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TRUTH AND RECONCILATION COMMISSION
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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

DAY 2 - 23 APRIL 1996



CASE NO:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;CT00706

VICTIM:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;LENNOX MAPHALANE [son]

VIOLATION:&#9;&#9;&#9;KILLING 

TESTIMONIES FROM:&#9;SISANA MARY MAPHALANE

&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;THEMBILE MALE



DR BORAINE:

The next witness before the Commission is Sisana Mary Maphalane and I ask her to please come forward now and together with her Thambile Male who I think wants to give additional evidence. Good afternoon Ms Maphalane.

MS MAPHALANE

Good afternoon.

DR BORAINE:

You can hear me through the earphones - can you hear the translation? Can you hear all right now, fine. Thank you.

MS MAPHALANE

Yes I can hear clearly.



DR BORAINE

[Indistinct] to welcome you here this afternoon to the work of the Commission and before you give your story, would you please stand and take the oath.



SISANA MARY MAPHALANE&#9;&#9;Duly sworn states



DR BORAINE:

Thank you, you may be seated please. And then Thambile Male will you stand please.



THAMBILE MALE&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;Duly sworn states



DR BORAINE:

Thank you very much. Ms Maphalane we will start with you, because you are the chief witness and it concerns your son - your son Lennox and again you have a very sad and tragic story to tell which is very familiar to what weve heard earlier today, but very-very special for you, because it was your son, who was killed.

Pumla Gobodo is going to lead you and she will assist you in your story, thank you.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Thank you Alex and to you Mr Chairman, mamma you can take off your earphones, but I am going to start and give the people here a small - a short briefing back information on all the experiences we hearing of today and in other days. Id read briefly what they tell us, by way of background into events that involve the lady who sits in front of us and the gentleman who is going to give added witness.

In early 1986 a group of men who came to be know as the wit doeke because of the white scarves they wore around their heads lead a continued assaults on squatter camps in Nyanga, Crossroads and KTC. It was widely alleged that there was police complicity in the destruction who did not act against the wit doeke and stopped the burning down of the camps and the daily killings of people. Indeed it was suggested that some police were engaged in arson and killing themselves.

Ms Maphalanes son was amongst those who were killed. This is what she is going to tell us today. Mamma you can take off your earphones. You too - you can also take off your earphones. Mamma firstly I am going to welcome you just like Dr Boraine has done. Please tell us briefly about you, where are you from, when were you born, and how did you come to Cape Town.

MS MAPHALANE

Can I start?

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Yes you can.



MS MAPHALANE

I was born in Somerset West. We came to settle here in Cape Town, my parents, when we got here my father bought a house in Nyanga, thats where I grew up. I got married, I got eight children, one of them now is Lennox the one who died.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

When did you come to Cape Town mamma on which year?

MS MAPHALANE

I was still very-very young. I was born in 1938. It was approximately 1940 I cant remember. Thabang or Lennox as he is known.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Where - which position is he in the line of your children?

MS MAPHALANE

He is the last - he is the second last one.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Can you tell us what kind of a child was he Thabang?

MS MAPHALANE

He was a student at Enjonyo to me he was a very good child. He like sports very much, he liked sport - soccer, he was playing for the Masarra Club, he really liked school, he was a very good child at home, very obedient. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

So you think that he - he was an obedient child?



MS MAPHALANE

Yes he was.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Which std was in at that time?

MS MAPHALANE

He was in std 5.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Where was he?

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

He was at Enjonyo High - Enjonyo shcool at Khayelitsha.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Where were you living at the time?

MS MAPHALANE

We were at Nyanga, he was living with my daughter at Khayelitsha at that time, because of transport. I asked my daughter so that she can live with Lennox for the whole week so that he can come back on weekends.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Did you want this to be convenient for his school.

MS MAPHALANE

Yes.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Were there any organisations that he was involved in during that time? 

MS MAPHALANE

Yes there was a certain organisation though I didnt know about it. It was a ANC youth organisation.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Were there any problems that he brought home just before he died? 

MS MAPHALANE

No there were none.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Were you ever visited by the police trying to see how was your child behaving himself in this organisations?

MS MAPHALANE

No.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

We would like you mamma to please give us a whole picture of how it was in the townships during this period just before you lost your son, just give us this whole picture of it how the situation was during those days.

MS MAPHALANE

In 1986 there was too much chaos, too much fightings, these fightings were amongst blacks. And also white against blacks, kids also involved, it was just a whole lot of chaos from January to the end of the year, people were dying right through, police were just shooting children day and night. 



MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

According to how - who told this - you said life in the township was just death and you ended up getting use to it. How did you get to work because it looks like the way you are saying this it was too much chaos for people go to work safely.

MS MAPHALANE

People did go to work, I - I work [indistinct] but we managed, we managed to go through these bullets you know, going to work between bullets. But if there were too many shootings we wouldnt go to work, we would call our bosses and tell them that no we cannot come to work because of all this fightings and violence.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Was that in 1986?

MS MAPHALANE

Yes it was.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Can you just explain to us again about this organisation, this wit doeke according to our researchers they told us that there are these people called wit doeke, that has white scarves.

MS MAPHALANE

These wit doeke people, were people from Crossroads, they were fighting with people from our township. But I cant tell you the exact reason for their fighting. There was this particular police - policeman always everywhere especially after - among the blacks. A certain group that would be victorious out of all this groups. He would be now - this policeman, Barnard would be just shooting at the children and he was accompanied by other police. &#9;Are you saying some of the children were also involved in this fighting?

MS MAPHALANE

Yes, the children were helping people of the community, people in - from our own community in the township.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Where was your son in this whole situation?

MS MAPHALANE

My son was not among the wit doek chaos. When he met his death, he was from Khayelitsha and Lansdowne Road. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Can you still remember where he was going to when this happened?

MS MAPHALANE

When he met his death he was coming to me at home, he was from my daughters place, it was during holidays, school holidays, so he was coming back to me. He was at Lansdowne - Lansdowne Road.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

What time was it when this happened?

MS MAPHALANE

It was around 5 pm.





MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Mamma please tell us how did you hear this.

MS MAPHALANE

The first time I heard about this, I was from work. When I got home, I switched on the TV, little after that we heard machine gun sounds. I told my children now this policeman have started again shooting and they were - the manner in which they have shot this morning I am sure somebody is dead.

At that time I didnt know that my son was on his way to me. Around 6 pm I sent his brother to the shop to buy bread. On his way to the shop he met Leon my neighbour, he said to him, my son is Matthews, he said Matthews, did you know that Thabang has been shot, Matthews said where is he shot, and then Leon said at Lansdowne Road, they were fighting. And while he was getting out of the bus, he was one of the people who was running away and he was one of the first people to be shot. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

When did you hear this mamma?

MS MAPHALANE

The same - on that same day, it was on the 25th of March.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Did you hear this from Matthews one of your sons?

MS MAPHALANE

Yes he was told this by Leon our neighbour. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Please tell us how did you receive the news?

MS MAPHALANE

When I heard that my son has been shot, I went to my brothers place I asked him to call the police station to find out if there were any children shot. At the Guguletu station they said no there were no children shot there, but what - everything that has happened has happened at the Lansdowne Road, we must now go to Phillipi station to ask. But it was too late for us to ask this.

But now since I was waiting for my son, he wasnt coming back so I thought oh this must be the truth, he is one of the people shot. Now the following morning at six oclock, I went to my sister who lives at Crossroads, I just wanted to find out from him if my son isnt with him - with her. So I came back on foot, searching the place of the scene, the place of the scene.

When I got there, I found blood all over, then I could see for myself no my son has been shot. When I got to Phillipi at Lansdowne Road I took a bus to the police station at Phillipi. When I got there, I asked the white policeman were there any children shot yesterday brought here by a Casspir? One of the policeman said to me I dont know anything, he said ask that one. He said I dont know anything, the other one said, ask this other one. They just did that to me, eventually one of the black policeman said to me, dont [indistinct] this woman, so I was told that a Sergeant will be the only one who can tell me this.

When the Sergeant came, go to the mortuary your silly children are in there, that was the only answer that I got. When I came back home I just told everybody that I was told that no I just have to go to the mortuary.

Yes indeed I went there where I saw him, yes he was really shot. He had a bullet wound on his head and this people were also telling me that he also had bullet wounds on his chest, they said when I asked to see, they said no, they dont have the authority to show me. So I simply left.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

I am sorry mamma I am going to take you back. What was actually the difficulty for you so that you cannot be able to see your son on the 25th of March.

MS MAPHALANE

Like I said it was already late, because we started at Guguletu station, at Guguletu station we were told that there were no children there, there were not shot children and it was already late now. So I went home, so I told myself that I am going to go again in the morning because it was already at night now. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Thank you mamma, I just wanted to make sure because at the beginning you said you dont really know exactly about this. So thats what I wanted to find out. When you saw him in the mortuary, what steps did you take?

MS MAPHALANE

I didnt take any steps, I just went back home, and I was going to prepare for the funeral. I didnt take any steps at all. Except that when I was already from the undertakers ANC people came to visit, they gave us letters that said we can go to the lawyers. After we had already buried our children. No we didnt get anything for their deaths.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Who were your undertakers? 

MS MAPHALANE

It was Mashlobe.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Was it in Khayelitsha?

MS MAPHALANE

No it was in Guguletu.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Was he buried alone or was he buried with others?

MS MAPHALANE

He wasnt alone, buried with the others, because he wasnt the only one who was shot, they were four.





MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

So this funeral was for four people?

MS MAPHALANE

Yes there were four coffins and the ANC came in to help. They helped with half the amount of money that we had to pay. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

About the lawyer can you remember him?

MS MAPHALANE

No I cant remember but he was in the vlak at Athlone. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Was that the last time this - you dealt with this?

MS MAPHALANE

Yes that was - I didnt go back there again. The last time we went back there myself with the other mothers, this lawyer said to us we must - he asked that we should come back to him, he said to him no there is nothing else that he can do. Because he already knew that the police were going to say that these children were throwing stones at the you - at the police, so there is not going to be any case. 

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Can you still remember the reasons on the certificates what was written in there - what was the reason of his death?

MS MAPHALANE

I have the certificate but I never really thought about - but I never read it. I never read what was written in there. I never took it even then, its only now that I took it, just now. I took it this month - I didnt take it during that time of his death.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Can you tell us what were the reasons why you refused to take his death certificate that time?

MS MAPHALANE

I didnt want to see a death certificate, I didnt want to see anything that was rated to this whole situation. Because this white policeman came to me and said you know your children who are sent by the ANC to throw stones at us. I am going to shoot them one by one. So when I heard things like that I didnt want anything to do with these deaths again.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

So when you left you thought oh! our - the children were killed because they threw stones?

MS MAPHALANE

Yes.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Mamma is there anything else that you would like to add - things that I didnt ask you, anything specific?

MS MAPHALANE

There is only - there is only one thing that made my heart break after the shooting of my sons, during their funeral, we nearly didnt bury these children. We were - we were tear gassed by the police. We couldnt go on with the funeral proceedings, we were helped by some of the priest from Rhema Church. They were the ones who talked with the police, they said to them you have already killed now this children, now leave them to bury their sons, it was a heartbreaking thing.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

In other words he didnt get a dignified funeral?

MS MAPHALANE

Oh! no.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Mamma I am going to ask you the very last question before I talk to Thembile end of Tape 9, side A   to - to us, what is your message?

MS MAPHALANE

What I can say to you is that I am very happy to be here to be called by the Commission so that the whole world can see and hear how our children died. I do not think that the children of this policemen could be shot by this police at 15, my son was 15 years.

If my - if people throw stones to somebody, those people should be just arrested instead of being shot on their heads and their chest and to scatter peoples brains around.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Thank you mamma, mamma I am going to take this opportunity to ask Thembile so that he can also say his piece.

DR BORAINE:

Ms Maphalane I want to ask you just a couple of more questions. In your - ja I think first put on the earphones, can you hear me all right.

MS MAPHALANE

Yes.

DR BORAINE:

Good, when you gave a statement and when you answered a question earlier, you mentioned a man by the name of Leon, is that right? 

MS MAPHALANE

Yes thats true.

DR BORAINE:

Was Leon a friend of your son?

MS MAPHALANE

He was a friend to my children.

DR BORAINE:

And he actually saw what happened on that day.

MS MAPHALANE

When this happened on this day, Leon was there too, because he is the one who came and told us. He is the one who came us - to tell us Thabang has been shot.

DR BORAINE:

So he told you and he told your son Matthews that he saw Lennox running away.

MS MAPHALANE

No what he told us was Matthews do you know that Thabang has been shot, but I dont know if he is still alive or he is already dead, but what I know is he has been shot and I know that he has been put into a Casspir, so Leon was the last - thats the last time he saw him. But he didnt see who actually shot Thabang.

DR BORAINE:

He saw it was - the - he was shot by the police?

MS MAPHALANE

Yes.

MS MAPHALANE

Did they shoot at him once or more times? --- He only saw that he was shot once and he fell, then he also ran away.

&#9;And he didnt see which policeman had shot him? --- No he didnt see which police was it that actually shot him.

&#9;Do you remember that there was a Court case at Wynberg? --- Yes I remember about that Court case in Wynberg.

&#9;And did you go to the Court? --- No I didnt go to Court, two policemen came into my house and said to me, I am wanted in Court at Wynberg, I said about what, in connection with what? --- They said in connection with your dead child, I said I dont want to hear anything about that, I dont want to hear about how my child was killed. I said I am not signing anything, then I closed my door, so they left, I never went to Court.

&#9;And the last question, do you - were you ever told by your friends or by your family or by the police what the result of the Court case was. --- No I didnt hear anything about the Court proceedings.

&#9;So you dont know who was too blame for your son being killed. --- The person I can blame for the death of my son was Barnard, he didnt even hide it to me he came to me and told me himself.

&#9;You say that a policeman called Barnard came to see you. --- Yes he came twice to my house. He came the first time and told me that if your children do not stop throwing stones, I am going to shoot them everyday, even on the day of the funeral, he came back to me with the tall - tall policeman called Panic, they told me we dont want to see any flag when you go to bury your son, everything must just go smoothly I dont want to see any flags. If you - if there are any flags you are not going to bury your son today.

&#9;[indistinct] when Barnard told you that he had killed your son. --- Yes he said to me I am going to kill your children every day. The first time he came to me, thats what he said.

&#9;[indistinct] did he come to after your son died? --- He came to me after my child was dead and again he came to me on the day of the funeral.

&#9;[indistinct] 

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you mamma, you can take your earphones off now. 

THEMBILE MALE:&#9;&#9;&#9;

MS GOBODO: Good afternoon Thembile how are you? --- I am fine thanks how are you.

&#9;I am fine too, thank you for coming today, we have been told that you are going to testify also because you were there and you actually saw this young men being shot. I am just going to tell everyone in here, as you saw what happened you were - you were also shot, ja and you have already witnessed. You are going around with a - also a bullet wound, scar on your head. I just want to - I just want to remind you that you are going - you still have to come and say your piece, but now you are only here to talk about mammas case here. So you said you saw what happened, please tell us what kind of a person was Barnard, just give us a picture. --- He was a short man, he was a boer you will forgive me I cant really express myself well. He was short, he was a short man.

&#9;Did he have beard, was he big was he small? Just give us that kind of description. --- No he didnt have beard no.

&#9;Was he short, was he big or was he a small man? --- He is just like this man next to you. 

&#9;Thank you, did you hear him once saying anything? --- Yes he use to speak Xhosa. He was - he was one of those boers who could speak Xhosa. 

&#9;What was his tone when he was speaking Xhosa? --- He was speaking Xhosa as a Xhosa speaking man. 

&#9;In other words would you say he was fluent in Xhosa? --- Yes he was.

&#9;Thank you, ma please tell us about this particular day, you were with this person - this man that we are talking about today, Lennox. --- I was from work.

&#9;Please speak a little bit louder so that we can be able to hear you properly. --- We got out of the car, we saw a big crowd. I got out of the car, I just wanted to buy an apple from Tyla. I saw Tyla.

&#9;Is Tyla Jabulani? --- Oh! no Thabang, we use to call Thabang Tyla. I said to him lets go so we left, but that was the time we were shot at. Now he was the one who was shot then I ran away. I was also shot, I fell, I lost consciousness, later I - I could see lots of boers. And I wanted to run, but one of the boers kicked me, he really kicked me hard - threw me into the van, he threw me into a hippo. He threw me into a hippo there were six people in this hippo I was one of those, I was the seventh one. Then I was beaten up, these people were also beaten up. I tried to escape but I have been - I was prevented by being beaten up, then I just got so confused I was - I was hit by the back of - of the riffle. 

&#9;Where was Thabang at this time? --- I dont know where he was. I left him on the ground because he was shot. He was one of those six people down there.

&#9;How did you know it was Thabang. --- Yes I was with Thabang, I was walking with him.

&#9;Now when you were getting out of this car, you met Thabang, what happened did you - did you call him. --- Yes I did.

&#9;Could you please just tell us when the two of you were walking, when you were from the car and you met Thabang, when did the police actually show up? 

--- No there were no police, they came in - in a van. I am not sure whether this van had a [indistinct] or what. 

&#9;What about the people who were in that vicinity how many were they? --- Yes they were quite many.

&#9;What did they do? --- They ran away.

&#9;Before they ran away what did they do? As we came on the scene and you said the police showed up, what were the people doing in this vicinity? The two of you, you and Thabang were just walking and what - what did the people do then? --- The people just wanted to throw stones, but now there were no boers at that time. 

&#9;When did the boers come in? --- They came in later and thats when my people threw stones at them.

&#9;How did you see - how did you notice that Thabang has been shot? --- I saw him falling then I ran.

&#9;Now it looks like Barnard was a popular man. ---Oh! yes everybody knew Barnard.

&#9;Is there anything that you want to add? Maybe a question that I didnt ask. --- No - no there isnt anything.

&#9;Thank you, I dont really want to take much of your time because you are still going to come back, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Is there anyone with another question?

UNKNOWN COMMISSIONER; [indistinct] - can I just ask where were you shot? --- I was shot at the back and on the head.

How did you [indistinct] --- I woke up in the hospital - I discovered that I couldnt speak, I couldnt walk and my right arm - let me just tell you that this whole side my right side couldnt work. Even now - even now I cant speak properly as you can hear. I dreamed something when I was asleep, I dreamed that I was talking, I was actually talking, I could feel that okay now I can be able to walk, but I still cannot write. I cannot read anything anyway, thats another - thats another thing, thats another difficulty.

Thank you.

MR POTGIETER: [indistinct] put to you what was the police version of this incident. There was an inquest held according to our records where a policeman called Lieutenant Bester gave evidence. He alleged that the deceased Thabang was in a crowd that was throwing stones at the vehicle in which this Bester was - was travelling. Do you follow that? --- No I cant really follow what you are saying. What I know is I was walking together with Thabang, he was coming out of a bus, he - when I met him, he was from this bus and he was going into Crossroads. He was going into Nyanga bush - ja I am sure it was Nyanga bush.

&#9;So in other words you never saw him throwing stones. --- No - no I didnt.

When - when you were shot - were you running already at that stage? --- I ran after he was shot. 

If I understood you correctly you saw him fall before you ran yourself. --- Yes I did, I saw him being shot.

&#9;Now when - where he fell was it amongst shacks or where was that? --- Its a short distance from the shacks, just a short distance.

&#9;If - if the police say that [indistinct] that he was found lying amongst the shacks on his stomach what would your response be to that? --- I cant hear anything, I cant hear anything at all. I cant hear anything - I cant hear anything. 

&#9;Shall I repeat - shall I repeat the - what I put, must I repeat? --- Ja.

&#9;Okay, are you now connected okay good. Ill just - Ill just repeat just again the evidence that the police gave about the incident, if they had said that the deceased was found lying amongst the shacks on his stomach after the shooting incident, what would you say to that? --- No I am sorry I cannot express myself well. No thats not so, forgive me I cannot express myself well here, my speech is not good.

&#9;Thats fine thank you - but what you are saying is that - what was said by the police at this inquest is not so, is not correct? --- Yes that the police were lying.

&#9;[indistinct] thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you mamma for your presence here. We hope that the commission will be - will try to investigate all this and try to answer all your questions. We also want to know the truth, thank you.







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