Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — UNKNOWN

MR LYSTER: Now, according to information that we have been given by our staff there were three more people who were going to be giving evidence today.  It's Mr Sipho Khumalo, Gina Mfeka and Janet Ngcobo, but we have been told that those people have not arrived to give their evidence ... (inaudible - end of Side A, Tape 4) ... particularly the witnesses, very, very much for coming here and exposing themselves and sharing their stories with us.
We have heard over the past four days - we've heard stories of murder, torture, intimidation, arson, assault and abduction.  These are terrible stories, and we've heard stories of high level police involvement in these activities in places like Trust Feeds, Mpophomeni and in Imbali as well.  We've also heard stories of alliances between these policemen and senior members of the Inkatha Freedom Party.  On that score we have sadly not had any evidence at all from members of the Inkatha Freedom Party.  The only person - the only two people that we heard, Mrs Ziqubu and Mrs Kunene, their husbands died in brutal circumstances.  Their husbands were both members of the Inkatha Freedom party, but from the evidence that we heard they stood up and criticised or refused to take part in certain activities of that party, and were killed as a result of it.  We wish that we had had the co-operation from members of Inkatha.  We know that there are many, many members of Inkatha who suffered and died over the past years, and we wish that we could have heard their stories so that when we report to the Government at the end of this Commission's life span we can present a full and objective picture, and we want to reiterate that we would like to hear from those witnesses.  We can guarantee that they will be treated as sympathetically and objectively as anyone else who has come to this Commission.
I'd like my fellow Commissioner, Dr Mgojo, also to say a few words in summing up, and I therefore now hand over to him.

KHOZA MGOJO: As Mr Lyster has already said, I also want to add something to what he has already said.  Firstly we want to thank you, as the community of 'Maritzburg, for your support in this Commission.  We thank your presence.  We appreciate the fact that you have come here to hear with your own ears when we try to cleanse our country which was spoiled by the torture and harassment, which created cracks in our community.
As from Tuesday up til yesterday we, as the Commissioners - there was only standing room according to our own observation.  Even today, on the very last day of this Commission, it's on a Friday, people are still full.  This encourages us so that we may come back to 'Maritzburg.  This Commission will end next year.  There are so many people from 'Maritzburg who've submitted statements.  We still have to come back to 'Maritzburg.  As we are here we are more than 100.  There are more than 100 who have already submitted statements.  We must come back next week to take in more statements.  This encourages us to come back to 'Maritzburg.
We wish that you may also encourage others who haven't come to submit statements so that they might as well do so.  It does not mean that when you submit a statement you are forced to come here.  You may submit a statement and you may have your case heard in camera.  
I wish to stress once more that as we are a Commission we are not directing or conducting a witch hunt.  We have been warned many times, because we are not allowed to take sides we have to listen to whatever we are told without showing a stance.  It does not matter which political affiliation you are, but we regard you as an element of human nature.  We wish that all of you from all angles of life, as well as from all political groups, to come and present your cases, because our main objective is to promote peace and not to conduct a witch hunt of any particular political group.  We wish you all to come and submit your statements.
I have stayed in 'Maritzburg for 17 years, I regard this as my home.  Secondly we want to thank the counsellors, voluntary counsellors who have dedicated themselves to this Commission.  Some have momentarily forgotten about their jobs because they wanted to be part of this Commission.  We want to cleanse our country of the deeds of the past.  As you see that people get so touched they get emotionally charged and they end up crying, and we have people specifically designated to deal with such.  Now we will need these people in future.  May you continue rendering your voluntary services.  We hope that this will bring you pride in that you have lended a hand.  We regard this as a privilege.  We regard this as a gift from God when you are able to help other people without expecting anything in return.
We also thank the policemen.  We are not talking about the past police who used to torture people, those who are working hand in hand with us.  We believe we trust these police.  These are our police.  We are very proud of them.  We want to treat them well, we want to respect them, because they are also getting into this new era, this era of change that is dawning.  We thank the police very much for having stayed up til this very last day. 
We also thank the interpreters in the little cubicle.  They did a wonderful job, because they made it able for everybody to hear every language.  If you could not hear English you could listen to Zulu.  If you couldn't hear Zulu you could listen to English.  We thank them very much.  May they not tire, because they are doing such a wonderful job.  There was no time where they did not do a good job.  They are doing perfectly well with so much perseverance and courage.  Thank you.
I want to thank the press, the media, as well as the radio.  I have just heard that these things are being reported in newspapers, but we never get to see these newspapers because our schedule is to hectic.  But we are glad that all these matters are being reported, they appear on TV.  They are being reported in Zulu as well as English so that everybody might be able to get a glimpse as to what was happening.  We do hear that this is being reported over the radios.  We thank the TV crew.  But I have a slight complaint with the TV people.  Here they are, we are thanking them, but they are controlled right down in Johannesburg.  Now it seems as if South Africa is only in Johannesburg, and other places are just stepchildren.  You shall remember that as the place is so full the people or the Commission that was covered by the media was Soweto, Queenstown, where their reception was not quite well, as well as the turn-up, but here 'Maritzburg was not fairly covered.  We feel that we had been hard done by because the media did not concentrate on us very much.  As a result your presence here was not publicised.  We feel very bad about this.  They were here, but we never saw it in TV.  Those who are here, we thank them very much.
We also want to thank the Mayor of this town.  We thank them for having given us the City Hall for us to conduct the Commission.  Before the City Hall was like heaven.  You used to only see it from outside, and you used to wonder what sort of people get into the City Hall, because then our Government - now we are a rainbow nation.  Whether you are black, whether you are yellow, we are one nation.  All that we have we possess collectively, we must share.  There are not those who should be dispossessed.  We thank the Mayor for having given us four days to conduct this Commission here.
Before we close we want to thank the Lord, because we would have neglected to do something very important if we don't.  There is what we call affirmation.  Here I have got Christians, but I shall ask one of the females or the women, because they have also been tortured severely.  Then we shall ask Mrs Gcabashe to close this Commission with a prayer.  May we please pray.