Human Rights Violation Hearings — Alexandra — 1996-10-28

YASMINE SOOKA: Before you begin we would like to welcome you for coming here today.  We appreciate you sharing what has happened to you.  Before you give your evidence I would like to ask you to take the oath please.

JABU JAMES MALINGA: (s.s.)

YASMINE SOOKA: I have asked Dr Randera to assist you with the telling of your story and I will ask him to now lead you.  Thank you.

DR RANDERA: Jabu, good morning.  Do you want to just introduce your friend/brother to us.  Oh, is it the briefer.  Sorry, my apologies.  Jabu, you have come to talk about many incidences that happened to you, starting in 1976 and going all the way through to 1986.  Before you tell us about that won't you please tell us something about yourself.  Are you married, what work are you doing, do you have any children?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: Yes, I am married with three children.  I am not working.  I was unemployed since 1983 when we were involved in the political struggle.  The thing that led to me being unemployed was the fact that I was involved in political organisations.  When I was on my way to work one day they told me that I was sacked, I cannot work because I am involved in political movements.  I enquired if there is any funds due to me, they told me that no.  Whilst I was still enquiring I was arrested and I was interrogated.  They wanted to know whether I know Keri who was staying on 6th
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Avenue and I told them I don't know him.

DR RANDERA: What work were you doing right up till 1983?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: I was working in a steel firm.

DR RANDERA: I want to take you back first to 1976 because that is when your story starts and then you can go on to tell us what happened to you in 1983, as well as the other incidences.  Can you tell us what happened on the 18th June 1976 to you.

JABU JAMES MALINGA: On the 18th June 1976 in the morning I was at home.  I saw a group of children passing by singing.  I was not working at that time.  They said we must come out and support them.  They are fighting for their rights as students.  They were against the use of Afrikaans.  Because they were black students we had to support them.  We started on the Third Avenue at the beer hall.  We were chanting freedom songs.  Then we went to the health committee.  Whilst singing there the policemen started shooting.  That is where the whole trouble started on that day.  We fought with the policemen from the health committee.  Then we went to the buses.  When we got to the buses the policemen were there, they were shooting.  We ran away towards the beer hall side, next to the cinema.  And when we got there there was already chaos, the bottle store was burnt.  People were looting alcohol.  We ran away up until Sixth Avenue and that is where they shot my friend there, on Sixth Avenue.  I was hurt because when I looked back I saw that he was just in a blood bath, I couldn't even see his head.  We ran off and then we got onto Seventh Avenue the policemen were fighting with the school children and I decided to fight no matter what happens to me.  I fought with these policemen and some police vans appeared from Eighth Avenue.  They were shooting
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all the time and that is when they hit me at the back.  And this bullet went right through the left arm, next to the ribs.  And they arrested me on 12th Avenue.  Bleeding like that they put me into a van and dropped me off at the clinic.  I stayed at the clinic from the morning and I was only attended to at about five o'clock in the afternoon.  From there on I was handcuffed and then they said they were taking me to the General.  I stayed there for two weeks.  When I got back I met Mtibi.  He asked as to are you still alive, I didn't respond.  I didn't respond to Mtibi's question.  They took me to Brits at the farm, there is a farmer there by the name of Makagala.  I was working on that farm with this wound, with no medical treatment.  This went on for three months and they brought me to (indistinct).  That is where I was released.  Nobody knew where I was.  I was scared to tell my parents where I was and what I was doing because my parents didn't like the things that we did as the youth.  They were religious people.  I didn't want to tell them because they would beat me up and chase me out from the house.  I didn't tell them about all issues about the meetings that we are attending.  Nobody took care of me.  From there on my father took me to the farm areas to stay there for a period of about a year and then I came back in December 1976.  I don't remember the date clearly.

DR RANDERA: Jabu can I stop you there again please so that we can deal with one incident at a time and you can give us the full story about each incident.  You say that on that day, on the 18th June, your friend was shot.  What was the name of your friend?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: His name was Japie, but I don't know his name, he was staying on 14th Avenue.  His family owns a dairy
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shop.

DR RANDERA: And he was killed.

JABU JAMES MALINGA: Yes, he was killed at that time.  I couldn't even see his face.  And even I couldn't attend his burial.  I was quite disturbed.  I couldn't even attend the funeral.

DR RANDERA: And you said you got involved in fighting with the police.  What were you fighting the police with?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: We had stones and dust bin lids.   From there on we ran away.  That is when they arrested me on 12th Avenue.

DR RANDERA: You also mention a Mr Mtibi.  Who is Mtibi?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: He was a local policeman here in Alexandra.  He was arresting all criminals.

DR RANDERA: Now at the Alexandra clinic, I presume that is where you were taken to first before you went to the General.  You had to wait for many, many hours.  Is that just because there were so many injuries?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: When I got there there were only five people who were injured.  There were not many people but we were just ignored and we didn't know what the reason was.

DR RANDERA: And then you say you were taken to Brits.  You were put in a prison in Brits or what happened there?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: In Brits it was a farm.  It belonged to a white man.  He was called Makagala.  He was planting - he was farming in dagga.

DR RANDERA: Before you went sent to this farm were you charged and sentenced?

JABU JAMES MALINGA: No, I was never charged, they just took me to the police station at Brits and then they told me that I had to go and work for this white man.

DR RANDERA: Okay, Jabu.  If I can just take you to 1978 and
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if you can perhaps tell us a little about what happened to you in 1978.   Are you okay?  Jabu?