hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-10-09 KAROO 3 CT/00390/KAR JULIA DILATO STANFORD DILATO SET ALIGHT, SEVERE TORTURE https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55338&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/karoo/ct00390.htm MS BURTON Good morning Mr Dilato, can you hear me all right? STANFORD DILATO I hear you clearly. Good morning to you to. MS BURTON You are accompanied by a member of your family? STANFORD DILATO This is my younger brother. MS BURTON You are very welcome too. Mr Dilato will you stand to take the oath please. STANFORD DILATO Duly sworn states MS BURTON Mr Dilato you have come to tell us today about the death of your late wife, Ms Julia Dilato. This is a story which we in fact heard at our first hearings in Cape Town when other members of you family came to tell us about this. We are very glad that you are here to day to give us you own account of that very sad story. We know that this was one of the cases which resulted from the consumer boycott and so we ask you now to tell us what happened in September 1985. STANFORD DILATO In September 1985 my wife bought meat from Try Meat. After she bought that meat, Thabo Gusha grabbed the meat from her. After that there was never happiness at my home. Then I heard my wife crying. I ran outside to check why my wife was crying. When I looked Sipetho was running after her, chasing her. He had a six litre petrol gallon. Nobody said anything to anyone. They just threw stones at my house. My windows were broken down. We retaliated, but no-one was injured that day, because the police quickly came. The perpetrators then ran away and there was quite. After about three or four days, I do not remember clearly, my wife was going to work. She usually would leave earlier than me. She used a taxi. My wife left me at home, going to work. Unfortunately that day, that taxi would not let her get in. She was left behind. She then walked. People accosted her. They burnt her. Now as I was going to work, a few children accosted me, saying that my wife is being burnt. I also was going to be burnt. I then ran. I tried to get a car to take me to the police station, so that my wife could be protected and saved. When I got to the tar road, I got a car driven by a white man from Escom. This car drove me to the police station. When I got there I was told that a police van had fetched my wife and took her to the hospital. When I got to the hospital, I was told that my wife was going to be transferred to Bloemfontein. They asked if I would go with, I said yes and then we went. On the way my wife said to me, these children have injured my badly. It is Tifo Setlaba who has burnt me, Pingjan Kelem, Tabho Gusha. She did not say more. I stayed with her in hospital until I had to come back to Colesberg. I got on a van to go home to find out what has happened to my children. When I got home, there was no house. It was burned down. I went back the police station. I stayed there. I had no place to sleep. Because when they toi-toied, they said that the informers must move to other informers. When I was preparing to go visit my wife in Bloemfontein, I got a phone call. Actually a telegram, telling me that my wife has passed away. I went to Bloemfontein. My wife then had to be buried in Bloemfontein. I had to stay under the terrible conditions of being a father of three children who have no mother. My wife used to help me, but she cannot. That is all I have to say. MS BURTON Thank you Mr Dilato. This is a terrible story that you have told us. One of your children is Busiswa Gewana, who came to speak to us in Cape Town. Is that your daughter. STANFORD DILATO MS BURTON Were there I think other members of your family, a niece who told us about this as well. Do you stay in Colesberg now yourself. STANFORD DILATO I stay in Venterstad because my children are at school there but Colesberg is my home. I regularly come back to Colesberg. MS BURTON And how is your relationships in Colesberg. You spoke about the times when people did not want to talk to you. Do you have friends in Colesberg now. STANFORD DILATO I have friends in Colesberg, a lot of friends. I have no problem with the community in Colesberg presently, no-one has bad intentions towards me now. MS BURTON I am very pleased to hear that. And you yourself, how do you feel nowadays. Are you in good health? STANFORD DILATO I was never really of good health. Since that time, I always have terrible headaches. I go the doctors regularly. I am usually transferred to specialists in Bloemfontein. They say that I am very stressed. I go to Pilenomie hospital quite a lot. I have been transferred there to a clinic in Bloemfontein. I stayed there for while. Those specialists then said I must stop working, because of my problem. I cannot work as a result of this headache. That is the condition right now. MS BURTON Thank you, our investigators have confirmed that you are being treated for what is known as post traumatic stress and we are glad to know that you are receiving treatment and we hope that you will feel better soon as a result of that. The people whom your wife name as having done those things to her, were in fact tried and sentenced and found guilty and served a prison sentence, but I believe they are now released. Is that right? STANFORD DILATO MS BURTON Mr Dilato is there anything you would like to say or ask of the Commission? STANFORD DILATO Yes, there is. My request to the Commission is that as I am a single parent, my children still at school, I earn very little. R600.00 a month. I have three children. I need to clothe these children. I need to feed them. I need to educate them. This children go on talls at school, but they are not able to as other children, because I do not have enough money. MS BURTON Thank you, we take note of that. Anybody else would like to ask a question? MS SEROKE Mr Dilato, when you were endeavouring to bury your wife, how long did it take for her to buried in Bloemfontein? STANFORD DILATO It took a week. MS SEROKE As you have no relatives in Bloemfontein. Who helped you to bury your wife. MS SEROKE It is the state that buried my wife. MS SEROKE MS SEROKE Do you want to find out where it is? STANFORD DILATO Yes, I would like to. MS SEROKE STANFORD DILATO I would appreciate that a lot. Thank you. STANFORD DILATO Yes, sir, it is so. ADV POTGIETER You were a community policeman at that stage, not so? STANFORD DILATO Yes sir, that is so. ADV POTGIETER Did you have problems with the community before this incident happened to your wife? STANFORD DILATO I did not have a single problem. ADV POTGIETER Did the difficulties only start when your wife bought that meat at the butchery. STANFORD DILATO ADV POTGIETER Your wife, you had that particular job, but your wife, where was she working, what was she doing? STANFORD DILATO She was a garage, she worked at a garage. She was a tea lady there. ADV POTGIETER Was she in any way involved in the political conflict, and the political situation at the time? STANFORD DILATO She used to toi-toi now and again, but she never went to meetings. ADV POTGIETER Did she toi-toi with the comrades or what? STANFORD DILATO Yes, she would see the comrades toi-toiing, then she would join in. ADV POTGIETER But what I just want to be 100% clear about this. When was she aware of the consumer boycott? STANFORD DILATO She says she was not aware, because of most of the time she was at work and she would go home late. This happened on a Saturday. On Friday she had gone home late from work. ADV POTGIETER So she was not deliberately breaking the consumer boycott, disregarding the consumer boycott? STANFORD DILATO No, it was not on purpose. She did not know. ADV POTGIETER Now when she was found with the meat that she had bought, contrary to the boycott that was going on at that stage. What happened to her then. Was she assaulted, what happened to her? STANFORD DILATO She was not assaulted. They just grabbed the meat and stamped all over it. ADV POTGIETERAnd did she go lay a charge? STANFORD DILATO Yes, she laid a charge at the man who grabbed her meat. ADV POTGIETER And was that a problem. Was that which gave rise to the toi-toiing at your house and stoning and the situation that you described earlier. STANFORD DILATO I am sure it is. ADV POTGIETER What did you do about that charge. STANFORD DILATO ADV POTGIETER So that case was withdrawn before your wife was killed, but in spite of that, the incident still happened. She was still killed. STANFORD DILATO Yes sir. ADV POTGIETER Nobody came to your house and discuss this matter with you, talked to you about the consumer boycott. Said to you there was this consumer boycott and asked you not to act in breach of it. STANFORD DILATO Not a single person came. ADV POTGIETER Thank you very much STANFORD DILATO Thank you Sir MS BURTON I just want to add my thanks and we realise you and your family had a terrible experience. You lost your wife, your children lost their mother. Your children lost their home and it was not possible for you for a long to live in your home and in your area. We take note of this and we recognise the divisions and the tensions that was rampant in the community at that time. And we hope that at least coming to tell us what happened ha to some extent eased your suffering. Thank you very much. STANFORD DILATO