Human Rights Violation Hearings — Mabopane — 1997-05-08

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Mojapelo, it has been a long day. Thank you that you persevered and that you are with us, even at this rather late stage. We do welcome you to this meeting and we are very grateful that you came. You brought somebody with you, would you please introduce her to us?
 ....not working? Try the other one. Thank you. I ask you to introduce the person sitting next to you, Mrs Mojapelo.

MS MOJAPELO: She is also Ms Mojapelo.

CHAIRPERSON: Your aunt.

MS MOJAPELO: Yes she is related to me, she is my aunt. I had some witnesses whose names were appeared in one of my statements but they are not here to-day.

CHAIRPERSON: To the aunt a very hearty welcome to you too. I would ask Fazel, Dr Randera to help you with the oath and then afterwards Dr Ally will help you with telling your story. Will you please stand and just raise your hand.

DR RANDERA: Mrs Mojapelo will you just repeat after me, I swear that the story that I am about to tell is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God.

MS MOJAPELO: I do, so help me God.

DR RANDERA: Thank-you.

RUSSELL ALLY: Welcome to you Mrs Mojapelo, you coming to speak to us about the death of your son, Stanley Mojapelo, and the circumstances surrounding his death which you, you believe need explaining. That they are very strange circumstances and that they may be political reasons as well. I'm going to ask you if you'll please tell us what happened and to focus on the...

MS MOJAPELO: On the 26th February 1990, there were some boys who came home whilst Stanley was still sleeping, they were comrades. There were some comrades who were from Temba location, they woke Stanley up, and I wasn't at home right then. They invited him to go and fight against the Bophuthatswana police because they never wanted that government.  They also went to wake Michael Moloi and Teba Molesoka, I can't remember what time they left, but as they explained to me it was in the morning at about 6 o'clock. They went to go and fight against the Bophuthatswana government. They went to Temba, that is they were from our local own village Temba. When they got there I don't know what happened at about 9 o'clock some children with jerseys on their shoulders came home. When they arrived they called me from another house where I had visited. I was taken to a black doctor. When those children arrived they woke my daughter, so that she could show them where I were.  When they told me that Stanley had fallen into the river, because the police were chasing them from the bridge at Morokolos on their way to Temba. They said when the police was still chasing them there were some police who came out of (indistinct) and they had no place to run to and then they headed for the river. As they were explaining to me Stanley was running in the front, when the police came from (indistinct) Stanley was suddenly behind.   When Temba said to Stanley "watch out" the police were already near by. They went into the river and they saw Stanley changing, they didn't know what was the problem with him because they were at that time being shot at with teargas canisters. While they were still in the river trying to cross it they couldn't. Some of them were hiding at the river banks. Stanley was together with the others were hiding behind the trees.  While they were standing Tebogo said he heard a lot of sounds, bangs coming from the shots fired by the police. He saw that Stanley was weak by that time but he couldn't understand the reason and he thought that Stanley had been shot because when the other police came from the other school Stanley ended up running behind. When he was still holding Stanley, Stanley got weaker and weaker and he called for help from the police, but the police said, "go and call Mandela so that he can come to help you because it is Mandela who you are fighting for".   When Stanley started drowning the other boys started coming out of the river and the police cleared the river, and Tebogo remained there alone because Stanley was in the river. All these boys who left before Stanley came and looked for me and they found me. I wanted them to go and show me where Stanley had drowned, they said they were afraid of the police and they wont go to Temba again, because the police would assault them.   Tebogo looked for me so he could show me where Stanley had drowned.
 We went into the first police station at the training college. When we got there we asked the police to take us to the Bophuthatswana police station so that we could look for my son. They said to us we don't have any pass to speak to those people or authorise them, go and ask them on your own so that you can get your son.    We wondered whether they were not going to assault us, but they promised that no they wont assault you because all you have to do is tell them you have been sent by us. When we got there the Bop police took us to the river but we couldn't find Stanley, and then Tebogo had heard that we went to the river then he came on his own so that he could show us where Stanley had drowned.    The police were still standing near to the river but they couldn't help us. We waited there on the 26th of February until dawn, until dusk and we couldn't find any help.   The following day when we came to that river we stood there and the Bop police couldn't help us. They told me that I must go to Central police station and I was accompanied by three ladies.    When we got there they said that they received a message about the boy who drowned  yesterday, but they couldn't help us, and then they phoned the lifesavers. On the 27th of February at about 2 o'clock the lifesavers came around. They looked for Stanley for a long time before they could find him. I just want to know the names of those police who were chasing my children because I believe that Stanley had been shot because the clothes he had on him had blood stains.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you very much for that Ms Mojapelo. Stanley was 19 years old at the time? That's correct?

MS MOJAPELO: Yes he was nineteen years old sir.

RUSSELL ALLY: And before this were there any other clashes that he had with the security police?

MS MOJAPELO: It was the first time  I knew that they went to something like that, but he had a relationship before with the ANC people  who used to come to him, those who showed me how they can be liberated from the Bophuthatswana government.

RUSSELL ALLY: So he was, he had been politically active for quite a time then, Stanley?

MS MOJAPELO: I don't have much knowledge that he used to go out from home, but I, he had people used to visit then because he was still a student then.       DR ALLY: Now after Stanley was, was found he was found almost seven days after, after he had drowned, in your statement you say that you, you were never given a results of the postmortem. Is that correct?
 MS MOJAPELO: Yes I was not given the results of the postmortem. I requested them I went to government mortuary in Garankuwa. When I arrived at that mortuary they said they will give them the results of the post mortem and that I should come and look for a stamp in Mabopane.  I was not able to get all the details then I went to (indistinct) but I didn't get anything in that regard.

RUSSELL ALLY: And did you get a death certificate?
 MS MOJAPELO: Yes. They give me a death certificate but they say it was a temporary death certificate.  Even his ID was taken by Mr Mashimite. The death certificate was not complete.

RUSSELL ALLY: Did it state there the cause of the death on the death certificate?