Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-08-28

COMMISSIONER: Now, Mfanafuthi, your mother has told us the background to what happened, and exactly what happened to you, so we don't want to go through that again, because we are running a little late, we have at least five more witnesses, but if there's something that you want to add which your mother hasn't said please say that.

WITNESS:   You see, my mum was not present at the time when all this happened.  He took one other guy into his car.  No one saw this when this happened.  At the time I got injured, and I was told by my uncle that something had happened, and they said they wanted Thafu - that is my brother - and I was left by my brother.  That is where I was sleeping.  He told me that if I did not want to disclose Thafu's whereabouts he was going to show me.  There were six men who were supposed to have come.  He said he was going to show me as to where these people had parked.  Then he got out and he assaulted this man.  When I was shot I fell down, but I was able to look but I could not see anybody.  Then I went back to the bed and I slept.  And at that moment when I was still sleeping I heard somebody knocking at the door, who was one of the six men who had come earlier.  He knocked and I opened the door, and I asked him as to where the gunshot was coming from.  He told me that it was from section W.  Then he told me that there were certain people in a car who went around shooting, and I asked him as to whether he had seen who these men were.  He said he didn't see, and I invited him in to come in and sleep.  We slept on the sofa.  At that place it's a four-roomed house.  That is my friend's place.  I heard his mother scream, only to find that Siphiwe Mvuyane was there and he was assaulting this lady.  He wanted to see where Thafu was, and he took Sbu from the house and he said he should accompany him.  He is the one who was going to open up the shack.  They went to the shack.  They knocked.  And by that time I was already awake due to the gunshot, and I heard his voice.  And when I looked through I saw that this was the boy I was with, and he was with police, and the police were now kicking the door.  He was pushing this boy forward.  He had told this boy to switch the lights on, and he switched the lights on.  And I just kept on sleeping together with the other boy who had joined us.  He opened the blanket and he recognised me.  We were with Themba Khanyile.  We were at Themba Khanyile's place, and Themba Khanyile woke up.  He knew Siphiwe Mvuyane and he asked him as to what he had done.  And at that time he was scared.  He even asked, "What had I done, Siphiwe?"  Then he just kicked him, and he said they should all go because he did not want any witnesses.  When he tried to take his clothes with they hit him with the butts of the gun.  He said to me I should wake up and go sit on the sofa, and I told him that I would not be able to go out, he would rather kill me, because I knew that if I gave him my back he would kill me.  He said to me I should sit on the sofa, and I asked him what he wanted from me.  He said I should not ask him many questions, I must just sit on the sofa.  And I moved from the bed and I went to sit on the sofa.  As I was sitting there he started insulting me.  He abused me verbally and he started hitting me on the chest.  When I asked him the reason why he was hitting me he did not answer me, he just asked me where I was shot before.  I said on the knee.  As I was still answering him he shot me on my other knee.  He said to me he knew that I didn't die due to gunshots.  Then he gave me a knife and he said I should kill myself.  And I have five wounds.  I stabbed myself because he was pointing a gun at me, telling me to kill myself.  And I threw the knife down and I told him that I was not able to kill myself.  Then he continued to shoot me.  He shot me on the right arm.  I stayed there from 4 o'clock in the morning.  He did not take me to the hospital.  Then I realised that I should just pretend as if I was dead, because I realised that if he saw that I was not dead he was going to continue shooting me.  I pretended that I was dead, and I was bleeding profusely.  He left me there, believing that I was dead.  He was talking to a certain station commander, and he told this guy to keep watch on me and he went away.  As soon as he went away they also went away, so I was left all by myself, and I tried to scream for help.  I saw two men passing by and I screamed at them to come and give me some help.  I told them that I had been shot.  And they tried to carry me.  They wanted to go and find some help, and at the time that they were carrying me out of the house he was also coming back to check whether I was really dead.  I pleaded with the people to throw me down so that I could pretend to be dead.  I told them to leave me, and they left me there and ran away.  I could feel him trampling on my body.  He asked me who were these people who were carrying me out.  I kept quiet, pretending to be dead, and at that time he had come back with the station commander.  And I thought the station commander was there to help me, only to find the station commander was his friend and he did not want to help me.  The station commander said,  "Where is the knife?  I want to stab, Siphiwe.  I want to finish him off."  I did not answer because I realised that I was with them and they were not going to help me.  Once I talked they would realise that I wasn't dead and they would kill me.  And now it was in the morning and people kept on coming to investigate as to what had happened.  That's when I regained my consciousness.  I asked people to go and call my mother, and Siphiwe Mvuyane did not want anybody to come into the yard, but my mother forced issues to come into the yard to come and see as to that had happened to me.  I was lying on the ground at that time.  And my mother came and pleaded with some people to help me, take me to the hospital.  When they were supposed to take me to the hospital they took me to the GG Police Station.  They set the heater on they locked me inside the car.  But because I was injured I could not open the doors.  I was unable to open the doors, until such time as I had to relieve myself in the car.  They took me to Prince Mshiyeni Hospital, but they delayed there also, but I was ultimately admitted.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible) ... have a disability grant at the moment because of your arm?  Are you getting a grant or a pension from the Government?   Are you able to use your arm?

WITNESS:   No, it's not working.  My arm is not functioning.  There is no money I get, no compensation of some kind.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible) ... should apply for.  And are you not working?  You didn't go back to school after this incident.

WITNESS:   I cannot use my arms.  Even my mum has her saloon, but I can't - I can't work.

COMMISSIONER: (Inaudible) ... other committee members and  commissioners if they want to ask any questions.

KHOZA MGOJO: I just have one question.  You see this thing is so difficult and so painful, and it also affects us and is making it difficult for us to ask questions.  I would like to ask Theresa that your other son who was killed as a result of this violence, you didn't wish to say anything about him.  Why?

WITNESS:   You see, I could not comprehend and I could not even understand.  You know, I was in such a state I didn't know where to start, whether with this one or the late one when I was giving my statement, and that resulted in me forgetting about the other one.