Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 1997-08-13

MR PURSHOTAM: Mr Chairman, may I assist the Committee in this regard?  The documents in our possession indicate that he's age was 33 at the time of his death.

CHAIRPERSON: Are there any questions to be asked at this stage?

MS VAN DER WALT: No questions.
NO QUESTIONS BY MS VAN DER WALT

MR WILKINSON: No questions, thank you Mr Chairman.
NO QUESTIONS BY MR WILKINSON

MR PRINSLOO: No questions.

MR PURSHOTAM: Mr Chairman, I now propose to call William Lwambo.

UNKNOWN: (sworn states)

MR PURSHOTAM: Thank you Mr Chairman.   Mr Lwambo, are you the father of deceased Jabulani Lwambo?

UNKNOWN: Yes, I am.

MR PURSHOTAM: Did Jabulani die in the incident where a bus was shot at?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

MR PURSHOTAM: Did he support you while he worked?

UNKNOWN: Yes.  He was my first born.

MR PURSHOTAM: How old was he at the time of his death?

UNKNOWN: 27 years old.

MR PURSHOTAM: Did he have any children?

UNKNOWN: Yes, he had two kids.

MR PURSHOTAM: Who's supporting them at the moment?

UNKNOWN: No-one.

MR PURSHOTAM: Who is supporting  you at the moment?

UNKNOWN: No-one.  And I'm now ill.  There's no one who is taking care.  My wife is not working and my kids are no longer at school because there's no-one who can maintain us.

MR PURSHOTAM: What is your attitude towards the applications for amnesty before this Committee?

UNKNOWN: These three men that I'm hearing - they're asking for amnesty - they don't give me peace, they don't give me rest.  What's very important is that I know that these people who died will never come back again.  Even if I say I don't forgive them, even if I say I forgive them, we will never have our children back.  We need someone to help us - to compensate us.

MR PURSHOTAM: Have any of the applicants approached you and asked for forgiveness?

UNKNOWN: Not even a single day from September 1991, no-one came and apologised.

MR PURSHOTAM: Have they apologised to you while you're sitting in the hall here today?

UNKNOWN: No.

MR PURSHOTAM: Have they written any letters to you asking for forgiveness?

UNKNOWN: No letter was written to me.

MR PURSHOTAM: Thank you Mr Chairman, that is all.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR PURSHOTAM

CHAIRPERSON: Any questions to put to this witness?

MS VAN DER WALT: No questions.
NO QUESTIONS BY MS VAN DER WALT

MR WILKINSON: No questions, thank you Mr Chairman.
NO QUESTIONS BY MR WILKINSON

MR PRINSLOO: No questions, thank you Mr Chairman.
NO QUESTIONS BY MR PRINSLOO

SISI KHAMPEPE: How old were the children of the deceased, the two children that you have mentioned?

UNKNOWN: One is seven years old, one is six years old.

SISI KHAMPEPE: Who's presently looking after them Mr Lwambo?  Are they in your care?

UNKNOWN: They are staying with their mothers because he wasn't married today.  One lady came, the mother of one child came and asked for money on Friday which it's something that they do.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, Mr Lwambo, thank you very much.
WITNESS EXCUSED

MR PURSHOTAM: Thank you Mr Chairman.  I now propose to call Zithulele Doyesa.

ZITHULELE DOYESA: (sworn states)

MR PURSHOTAM: Thank you Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: How do you spell the surname?

MR PURSHOTAM: The surname is spelt D-O-Y-E-S-A.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.

MR PURSHOTAM: Mr Doyesa, is it correct that your father was on the bus on the day of the incident and died as a result of the injuries which he sustained?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: That is correct.

MR PURSHOTAM: What was the name of your father?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: He was Pukuese Doyesa.

MR PURSHOTAM: How old was he at the time of the incident?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: He was born in 1930, in October 1930.

ADV DE JAGER: Sorry Sir, I don't know whether you've seen the indictment and I can't find the name of his father amongst the deceased.

CHAIRPERSON: Number 15 of the injured.

ADV DE JAGER: Oh, the injured.

ZITHULELE DOYESA: No English translation.

MR PURSHOTAM: Is it correct that your father did not die on the spot but died later in hospital?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: That is true.

MR PURSHOTAM: How many brothers and sisters do you have?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: There's two of us.  I've got an elder brother and then it's me.

MR PURSHOTAM: And did your father support any of you at the time of the incident?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: We were also working.  My brother was working and I was also working.  We were maintaining him at the time but he was still working.  Then I was maintaining him at the time of his death.

MR PURSHOTAM: Did your father support your mother at the time of the incident?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: That is correct.

MR PURSHOTAM: So, are you saying that your father would have given up employment very soon after the date of the incident, had he lived?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: I think so.  I think that was the case because he was about to get his pension.

MR PURSHOTAM: What is your attitude to the applications for amnesty before this Committee?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: The way I hear them expressing themselves, there is absolutely no way that I can forgive them because they show no remorse whatsoever.  They just show that they had contempt for us and they did this purposely - they planned it.

MR PURSHOTAM: Have any of them approached you and asked for forgiveness, today or yesterday?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: There is no-one who ever came to me asking for forgiveness.

MR PURSHOTAM: Have any of them written letters to you, asking for forgiveness?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: No, there's no-one who ever wrote me a letter.

MR PURSHOTAM: That is all Mr Chairman.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR PURSHOTAM

MS VAN DER WALT: No questions.
NO QUESTIONS BY MS VAN DER WALT

MR WILKINSON: Mr Doyesa, when did your father die?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: He died in 1994, May on the 26th.

MR WILKINSON: Do you know what was the cause of his death?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: Yes, I do know.

MR WILKINSON: What was the cause?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: That was subsequent to the attack that we are talking about now.  He got paralysed thereafter.  His left foot was no longer working and he continued working but one day when he was going to work, he could not walk properly and a car hit him because he could no longer walk properly or fast after the accident or after the attack.  He was killed by being hit by a car.

MR WILKINSON: Did you or your family file a claim against the person driving the motorcar?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: Yes, we did but the case is still on.  We are still attending
the case with my brother because there's nothing that we had been told so far.

MR WILKINSON: So Doyesa, if any of the applicants had shown remorse, would you have forgiven them?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: Yes, I would have been prepared to forgive but I hear the manner in which they address the Commission, as well as the manner in which they present their story.  They show no remorse whatsoever.

MR WILKINSON: No further questions.  Thank you Mr Chairman.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR WILKINSON

MR PRINSLOO: No questions, Mr Chairman.
NO QUESTIONS BY MR PRINSLOO

BERNARD MAKGABO NGOEPE: What was the cause of the paralysis in his leg?  Was it the injury sustained on that day or was it something else?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: Yes, it was subsequent to the attack that took place.  He got injured during this attack when they were being shot.  He was shot behind the ear and the bullet went and got stuck in the nose.  He was also shot on his foot - that this the leg.  Thereafter he could not be able to walk properly and he could not walk fast.

JUDGE WILSON: What work was he doing?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: He was working at NCP at Umgeni.

JUDGE WILSON: Doing what?

ZITHULELE DOYESA: They were mixing concrete - they were mixing beer.  Apparently he was working at the brewery.   They were making ingredients
for home-brewed beer.

CHAIRPERSON: Any re-examination?

MR PURSHOTAM: No Mr Chairman, that is all.
NO RE-EXAMINATION BY MR PURSHOTAM.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, thank you very much.
WITNESS EXCUSED

MR PURSHOTAM: Mr Chairman, I now propose to call Patricia Mbatha.

UNKNOWN: (sworn states)