Human Rights Violation Hearings — Soweto — 1996-07-26

CHAIRPERSON: I now call Letshaba Thomas Abiel Mohande to the stand.  I am sorry, Mr Mohande is not hear yet. If we could go to Nobelungu Leballo, please.
 We would like to thank you for coming forward to tell your story to the Commission.  We know that you are going to talk about your son, but before you begin your story, I would like to ask you to take the oath, please.

NOBELUNGU LEBALLO: (Duly sworn, states).

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much, you may be seated.  As is our custom, I have asked a Commissioner to assist you with the leading of your evidence. It is Mr Hugh Lewin on my right-hand side and I will now hand you over.

MR LEWIN: Thank you, Madam Chair.  Good morning Mrs Leballo, it is nearly afternoon.  We are very grateful for you for coming and we would like to hear the story about your son. Can I just ask one thing, that when you made your original statement, you talked immediately about the time that he left.  Maybe you could begin today by just telling us a little bit about him before he left and when he was growing up, and then tell your story.  Thank you.

NOBELUNGU LEBALLO: Thank you very much for getting this opportunity, because my heart is bleeding when I came to the Commission. I thought it is my right to come and tell the
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people about my pain.  My son was coming from exile.  It was only seven months, he was only seven months home. He was not working. As you know, the people that are coming from exile, they don't get employment. 
 I went to Mrs Winnie Mandela to talk to her about his employment. She said I must bring him.  Then she was working for the ANC, he was Winnie's driver.
 He was working there for Winnie, being Winnie Mandel's driver. In March 1992 it was on the 25th of March 1992, whereas initially he told me that they will be visiting Nelspruit, just before he was employed.  But while he was already working, Winnie said that the Jenny that I told you about, she said the Jenny I told you about, must go there with my friend. I told him that now you are already working, just let her friends go to Nelspruit alone, because you are already working now. He said no, mamma, okay, mamma, I won't be going.
 On the 25th I didn't see him. He didn't come home.  We went to sleep.  The following day I went to work and Tisetso didn't come back.  When I came back Mrs Mandela phone me and asked me about Tisetso. I said he didn't come back home, he told me that he will be visiting Nelspruit.  She said did you see the news on television.  I said yes, I just saw something like an accident that took place in Nelspruit.  I didn't think that maybe my son is also there.  She said to me come here to the Shell House because I suspect that something has happened.  I asked permission from my boss, I went to the Shell House.  Mrs Mandela said to me let's try and phone Nelspruit, and ask about the people that are involved in this accident in this Kombi.  Mrs Mandela phoned Nelspruit, Nelspruit police station. I didn't want to phone 
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because I knew very well that Mrs Mandela, if she is phoning, she is a person that people will listen to her.   She asked them about the people who were involved in this accident in Nelspruit.   She was told that their names are not yet published, but it was four young men.  She asked if one of her chauffeurs was there.  The answer was no, but they said but if you know his parents, they must not come here, the parents must not come here, because these young men were bombed.  The police didn't say that they were bombed, they just said they had been in an accident and they are not in a good condition, parents must not come, only relatives who can come and identify the bodies, because they are not in such a good condition.  Mrs Mandela told me so.   I went back home.  When I was home I told the mortuary.  We made the arrangements with my elder son and my other daughter and their aunt, with the parents of the other young men who were also in the accident, because they were already told.  
 They went to Nelspruit.   When they arrived there they were shown the corpses.  My daughter saw the other one who looked like my son.  There was an undertaker by the name of Sid.  Their bodies were brought down here.  The city funerals put them in their mortuaries.  
 We were preparing for the funeral now.  We received a telephone message, somebody called.  He was saying these other young men whom you claim is your son, he is actually our son, but we are so surprised.  His father now and the other father who is claming that the body is his, they went to the City funeral.  My son had false teeth. His father and the father of the other one, he put his hands inside his mouth. We discovered that this was not our son, it is 
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Gabela's son.  It became clear that my son was not among the young men who were involved in that accident.  
 We had to rearrange ourselves, because as you know that it is our custom that if someone is passed away, the relatives will also come and stay there with you.  We realised that Tisetso was not among the young men.
 We started searching for him. As a parent I was very hurt because I had already told myself if he is dead, he is just dead, we must just prepare for the funeral.  But if now he is not among the young men, I wonder what has happened to him.  (PAUSE).

CHAIRPERSON: Mamma, take your time.

NOBELUNGU LEBALLO: I started now, I had began with my journey to Botswana. I went to Swaziland, I went to Maputo.  My son went to Lesotho. My other son went to Lesotho. My other son was in Nigeria. He also came back. He also went with his other brother to Nelspruit.  They were searching for him in the hospitals.  They were searching for him in the mortuaries. In that particular place of the accident, the police of that area, they told him that they didn't know anything about this person.  My other son talked to the other police privately and asked what is it that they have seen.  But the other police said they have seen something but don't tell the other police.  The police left the place and told the other people that there are terrorists who are coming to cross this bridge, but these police were White police, there were no Blacks amongst them.  They told my son, my elder son and my younger son who was coming from Nigeria back, there were no Blacks here.  They were shot, they were bombed, they were burnt.  But they have shown the other dead people to the others and the people who were in
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the cells, Tisetso was not there.  They came home.  That was in 1992.
 In 1993 I started again. I went to Pretoria.  He had a friend there who was also coming from exile, who I heard that he also paid him a visit. I went there six times.  And his friend was arrested, he was sent to Central Prison. They made a plan for me to go and visit this friend. He was just confused.  He said Tisetso is around, Tisetso is somewhere else.  That wasn't clear to me. I came back home.
 In 1994 as you know that a parent will never be satisfied if she hasn't buried the son. I was always looking at all the young men who were of his age; this one looks like my son.  Even if someone is knocking I will say this is Tisetso.  
 In 1994, that was in October, on the 23rd of October 1994, when I was reading a newspaper, a City Press, Tisetso Leballo was blasted to pieces in Nelspruit. I collapsed ...
(PAUSE).