hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, SUBMISSIONS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1997-05-22 ERMELO 1 NSONGELWA M ZONDO JB3493 https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55083&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/ermelo/6ermzon.htm MR LEWIN MR NGWENYA MR LEWIN Mr Ngwenya, thank you very much. Perhaps we could just ask a couple of questions by way of clarification. Tom ? MR MANTHATA Mr Ngwenya, where a situation of this nature is obtained more especially between the community and the police force, would you say that those who were in the police force in this are at the time, are they still here ? If so, is there a way where together with those people, there can be a dialog over the past conflicts? MR NGWENYA No. MR LEWIN Thank you. MR NGWENYA MR MANTHATA Thanks. MR LEWIN Yes, my question was also going to be in relation to the present. What the situation now is. What the community is and what can be done to heal the wounds as it were. MR NGWENYA MR LEWIN Mr Ngwenya, thank you very much for coming. MR NGWENYA Thank you. MR LEWIN Ladies and gentlemen at this stage I have one or two announcements to make. The first one concerns statement taking. Lebo, our chief liaison person is here with statement takers. If there are people who feel they need to make a statement ...... MR LEWIN MR ZONDO Yes, I can hear you. MR LEWIN MR ZONDO MR LEWIN Mr Zondo, before asking Doctor Randera to lead you in your evidence, could I please ask Tom Manthata to swear you in. MR MANTHATA Nsongelwa Zondo, can you stand up. Raise your right hand and swear that the evidence you are going to lead is going to be the truth and nothing else but the truth, so help me God. NSONGELWA ZONDO (sworn states) MR MANTHATA Thank you. MR LEWIN DR RANDERA Mr Zondo, welcome to you and to your mother. We have heard so much to-day already on what happened in your community of Wesselton, not far from here. We have a full statement from you. I want you please to first tell us something about yourself and then take us back to what you can remember in 1992 and tell us what happened to you. MR ZONDO DR RANDERA How long did you stay in hospital ? MR ZONDO I stayed there for two months. DR RANDERA And when you came back ? During the time that you were in hospital, did you lay any charges against people you may have recognized who were involved in that march ? MR ZONDO Yes, I did open a case. DR RANDERA Michael, let me just go back a little. Tell me, how old are you now ? MR ZONDO DR RANDERA Are you working ? MR ZONDO DR RANDERA Were you working at the time ? MR ZONDO Yes, I was. DR RANDERA What was your job ? MR ZONDO I was working for the land surveyors. DR RANDERA MR ZONDO DR RANDERA Okay. You have a family I presume, with children ? MR ZONDO DR RANDERA How many children do you have ? MR ZONDO Two. DR RANDERA MR ZONDO DR RANDERA MR ZONDO DR RANDERA MR ZONDO Yes, he was a leader of the Black Cats. DR RANDERA He was killed according to your statement by some Comrades. MR ZONDO DR RANDERA MR ZONDO That is correct. DR RANDERA Have you been able to apply for a disability grant ? MR ZONDO DR RANDERA Is there a reason for that ? MR ZONDO DR RANDERA You know about disability grants ? MR ZONDO DR RANDERA MR ZONDO DR RANDERA Thank you Michael. Chairperson, I have no further question. MR LEWIN Thank you. Tom ? MR MANTHATA Michael, did you ever come to understand what the Comrades were doing at that time ? MR ZONDO MR MANTHATA As you were going in and out of the area, you had never met a group of youths that would later be identified as Comrades ? MR ZONDO I know that there were Comrades that existed there. I heard that there were Comrades and I also heard there was also a group called The Cats. I never had an encounter with them until that day that I was shot at. MR MANTHATA Do you know what the Comrades stood for ? MR ZONDO No, I did not know. MR MANTHATA And then the Black Cats ? MR ZONDO I knew nothing between the Comrades and the Black Cats. MR MANTHATA You had never heard about a conflict between the two ? MR ZONDO MR MANTHATA Yes, one is not saying that you should have been at their meetings or at their fights but one wants to say that as a member of the community you could have heard people talking about these two groups and what each group stands for. MR ZONDO MR MANTHATA Thank you. No further questions. MR LEWIN Russel ? DR ALLY Mr Zondo you do however say in your statement that you were a member of the ANC. Is that correct ? MR ZONDO That is correct. DR ALLY And that you joined the ANC in 1990. After it was unbanned. MR ZONDO DR ALLY Do you think that those people who attacked you may have known this ? MR ZONDO I think they knew. DR ALLY What makes you think that ? MR ZONDO MR LEWIN Doctor Randera ? DR RANDERA Michael sorry, I want to come back to two issues. One is, you said you had made a statement to the police. Was there ever any follow-up ? Did you get anything substantial from the police as far as your statement went ? MR ZONDO No, they never came back to me. The last time I saw them was when I submitted a statement. DR RANDERA MR ZONDO Yes, I do understand. DR RANDERA Thank you. MR LEWIN MR ZONDO No, I have no idea. MR LEWIN In your statement you said that there was this crowd coming from Mac Guire Street, in Wesselton and they were shouting a slogan? Can you remember the slogan ? MR ZONDO Yes, I do. MR LEWIN Could you tell us what it was. MR ZONDO: I have forgotten the song that they were singing. MR LEWIN But they were singing a slogan. MR ZONDO MR LEWIN