DR BORAINE: The next witness to appear before the Commission is Mr Matsobane Mabusela. Good afternoon Mr Mabusela.
MR MABUSELA: Good afternoon.
DR BORAINE: Welcome to the Commission. Can you hear me alright? You can hear my voice in the earphones?
MR MABUSELA: Yes.
DR BORAINE: You can hear alright? And you can hear the translation? You can?
MR MABUSELA: I can hear although there is some disturbance with the translation facility.
DR BORAINE: Okay, let us try and see how we go and if it gets too bad then we can change it. Sorry. Mr Mabusela, can I ask you to introduce the person who is with you today.
MR MABUSELA: She is my wife.
DR BORAINE: You are a very lucky man. We are very, very glad to welcome your wife with you today and thank you for coming with your husband. Mr Mabusela, you have suffered a great deal and you are going to tell us about the torture and the solitary confinement that you have experienced and I salute you that you have survived so well. I am going to ask you please to stand to take the oath.
MATSOBANE KATIBE MABUSELA: (Duly sworn in, states).
DR BORAINE: Thank you very much. Now please be seated and
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be very comfortable. We are just going to check and see if we can improve the communication a little bit. How it is going now? You can hear alright?
MR MABUSELA: Yes, it is clear.
DR BORAINE: Fine. Thank you very much. Mr Mabusela, I am going to lead you now as you tell your story. You have already given a statement to one of our members of staff, but we would like to hear from you so why do you not start on that day of 1983 when you were coming back from the funeral. You may start now please.
MR MABUSELA: I thank you Mr Chairman. I greet you all. Chairman, Deputy Chairperson, the panel of Commissioners, the audience who are here to come and listen to this gruesome ordeal that I experienced. In 1983, although I do not remember the date, I use to stay in Tembisa at the hostels. I moved with some of the Comrades from the hostel and we left for Alexandra during the mass funeral of 17 people who were killed. From Tembisa we struggled to leave for Alexandra because there was a roadblock. However, we managed, at last, to leave Tembisa.
On arriving in Alexandra they had blocked all entrances into Alexandra. However, we managed forcefully to bury these people. The problem was when we returned back to Tembisa. Comrades in Alexandra organised a taxi for us because there was no transport facilities on that day. Weekend funerals were not allowed. They were banned on that week, in that week. After the funeral Comrades are some of the taxi owners to offer us transport and they paid for that transport. As we approached the south entrance at Umthambeka next to the garage there was a roadblock that we came across. They did not stop us, but they recognised the
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taxi after we have passed the roadblock. They then followed us. We entered the Sangweni taxi rank. That is where they stopped us and then we were ordered to stand in a line. They took us out of the car. Immediately we were slapped and beaten up. I had a UDF t-shirt, but this t-shirt was covered by my shirt that I was wearing. There was one who was wearing a blue t-shirt. It had an ANC badge, but you could not see it.
After they noticed this emblem, but with the UDF t-shirt that I was wearing, they could not see it. We were in the company of young school children. They took this person who had this ANC t-shirt asking him where he got it. Then that is when he pointed me out. After he pointed me out I noticed that now it is time, the time has arrived because I knew if I could not go to them, they will start beating me up. That is why I approached them, they put it on the one side, they started slapping the young ones and then they left them. They took us to Tembisa Police Station.
When we arrived at the Tembisa Police Station we found most of whom we left at the funeral already there. They were all in a row. If my memory serves me well, I think they called that place the first floor. We entered that place. We were the last group from Alexandra. When we got to the first floor they ordered us to remove our clothes. They wanted to see our muscles. What I ask myself, I could understand that they wanted to see who trained the most. Then they started beating us with pipes. We were beaten up by a fellow black man which was not good at all. There was one person who referred to himself as Bruce Lee. We were all naked. They started beating us on the head from one end to the other. We were all crying. From passed seven until
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one o' clock or just after 12 o' clock they stopped beating up on us. My head had a lot of scars and I suffered a lot of headaches.
They started torturing us after they had beaten us. They started with the first one just like they did the first time. I do not know what happened. I was just flying around and then the next thing I hit the ground with my two feet. Then they said because I stayed, why do I stay at hostel. I claimed that I have a woman. I do not want to work for her. I am around here going around with people referring to themselves as Siyayinyova or Comrades because it was not for the first time that I have, that I had gone through such an ordeal. When we entered I recognised Bruce Lee and he did agree because I was arrested on a number of occasions, but if I have to relate all my cases it would take us the whole day so I, that is why I pointed these two.
He behaved as a semi-god. I wanted to see him because now we have a new Government whether is he still Bruce Lee or what. Is he still a semi-god or what because we know we have one God and I strongly believe that the Chairman of the Commission, as a Christian, knows that there is only one God, but there was this semi-god referred to as Bruce Lee who actually claimed a self confessed god. I wanted to see him so that he could apologise so that I can forgive him and show him that those people who refer to themselves as terrorist could think for others and feel for others also. The most feared terrorist is respected the whole world over who is President Mandela, but I do not know where Bruce Lee is at the moment.
They released me close to one o' clock after midnight. When I entered the hostel everybody laughed at me because
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this has been happening for quite some time. Even people from my home place use to say such things that I have been arrested more than once. Even at home they would relate the same story. When I arrive at home I would be asked why I engage in such activities. Am I a Comrade or what? I do not know what forced me to do such activities or engage in them, but I would say it was oppression. Then I would leave this matter there and continue with this one of 1986.
It was on the 14th of June when a State of Emergency was declared in 1986. It was during morning at about eight o' clock when I left the hostel where I reside. On my way to Limindlela Station to board a train so that I could find work in town. I was still wearing the same t-shirt inscribed UDF, but it was covered by the shirt that I was wearing on top. There was a pin with UDF letters that I had on my shirt. There was a place before I reached the station where people sold a lot of things. Then I saw this three or five Hippos. Then afterwards it never struck my mind to remove this UDF badge. As I passed by they did not recognise me, but later they recognised it, but as I entered Limindlela Station while standing on the platform, we were still waiting for the train so that we can board the train. Whilst I was waiting there these Hippos arrived. So we were told to write registration numbers of these Hippos and their numbers. So I did that immediately when I recognised them.
When I entered the platform the train has not, had not yet arrived. They had guns, these soldiers, as they entered into the platform. Some of them went up and down. Then they could not see me. On their way back I folded my arms whilst standing. One of them recognised me and said here he is. After that I did not wait any minute. I tried to
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run, but I was kicked, tried to block, but I was kicked multiple times. I was hit with a gun-butt until they pulled me from the platform because people were aware of what was happening. I was kicked multiple times also. Sometimes I would wave and they would hit each other. Then when they stand up again they would take out their anger on me. Until now I could feel a little bit unconscious. They took off my t-shirt and then started tearing it up. Someone dressed it up and then they left me there bleeding.
When I woke up I went to the police station. It was at about ten o' clock to half past ten. I can say between ten and half past ten that morning. When I got to the police station I found a black policeman who is Sepedi speaking. He was a Warrant Officer, but I do not remember his name. I said to him I am here to lodge a case against soldiers who beat me up. I was still bleeding at that time. When I said that he said that I was mad, how dare you open a case against the Government. After telling me that I am mad, I cannot lodge a complaint against the Government, I told him I had the registration of the vehicles that these people were travelling in. He said to me you are mad and I said how can you refuse to accept my case, why are you doing that. He asked me are you going to sue me and he said to them, lock this man up. They took me and locked me up.
At about five o' clock they took us to Kempton Park Prison. When we got there they called me "The Man of the UDF". They locked me up alone in a cell and the toilet in that cell was not working. There was only one blanket and two sponges. The one was thin and the one was thick, the other one was thick. It was during winter that time. When I went to sleep I took the other thin sponge and put it on
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top of me and I also covered myself in that blanket, but that did not help. Then I decided if I die I would rather die now. They tried to question me as to whom am I working with who belongs to the ANC. I did not answer them. I just kept quiet.
Then they brought another man who they locked up together with me after a week. This man was arrested because he had stolen a video. Whilst they were still checking, counting us and checking on whether we are still alive they left the cell unlocked and this man suggested that we should run away. I said to him, no, I am not going to run away because I realised that they left this so intentionally because they wanted to shoot us and thereafter claim that we were running away. I forgotten some of this incident, but in my statement I referred to the one I am going to talk about.
It is when I got to the police station when I reported that I was beaten, that is in Kempton Park after two days. They took me to the District Surgeon who gave me tablets and treated me, but there were some tablets which were in red and blue colour and some of them were white. I think he gave me about four packets of tablets. I took up those pills whilst I was still with the doctor, but the following day when they had to give me those tablets they brought different tablets, not the ones I got from the doctor and I took those and threw them away because they were not the ones given to me by the doctor. Whilst I was still there they came to pick me up and lock me up together with other prisoners. I felt a little bit of freedom at that time because I had cell mates.
Whilst we were still sitting there there came a time
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where they released me and when they released me someone called me and asked me how did you get involved in this matter. He asked me the same question they asked me at Tembisa Police Station and then I said I am only looking for a job, I want to work for my family. He said to me what were the people saying in here, I want to give you a job. After saying that he wanted to give me a job I asked him what type of job. He said I want you to work with us and tell us who are the people you are working for and, please, you must tell us what they were saying to you. I said to him I do not understand those people, they are speaking Zulu, I am only speaking Ndebele because I am from Potgietersrus and I speak also Northern Sotho and if those people speak I cannot understand them.
Then they released me and they said to me I must come and report after a week or two and if I did not do so they would come and arrest me. They said to me if you open a case against the soldiers we are going to kill you. Then I realised that, really, they are going to do that because after I was released I went to the Detainees Parent Support Committee at Khotso House which was bombed and it was claimed that it was bombed by the terrorist only to find out it was not our Comrade that did that, it was them. When we got there they sent us to a doctor. From the doctor I was taken to Comrade Chris Naidoo. When I got there he said let us open a case and I said, no, these people are going to kill me if I do that. We decided not to open the case.
Thereafter I went to report to my Commanders and they advised to leave the Tembisa Youth Congress and not take part anymore because these people are looking for the youth. I must work for the workers and I started engaging in
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matters regarding workers or labourers. I left the hostel, I was staying in and went to stay in Baxa Section that is in Tembisa. I went in hiding in Tembisa. They use to visit the hostel I lived in, but they could not find me because I was not living there anymore. I use to listen to the commands from my Commanders until the organisation got unbanned in 1990.
After the organisation was unbanned I wanted to show what I was fighting for. Today I am happy that we are being afforded an opportunity to tell the stories about the incidents we went through. I wish this Government of ours can continue to enhance peace and harmony. I thank you.
DR BORAINE: Thank you Mr Mabusela. You have given us a very clear and vivid and full account so I have very, very few questions. I just want to ask you, and I know it is not easy to talk about, but you told us that you were tortured first by people, by one person in particular hitting you on the head with a rubber pipe and then you mentioned that they tortured you further and you felt as though you were flying. What exactly did they do?
MR MABUSELA: When torturing me they tied my fingers onto something and then they pressed a switch on the wall. That is why I found myself flying in the space. The other people were not being tortured the same way as I was. They were only crying and Bruce Lee came along and he warned this person not to do that because I would end up dying and then they released us thereafter and I left the other group. I do not know what happened to them from then. Especially the one who was wearing the t-shirt with an ANC emblem.
DR BORAINE: I notice that you are a Councillor for the Northern Pretoria Metropolitan sub-structure in Ward 16 and
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I think it is a great tribute, first, that the struggle has produced a democracy at national, provincial and local level, but that you, despite the treatment, the torture, the electrical shocks, the solitary confinement, have not just lain on the side on the side of the street, but you have stood up and you are now participating as a Councillor and, personally, I wish you well and all those who are continuing in a very different way, to build and consolidate a democracy. Thank you.
MR MABUSELA: I also thank you.
CHAIRPERSON: Sir, we thank you. You have already heard about the fruits that we have reaped from what you went through. We also thank you in the way you presented your story to us and you look not angry with anyone because you said you wish that the new dispensation could continue to enhance peace and harmony. We thank you for taking part in the development of our nation.
MR MABUSELA: I thank you.
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