the evening.  Then I said to them, I will not go there, they must come here to me because there are children.  Then that man said, why do I not go there?  Then I told him that there are the children if they want me, not me going to them.  What do they want to do with me?  That is when I realised that they are working with the police for that
R5 000.00 reward which they wanted.

RUSSELL ALLY: Now that leaflet that you mentioned that was dropped out of a helicopter or police plane, do you have copies of that?

UNKNOWN: Yes, it was there.  I put two of them because of the burning of the house.  Many things were burnt inside the house.

RUSSELL ALLY: Who was your lawyer at the time?

UNKNOWN: He is Hunief, he is a member of the ANC.

RUSSELL ALLY: (Inaudible) Hunief Valley.

UNKNOWN: Yes, that is true.

CHAIRPERSON: You do not want to ask anymore questions?  Mrs Nomandla, thank you very much for coming here today.  This story is, we are going to hear much more about this today and hopefully we can come to some sort of understanding about what happened in the community at the time.
 You lost your husband, a very important part of your life at the time.  We are very sorry to hear about that.  We hope that some of the questions that you are raising here today will be answered as we go along.  We thank you again for coming.  Is there anything else you want to say?

UNKNOWN: Yes, there is something I want to say because now I have a nine year old child.  His father left him
KRUGERSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
8 N A NOMANDLA
whilst he was not at a school and he is doing standard two.  The whole of his life, who is going to take care of him, because now I have got a problem and that is the reason.  If I die who is going to take care of him and pay his school expenses because his father could not do that?

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  As you know part of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is, there is a committee called the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee.  They are working on two policies.  One is what we call an urgent interim relief policy and the other one is a reparations policy.
 Both these policies will be given to Government and Government will actually debate and discuss it before they agree to the implementation.  We, as part of our work, as part of the Human Rights Violations Committee need to make further investigation on what you have told us before we can decide whether you are a victim.  Once that is done your name will be forwarded to the Reparations Committee, but let me say and, I think it is a very important question that you have raised, that we will be waiting on Government finally to decide on this reparation policy.  So I hope that for you and for many other people who are raising this question and this question has been raised many a time, that Government will hear what the Truth Commission has to say on this policy and some implementation will take place.  But it will not take place immediately.  Thank you.
KRUGERSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG