CHAIRPERSON: Good afternoon Mrs Maditsi and welcome. I know you've been waiting a long time.

MARIA MADITSE: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Relax, in your own way please tell us what happened to your son, and tell us what you think we should know. Could you please also tell us who it is with you there?

MRS MADITSI: This is my husband.

CHAIRPERSON: And that we're glad that you came with your wife, we knew that you would be here if you had an opportunity and we will gladly be listening to you please Mrs Maditsi.

MRS MADITSI: I'm Mama Maditsi, the mother to William Maditsi. William is my only son. In 1983 in December William disappeared, we didn't know where he was. One day, while I was sitting at home, three men came. I didn't know who they were. They came there with a white man and two black guys. They asked me if I was William's mother and I affirmed it. They asked me where is and I said I didn't know. They asked when he disappeared. I said to them since December. I can't remember which month they came, but they said to me that my son joined the African National Congress and that he has left for exile in Botswana. They said to me that they don't want to kill him, they want to help me. When my son comes back I should just go and tell them.

I stayed with this issue from 1983, I could not sleep without knowing whether my son is alive or not. After six years, let me say after seven years, it was in 1990, one day on a Friday evening, while I was sitting, my husband was at school and I could see that it was getting dark and he's not back. Then I wondered where he had gone to. He came back with my sister, I don't know what time, and started of by saying, "Your son". When I asked what about him, he said, "Your son is dead". I could not do anything, it took me a long time before I grasped it myself. I didn't know what killed him. When he told me that he's dead I didn't ask what killed him. Then they tried to comfort me. After that I just saw family members fall in the house and I realised that it is true, my son is dead. Then my husband got up in the morning to go and find out what happened. I didn't ask him, I just heard that he was shot in Pietersburg. They went to Pietersburg to find out what happened. I was so disturbed that I could not even look at him.

(The interpretation service will continue as soon as the witness is ready)

During that time I didn't know where I was, I didn't ask any questions, how my son died, where he died, I didn't ask anything because I was tired. After a long time..

(She will continue once she has regained her composure)

CHAIRPERSON: You can continue where she stopped.

MR MADITSI: Thank you. My wife gave evidence which is still short. I am the person who knows what happened, I used to visit the police for a long time. I was the one who was told about my son's death in the last minute, and in that report which I gave you I complained about the timing, how the police treated me.

CHAIRPERSON: Were you a policeman.

MR MADITSI: No I was not. I was a male nurse. Now I'm a teacher, a school principal.

CHAIRPERSON: When all things happened, was it when you were a teacher?

MR MADITSI: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Being a teacher, were you in some problems to tell your wife about your son?

MR MADITSI: We used to discuss these things. A woman is a woman. When I tell her about these things, she didn't take them into consideration. When I go to work there's a car following me every day. When I take a turn, the next turn it's not there, when I park the car in town, there's no car. When I explain all these things to her, she didn't take them into consideration (I can't hear what the witness is saying) until these things happened and then I said to her, you see. (I can't hear the witness).

As I was saying, a lot of things which men know, when I arrived at home and told her what's happening, she did not take them into consideration. That day when Moolman called me to the station, I took the whole hour and when I arrived at home I just slept. When she asked me where I came from I told her that I came from the police station and it he knows me very well.

CHAIRPERSON: What can we do for you which can bring back your dignity?

MR MADITSI: I'm having evidence for medical bills from Dr Happel. There's no one to follow up, to nurse us, we are getting old.

CHAIRPERSON: Is there any peace at home?

MR MADITSI: Yes me and my wife, we have peace, but it's nothing though at times we just always sit down.

CHAIRPERSON: Which Church do you attend?

MR MADITSI: We attend the Wesselyan Church.

PANEL MEMBER: Ms Maditsi' if I can just ask some questions to try and put what happened in some kind of context. Your son left the country and he came back in December of 1989. That's when he came back into the country, in 1989?

MR MADITSI: It's the first time we ever saw him ever since.

PANEL MEMBER: And when he came back into the country, did the security police or Moolman or anybody, did they know that he was back, did they come and visit and say, we know your son is back?

MR MADITSI: No.

PANEL MEMBER: So from the time that he returned in 1989, the end of 1989 and in January 1990 when he was killed, did you have any visits from Moolman or from the police?

MR MADITSI: No.

PANEL MEMBER: But until that time they had been looking for your son, before that they had been visiting you often and asking you about your son and where he was?

MR MADITSI: It was on a three monthly basis.

CHAIRPERSON: And I see that your son was with somebody, Jacob Rapulo, was supposed to have made a statement. Has he made a statement already, do you know?

MRS MADITSI: Ja he admits that they were friends. ...(indistinct)thinks this statement that you have in front of you was compiled by Jacob Rapulo, Yugoslavia, Tanzania, that was compiled by Mr Rapulo?

CHAIRPERSON: Earlier when Mrs Madisha came forward to speak about Donald, one of the Commissioners asked if Donald and your son William, if they knew each other. Do you know if Donald and William had any contact with each other?

MRS MADITSI: I found the situations similar. The link is Rapulo.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much. Joyce?

MS SEROKE: I want to ask a question. When William went to exile, did he go together with Jacob Rapulo?

MRS MADITSI: No he didn't know him. It was there in exile. There were two ascaris, there were two divisions. They had a mission together.

MS SEROKE: That time while he was in exile, did you receive any letters from him telling you how he lives, what he's doing?

MRS MADITSI: No, no letters. He knew what kind of a person I was, he knew my policy, he wouldn't dare.

CHAIRPERSON: Can I ask whether Mrs Maditsi has anything to add whether she would like to add anything more at this stage that you may want to bring to our attention but we don't expect of you to give us more information?

MRS MADITSI: What I want to ask is who are to police who killed my son? If they are known, I want to know them, because now we are talking about reconciliation. You can't forgive and reconcile with a person whom you don't know. So I want to know them.

Secondly, Willy was killed on the 13th of January but told us on the 30th of February. What did they want to do with him? Because even now the certificates, the death certificate we got with difficulties. We buried him without a death certificate.

CHAIRPERSON: We'll look further into this matter. Our investigative unit has made contact with Mr Rapulo, Jacob Rapulo, he is now a colonel in the defence force and he's not in Pietersburg any more, he's at Voortrekkerhoogde, but we are pursuing this matter and we will see what more information we can bring back to you. Thank you very much for coming to us.