Human Rights Violation Hearings — Vryheid — 1997-04-17

MR LAX: You have very kindly given us the details of your relatives and your family, including your wife's details, and I won't - in the interests of not taking up too much time I won't go over them again.  One aspect we haven't covered are just your brothers and sisters.  How many are still alive?

WITNESS:   I have two sisters and I have one brother.

MR LAX: Now, the story that you're going to tell us about involves the area that you were chief of in the Nquthu district, and started in 1988.  It is quite a long and detailed story, and I will ask you to try and be as brief as possible but without leaving essential details.  Please continue.

INTERPRETER: We will request the channel to be tuned in, channel four, for the witness.

MR LAX: Okay, just one second please.  Can you just make sure that your headphones are on channel four please.  Can you hear properly now?

WITNESS:   Yes, I can hear you.

MR LAX: Maybe I can help you just by dealing with some of the early details.  When did you become chief of the Molefe tribe?

WITNESS:   From 1967 I have been the chief of the Molefe tribe. And that was after your father passed away.   ---   Yes, that is correct.

MR LAX: And these troubles started in 1988.

WITNESS:   Yes, that is so.

MR LAX: Just tell us how they commenced.  Sorry, there seems to be a problem with the Zulu not coming through on the main system.  (Pause)  Sorry, can the audience hear the Zulu, or is it quiet?

CHAIRPERSON: We will ask the witness to render his testimony in Zulu.

MR LAX: What we'll do is we'll just start again, and I will just confirm that you became chief of Molefe tribe in 1967 after the death of your late father.  These problems started in 1988 with the killing of your son, Sechaba Thobang Molefe

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: Please will you continue and explain what happened and how it was that your son came to be killed.

WITNESS:   There were problems here in KwaZulu-Natal a long time.  These problems started long before 1988.  These problems started in 1967, but the real problems started in 1988.  That's where I am going to start.  Early in the morning I was woked up by a friend of my son from Nquthu at Mkonjani area.  When he woked me up he told me that my son was killed at Nquthu, and he was killed by a policeman  between the Nquthu Hospital and Mkhize Hotel, and these policemen were two.  One of them I didn't mention on my statement, but he is a policeman from Vryheid and I am not willing to reveal his name at this moment.  They shot my son.  We went to hospital in the morning.  We started in hospital and then we went on to the police station, and that's where we found his body.  His corpse was in the mortuary so we couldn't speak to him.  What was said to me was that I had already depended on this boy of mine.  I wanted to take him to university because he was my eldest son and he was my heir.

MR LAX: Chief, you mentioned that one of the policemen came from Vryheid.  Where was the other policeman from?

WITNESS:  The other one was from Nquthu Police Station.  His name is on the statement, B B Gunene.

MR LAX: Please continue.

WITNESS:   The post-mortem was conducted, and the result was that - I was still a chief at that time.  The Government didn't come to me and talk to me as a chief after the policeman has done this.  Even the Minister of the Police in KwaZulu-Natal didn't bother to come and talk to me concerning this issue.  It was just over like that.  That's when I realised that they killed my son because they suspected that he was an ANC or rather a UDF member.

MR LAX: Was there ever an inquest into your son's death?

WITNESS:   There was never any inquest.  We were called though to come to court and the case was heard over three days, and then for the fourth time I didn't appear to court and I didn't know what was the decision of the Court, and I still don't know who was found guilty or who wasn't found guilty.

MR LAX: Which court was ... (inaudible)

WITNESS:   Nquthu Court.

MR LAX: Do you remember more or less the year that happened in?

WITNESS:   It was in 1988.  It went on until 1989.

MR LAX: Thank you.  Please continue.  The next aspect of your statement refers to your suspension and removal as chief, which happened in September 1989.

WITNESS:   In September 1989 I received a letter from the Government, KwaZulu Government, and I was told that I am supposed to leave my job.  I was no longer a chief, I mustn't touch anything.  I stopped working.  On the 29th of November the very same year, in 1989, I went to see the lawyers, CLC lawyers or attorneys.  We went to the court in Durban.  I was never called to go on the witness stand.  They kept on remanding the case, and my attorneys told me that the reason they are remanding my case it's because there is no investigation with regard to suspension as a chief.  And then they referred the case back to Madadeni.  In Madadeni they told me that the Magistrate - or the Magistrate from Madadeni told me that the decision will be taken at Ulundi.  After that Ulundi never told me anything as to what decision they came to.  I also asked my attorneys what was the decision.  I was never told.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... understand you, you are unsure as to precisely why you've been suspended and what the status of that suspension is.

WITNESS:   That is correct.  In 1992 I received a letter saying that I am being dismissed as a Molefe chief.

MR LAX: Is that the letter you gave us dated 15th of June 1992?

WITNESS:   That is correct, that's the very same letter.

MR LAX: Just for the record it's a letter signed by Dr Buthelezi as Chief Minister of KwaZulu.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... in terms of the relevant legislation giving him power to do that.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR LAX: And since that time your appeal hasn't been followed through or anything of that nature?

WITNESS:   After my appeal my family went to Ulundi and they tried to find out what was going on, and they were told that they will be told.  Again my tribe went to Ulundi.  They also gave them the same answer, that they will respond to them, they will write a letter.  Councillors and indunas also went to Ulundi.  Myself I went to Ulundi.  I went to see Mr Nyanga Ngubane.  I went there myself because I wanted to found out how long I am going to stay like this on suspension, and he also told me they will write a letter to me.  And also Mr Ngubane never responded up until today.

MR LAX: Has anyone been appointed yet as chief in your place?

WITNESS:   No one has been appointed from 1989 to rule the Molefe tribe, and that's actually a problem because there is no tribe which can stay for seven years without a chief.  Their grievances are not met.  They can't go to anyone to ask for things like building roads, building schools, or whenever people are quarrelling to resolve those conflicts.  People need a chief to do all these things, or to try to.  The Molefe tribe doesn't have someone like that.  They are still having a problem.

MR LAX: (Inaudible) ... move on next to the events that happened in November 1993, where your house was attacked, and if you can just give us a background to how that attack happened, what was going on at that time, and so on.