hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-08-12 BEAUFORT WEST 1 CT/00359 WITNESS KELLEM [brother] KATY MBALO SHOT DEAD https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=54953&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/beaufort/ct00359.htm MS BURTON We welcome you and thank you for coming today, this is your daughter with you, is that right? MS MBALO MS BURTON Is she going to speak today too or only you? MS MBALO I am going to give evidence, she is just here to give me moral support. MS BURTON Thank you very much, will you please stand then to take the oath. KATY MBALO Duly sworn states MS BURTON MS MBALO MS BURTON Please tell us what happened on that morning in August, in 1992. MS MBALO That morning there was a march to town. People were going to town and I was at home with all my children and Witness as well. We sat there and later that day we saw people running and policemen started shooting tear gas in the location and they shot terribly in my yard as well. I then went to the hospital and when I got there, I asked if my son was there and the nurses said to me: He is inside, the doctors are apparently busy with him. You may not see him now. And I was told to wait and as soon as I could, I would be able to see him. They would call me in. I then stood there, and I stood and stood - my neighbour and I. And I sat there. The friends and family and the priest came to our house to make some prayers and the following day I asked the people if we could please go up to the Police Station to ask who shot at my child. And perhaps if I spoke to him, I would feel a bit better. My friends and family supported me and we - I cannot remember, but after a few months we went - after a few months of having buried him, we went to Court and at Court I saw this Simon who had shot my child. MS BURTON I want you all to remember that was a week which had been called as a week of mass action in - in the Beaufort West area. And there had been stay-a-ways on those 2 days. So I expect that things everywhere were very tense. But although your son was active in the ANC you believe that at the time that he was shot, he was not attempting to throw stones or take any violent action. Is that right? MS MBALO They showed us a van which they alleged he had thrown with stones, but what I cannot understand is that this was in town and he had come from the telephone booth to Bird Street. But what I cannot understand is how he would have known that the van was coming down Bird Street that he would have thrown it with stones. Because the van had come down Bird Street and he had come down Danie Theron Street. MS BURTON Ms Lourens who has made a statement to us, what did she tell you that she saw? MS MBALO She said that she was coming from work - from the hospital - and that she was standing at the stop street as the - so that the cars could pass and she saw him coming from the direction of Danie Theron Street from the telephone booth in the direction of Bird Street. But he was running and he had his hands bold up - fisted - and he was running in the direction of Bird Street but she did not see at any stage that he was throwing stones. And the white men , who were also there, who had also stopped for this van which was driving in this direction, but this van then turned back at a distance in his direction, but they did not see him throwing any stones. They saw that he had a stone in his - the white man , the white men, alleged that they saw he had a stone in his hand but the they did not see him throwing any stones. They say that the policemen just started shooting when the van came back in that direction. The van stopped next to him. The Simon jumped out of the police van with the rifle in his hand and the other policemen that was driving, drove in the other directions so that he could turn the van and according to evidence which they also gave, the lady policemen who was with them at time, said that she did not see anything . She was laying flat and did not see anything that happened. And the Sergeant who was driving the van at the time says that he drove down the road to turn the van around, that he just heard the shooting but he did not see anything. MS BURTON MS MBALO We were all heartbroken. My brothers were heartbroken, my children were heartbroken because they all grew up together. They were all heartbroken. And me to, because when I see this Simon I just hurt even more, because I felt that even if he had spoken to him I might have felt a bit better, but even now when I see him, I become heartbroken because he never spoke to me and I thought that if I went to him and we made peace and if he perhaps just spoke to me, I would have felt better. But he never attempted that. The entire family was heartbroken. My sister and my children were all very heartbroken and still are. They are still hurting very deeply. Especially since this Mr. Simon never even attempted to come and speak to me or anyone else in my family to try and make peace. And I felt that I would have felt better if I could have spoken to him. MS BURTON Is there anything else that you would like to say or tell to the Commission? MS MBALO MS BURTON What is his name? MS MBALO Macosandile Kellem, thank you. DR RAMASHALA Thank you. MS MBALO Thank you. CHAIRPERSON Dr. Ramashala? DR RAMASHALA Mr. Mbalo, how old is Macosandile? MS MBALO Macosandile is - I think he is about 25 now. DR RAMASHALA MS MBALO DR RAMASHALA How are you managing to take care of him financially ? MS MBALO DR RAMASHALA Where is he now? Where is he living? MS MBALO He lives in Worcester. He lives in Worcester at the moment. DR RAMASHALA [indistinct] MS MBALO I think he was released from Pinelands about 3 moths ago. DR RAMASHALA Mr. Mbalo, are you living alone at the moment? MS MBALO DR RAMASHALA Thank you very much, Ms Mbalo. MS MBALO ADV POTGIETER MS MBALO He was born in 1969 on 6th June - he was born on the 6th of June 1969. ADV POTGIETER Did he have any dependence? MS MBALO No, he had no children. He was still at school at the time. He was doing matric then. ADV POTGIETER MS MBALO ADV POTGIETER Is he in Beaufort West? MS MBALO Yes. ADV POTGIETER You also said that there was a case and that the Magistrate found him guilty of murder. MS MBALO Yes, the Magistrate here at Beaufort West who presided over the first matter found him guilty of murder. But the Judge said that he was not guilty because he wanted to know - he said that it was either him or the policemen who have died. ADV POTGIETER So do I understand you correctly if I say that there where two cases. MS MBALO Yes, the first one where he appeared in front of the Magistrate here in Beaufort West and the Magistrate said to me that the case has to go to a higher Court . ADV POTGIETER Can you still remember who the Magistrate was - was it an inquiry into his death? Was it an inquest of which the Magistrate presided? MS MBALO I cannot say, but it was in Court. ADV POTGIETER And there were witnesses? MS MBALO Yes, there were witnesses. ADV POTGIETER Can you remember in which year that was? He was killed in 1992, is that correct? So the case was in 1993, that was the first case here in Beaufort West. MS MBALO Yes. ADV POTGIETER Then there was a second matter where there was a judge involved, as you say. MS MBALO I cannot say with absolute certainty whether that was also in 1993. ADV POTGIETER That is no a problem. I just need some clarity, so there was a second case? MS MBALO Yes. ADV POTGIETER And was there a Judge presiding? MS MBALO Yes. ADV POTGIETER The Magistrate said the case was going to a higher Court. Where was that? MS MBALO That was also here in Beaufort West. ADV POTGIETER Can you still remember who presided over this case. Was it a local Magistrate or was it someone from else where. MS MBALO It was somebody from else where. ADV POTGIETER This policemen, Simon, was he charged in the second case? MS MBALO He was also there, because it was in the same matter. ADV POTGIETER So he was also in Court? MS MBALO He gave evidence in court. ADV POTGIETER Was he the accused? MS MBALO Yes, he was charged. ADV POTGIETER But the second court acquitted him? MS MBALO Yes, he was acquitted. ADV POTGIETER So nothing happened to him as far as this matter concerned? MS MBALO No, nothing happened. ADV POTGIETER So he is still in Beaufort West? MS MBALO Yes, he is still a policeman in Beaufort West ADV POTGIETER You said he was a Sergeant? MS MBALO ADV POTGIETER So he was actually promoted in the interim? MS MBALO Yes, I assume that it was a job well done for Beaufort West - the fact that he shot my son. After he had shot my son, he was promoted to a Sergeant. ADV POTGIETER So actually promoted to a Sergeant after having shot your son? MS MBALO Yes. ADV POTGIETER This was after he had shot Witness? MS MBALO Yes, it was after he had shot at Witness. ADV POTGIETER MS MBALO The Magistrate said that - referred to him as Simon so I assume that it was his surname. ADV POTGIETER MS MBALO It was a coloured man. ADV POTGIETER And you say he is still in the Police Force here in Beaufort West? MS MBALO Yes. ADV POTGIETER Does he wear a uniform? MS MBALO Yes, he wears a uniform. ADV POTGIETER Okay. CHAIRPERSON MS MBALO So I would accept it if he wanted to do so. And I also want to say that the doctors did their duty because he was taken 30 kilometers out of Beaufort West when they had to turn back because he passed away on the way there. So I feel that the doctors did do their duty. CHAIRPERSON Do you remember what the names of these doctors were? MS MBALO I cannot remember at all. I was just very heartbroken at the time - I just cannot remember what kind of doctors they were. CHAIRPERSON That is not a problem. We will ask our staff to see if they can get any names because we would like to salute them for what they had done at that stage. It is not easy to utter words of sympathy. Because in English there is an idiom that says: "To praise fasting", but it is very simple for you to express words of sympathy - for us to express words of sympathy - towards you but you have to know that we have people here who sympathies with you and understand what you are going through while you were giving your evidence. So we would like to express once again that our country is very blessed in the sense that it has people like yourself who do not bear grudges in their hearts and you sorry up to this day that - your wish is that you would be able to speak to this Sergeant Simon and perhaps help you get over this happening. And this desire to bring about peace is something which makes this land of ours able to heal even better of all the hurt and pain of the past. And we would just like to say thank you very much and we as the Commission will try our best to see how we can be of assistance to you in the way that you are going . Thank you very much.