MR LEWIN: Could you tell us who accompanies you today.
MS MAKAJANE: This is a family friend.
MR LEWIN: Before I ask Joyce Seroke to lead you in your evidence could you please swear the oath.
MARIA DIMIKATSO MAKAJANE: (s.s.)
MS SEROKE: Hello Dimikatso, we welcome you.
MS MAKAJANE: I am Mrs Maria Dimikatso Makajane.
MS SEROKE: You came here to tell us about your son, David Mofokeng who was killed by certain people. I would like you to tell us about this painful event.
MS MAKAJANE: There are some things that I didn't mention on the statement. Can I perhaps start with them?
MS SEROKE: Start with the details in the statement and then you can add on at a later stage.
MS MAKAJANE: It was towards new year, it was on new years eve at 12 o'clock. At about one o'clock my son's friends came to tell me that he has been injured. That is David. I woke his father up to say that he must go because I was expectant at that moment and I was due any time. My husband left with my brothers and sisters and got to the clinic. My brothers and sisters came back but he didn't come back. They told me that he has gone to the hospital with his friend. He came back in the morning round about six o'clock. I could see that he was scared to talk. I wanted to know why don't you tell us what happened. He was just doubtful. He
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didn't want to tell us that Mike is dead. We did ask and he said yes but I couldn't believe what he was telling me. I heard him saying to my sister that my mother must put the mattress down because people will be trying to come in. That is when we started crying, all of us. His friends came in to tell us what happened. They said that they were at 5th Avenue celebrating new years eve, it was 1 a.m. They were on their way to the shop with their friends. On their arrival at the shop they met people and these people shot them. The boy hid himself behind a combi. They couldn't see him, they shot my son. He was surprised because he saw my son not running away. He thought they were talking but he saw that there was some fire. They shot him and they walked away. Some other friends came who they were in 5th Avenue because they responded to this noise of the guns because they were scared that they with people and then after they disappeared there were gunshots. They ran towards the hostel and one of my son's friends said we know you, we will find you. That is where it ended. This is similar to the train violence. It was just people just shooting. But on that day there were many dead bodies in 4th and 5th Avenue and that week before I could bury this child I could see that the family members were very strange. My aunt came to me and told me that it is known who killed your son. They said that the brother-in-law here in 4th Avenue was there and somebody came to tell him that there is Koekie's son, he has already been shot but his friend couldn't tell him because this was his brother-in-law. My brother-in-law became angry and walked away and he told him that one of them was from the Mbatha family. We told them that they must go home but they didn't but they just killed
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Koekie's son. I asked my sister as to did she know. I said please don't hide this, reveal all the truth to me. I reprimanded my brother-in-law. I told him I thought you would go immediately to the policemen. I asked my husband where are these boys. His friend was reluctant to tell me who was this but he just came in to attend the funeral. We had to move because it was worse because they had killed one boy from 10th Avenue on Club 65. It was on the 15th March. They forced us to go to the hostel to a gathering to go and see this dead body. On our way back home they clapped my sister and when we approached our gate they tried to beat her but they couldn't because a Casper approached. When we got into the house they killed another boy again. I asked my second boy, you are sitting here at the gate and you see that people are being killed. You rather stay indoors. Then he did that. I started being very sick. I delivered by caesarian section before time. I delivered on the 16th and I was discharged on the 22nd. When I went home my mother told me that nobody is staying there anymore. When I got there I saw that the door was locked and there were no people and somebody told me that you had better go because your people are not staying here in this house any more, they are staying at the Council. I asked some police at the Alexander that I wanted to go and collect my clothes. They told me that nothing of yours is in that house anymore. They said we can take you to go and see this but when I got there I saw these women ironing and when I asked and Alex asked who is staying here somebody answered from behind. Tolana said I am the one who is staying here. I asked him where are my clothes, he said no, he knows nothing. He doesn't know where is my furniture. He fitted the doors.
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And that was the end.
MS SEROKE: These people who were shooting were they policemen or just ordinary people?
MS MAKAJANE: It is apparent that they were IFP people because they ran to the hostel.
MS SEROKE: In your statement you mentioned a name of Mbatha.
MS MAKAJANE: Yes, it is true.
MS SEROKE: And in the previous case this Mbatha was also mentioned.
MS MAKAJANE: Yes.
MS SEROKE: What kind of a person was he? Was he a policeman or just an IFP member?
MS MAKAJANE: He was an IFP.
MS SEROKE: There are three Mbathas in this IFP.
MS MAKAJANE: I don't know him, I just heard it through my brother-in-law because he was asking his IFP friend. He told my brother-in-law that one of these killers was from the Mbatha family. I thought that it was just ordinary train violence but I was hurt and disappointed when my son was killed by people who were staying in the local community.
MS SEROKE: Was he staying in your yard?
MS MAKAJANE: No, he wasn't. It was the third yard away from our yard.
MS SEROKE: Did you lay a charge?
MS MAKAJANE: Yes, we did but it was never investigated.
MS SEROKE: Did it just end nowhere?
MS MAKAJANE: Yes, it did. My husband decided not to go further with the case. Late last year or January this year, it was another man who came and said that because there is
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no one who is coming to appear in court therefore we are dismissing this case. There is someone who came to tell my brother-in-law that the people who came to my son are such people. So this is the only witness that is there.
MS SEROKE: So they threw you out of your house. Where are you staying?
MS MAKAJANE: I am staying in the Council offices.
MS SEROKE: This Tolani that you found in the house, how did he get into the house?
MS MAKAJANE: I never asked him a lot of things because I was scared. He just told me that their house was vacant, he just installed his doors. And I asked him where were the security gates and the meranti doors and he said that he has fixed the place himself and he doesn't know where the whole furniture is.
MS SEROKE: I thank you. I will hand over to the Chairperson if he has got any further questions.
MR LEWIN: If there are no further questions, Mrs Makajane I would just like to again thank you very much for coming to tell us the story which again ties up with others that we have heard and we will be able to, or certainly try and follow up on this to find out what happened. I often wonder listening to these stories if one can actually say one case is worse than another case. I don't think one can for every case it is the worst. Everyone suffers in the same way, whatever the circumstances when there is a loss within one family it is not something that you can put into words properly it is not something that you can quantify. But I think that in coming forward to tell us this story you have shown courage, you have also described what has happened and issued a challenge to us and to other people to find out
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what actually was happening and why these things happened. And who made them happen and why they made them happen. Because I think if we can discover that then yes perhaps we can move forward and live together better. I would just like to thank you very much for coming. Thank you.
MS MAKAJANE: I would like to ask one thing. As we have been evicted from our houses why can't the government do something about these illegal occupants of these houses because the previous government managed to evict us and why can't the present government be able to evict - this government he rather go and build us houses in Lombardy East. Why doesn't he build these people houses at Lombardy East and reinstate us in our houses. We had a meeting the year before last year in Sankopani and Mr Obed Bapela did say that won't be able to evict those IFP people because they are also human beings, they don't have accommodation. Are we also not human beings? Do we deserve to be in that dirty place, the Council? We also discussed this with Mr Tokyo Sexwale who said he would try his best for them to evict these IFP people but up to date there is nothing that has happened. This present government is also not fair, it doesn't have mercy on us as well. Those people must be evicted from our houses. If they don't have accommodation where were they staying before they occupied our houses? We want our houses back. No matter I cannot get my child back and the furniture and the clothes but the fact remains they must make sure that they evict those people so that we should be able to be reinstated in our houses. We cannot afford to pay the higher rent whilst in those houses we managed to pay low rental. We installed water and electricity. I am suffering at the moment, I am suffering
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from heart ailments and blood pressure, I have got my child and my sister's and father's children. I have got a lot of responsibility. I cannot meet all my responsibilities because I am very short tempered, I don't even know, my life doesn't have direction and I won't be happy until I know who the murderers of my child are. And yet there are people who know who these murderers are. I would like them to come forward and tell us who are they, how did they kill him and why because at then we were scared even to run the funeral successfully. Even when my mother passed away in 1991 they wanted to know who we are because they are the ANC. We told them that we are Inkatha members. They were not searching because all they were looking for was just to steal the video machines and televisions and they were accompanied by our neighbour but because God always takes care there was a strong wind that uncovered his face that was covered with a tracksuit and whilst he was accompanying them and the lady who was staying in one of the shacks said that these people were on their way to break into a furniture shop but they jumped your fence in order to try and steal your furniture. And then I got a message that my mother passed away. We didn't run my mother's funeral smoothly because at that very same day they attacked us. Even my son's funeral didn't run smoothly. Can the Truth Commission do whatever it can so that these people must come forward and explain why they did all these things.
MR LEWIN: Thank you Mrs Makajane. Yes, we hear you. I think you have put it very eloquently and it is something that will be heard also by the local community, by the local radio station, by the local media, which will help take it up. That is the way to get your story out. Thank you very much again. Thank you for coming.
