Human Rights Violation Hearings — Tzaneen — 1997-04-10

OWEN MABUNDA: Actually when they, they came to, to take the statements, the people, the TRC people, the statement takers, that's when we started seeing the photo's from the scene and the photo of a hand grenade.  So a hand grenade according to my own understanding is something  which you can throw.  I don't know whether it was planted or it was thrown.  It exploded while, while I was standing on the other street, along the street but hand grenade according to my understanding is that you throw a hand grenade, you don't plant it.

MS SEROKE: And before this bomb blast did you see any people passing around at that time?

OWEN MABUNDA: That area, I mean it was very busy.  People were moving to and, to and from.  There were people who were standing there.  There were people who were passing along the street.  I cannot differentiate between the people who standing and people who were passing.  Actually, after it, it exploded, there were people who were driving  motorbikes and those motor, those people used to drive those motorbikes.

MS SEROKE: So you saw the motor bikes just shortly after the bomb and the, the soldiers usually used to use motorbikes.   Did the soldiers use motorbikes when they came to Lulekane?

OWEN MABUNDA: Yes, yes they used to use my, motorbikes, a lot of them.  Some of them used their own vehicles.  When you see a very beautiful car, it was their own car.  There were people who came there and they found us staying there in Lulekane.  What the government was doing to them, it was, it was amazing.  They were doing it, a lot of things for them than they do for 773 and 113 battalion.  There was nothing they were afraid of.  That was one of the issues which gave us problems.

MS SEROKE: In your statement you say that many people were killed.  Do you know exactly the number of people who were killed in that shabeen on that night?

OWEN MABUNDA: No, I can't tell you the number of people who died during that day.  There was many people who died.  There were at least five but some of them, I don't know them.

MS SEROKE: But all the people  who died were the comrades that used to discuss the issue of the mercenaries with you?

OWEN MABUNDA: Yes, I can say so.  There were other people who were staying in Namakyale who were there too.

MS SEROKE: Was there an official  investigation about this bomb blast afterwards in Lulekane, by the police or by the soldiers?

OWEN MABUNDA: Actually if there was any inquest they should have come to me, because I was there.  I was the, the witness.   Whether there was an inquest or not, I don't know but what happened later is that there was some people who went to, to court, to appear in court and complainants were promised to be called to court since 1986 right until now.  Not even a single complainant was called until we started enquiring from the magistrate.  This  new government.  We thought maybe the TRC could assist us.

RUSSELL ALLY: Just to respond to what you just said now about that the TRC could possibly assist you.  This is actually one of the cases were our investigators have already started work.  We have the files and the documents.  It was a hand grenade which was thrown into this shabeen.  In fact there are people who were witnesses to this, who actually saw certain individuals moving around the place just before this explosion. They've actually given the names of these people.  Our investigators have been in, in contact with the relevant police stations with the army structures.  There was in the beginning an investigation into this matter from the side of the police but it was, it was not taken through to completion and, and we are actually following up on that and we are hoping to,  certainly before the end of the life of the Commission to be able to get some answers and, and in particular to speak to the individuals who were seen around the place and who were, and who were known to be part of the army just before the hand grenade was thrown into the shabeen.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Well, in the light of what Dr Ally has said, I have no further questions.

DR RANDERA: Sorry Owen, I just want to know how, you say your brother was in standard seven.  How old was he?

OWEN MABUNDA: Actually, he was born in 1969.  I was trying to calculate.

DR RANDERA: In your statement you, you state how this has affected you and your family, that even up to this day you feel that you were responsible for his death.  Can you just tell us a little more about that?  Or you feel that you were responsible.

OWEN MABUNDA: Actually, the death of my brother affected the whole family.  Firstly, he was never buried, he was never given a proper funeral.  It was just donations  from people from our area, the youth, those people who were sympathizing with us.  We never had money at home to bury him properly.  I personally, I feel that if I was the one who was killed by the bomb, he was still very young.  I thought maybe it was going to better if the bomb killed me because he was still at school.  Me, as his brother, his elder brother, I should not have allowed him to be involved in all this things.  He died.  There's nothing that I'm doing now to make him happy where he's, where he's sleeping now.  I'm even failing to, to buy him a tombstone just to remember him, you see.  Actually, it's painful for me.  It's painful for me, really.

THOMAS MANTHATA: When you refer to, what would you think of the other four or the otherr five who died with him, would they too deserve tombstones or a community memorial, sort of?

OWEN MABUNDA: Actually, I think it proper, because those people were friends actually.  They were my friend, my friends too.  All what was happening in, in Lulekane, it involved them, because it was just a township which was, had just been formed.  I think one of them could have been a premier now.  So, I think it's better if a memorial for them is built, because they died for one cause.

RUSSELL ALLY: Thank you very much Owen.  This is really a very tragic story, because there were five young people, most of them under the age of twenty who were killed in, in, in that incident and as I said to you earlier, it's one of the cases which we are investigating and where there are some very strong leads and we hope that if we are able to answer some of these questions, they will, will help you to, to come to terms with what happened and as Mr Manthata has implied in, in, the questions that he's asked you.  This is one of the concerns of the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee is how to restore the memory and the dignity of victims of gross Human Rights Violations.  So, what you have said, I'm sure Mr Manthata will certainly be taking this to, to his Committee.  Thank you very much for, for coming to speak to us about this event.