hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-10-08 KAROO 2 CT/1524 YIBANATHI MJADA NOTI MJADA SEVERE TORTURE https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55359&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/karoo/ct01524.htm MS BURTON [Indistinct] Noti Mjada and Gladys Ntsizakalo. Please come to the stage and I - if you have other members of your family - they are welcome to come sit with you - in which case we probably need a couple more chairs. Thanks. Thank you. GLADYS NTSIZAKALO Duly sworn states MS BURTON NOTI MJADA Duly sworn states MS BURTON Thank you very much indeed. I am going to Ms Seroke to facilitate your testimonies today. MS SEROKE Your son Yibanathi - he was taken from home in 1986. We would like you shortly to tell us what happened to him on that day up until today. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE [Indistinct] water to drink. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE Ms Noti we know how you feel, but please try to control yourself so that we can ask questions and so that you can answer our questions. Your son, Yibanathi, on the day the police took him. How old was he at the time. NOTI MJADA He was sixteen years old. MS SEROKE He was sixteen years old - not fourteen years old, because in your statement it is written that he was fourteen years old. So we want to clarify that. Was he fourteen or sixteen. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE In 1986 [indistinct] If he was born in 1968 - that means in 1986 he was eighteen years old. Was he at school that time. NOTI MJADA Yes he was at school. MS SEROKE In which standard was he. NOTI MJADA He was in Standard six. MS SEROKE Was he a member of any youth organisation - as others were members of the youth organisation. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE NOTI MJADA He is here in Hanover now. MS SEROKE How is he. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE Is he still mentally disturbed. NOTI MJADA Yes, he is and I am the only person who is looking after him. MS SEROKE Is he receiving any treatment. NOTI MJADA He started receiving treatment in April and he went to the mentally disturbed hospital two times. MS SEROKE Were does he get this treatment. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE It is clear that he cannot work anymore. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE What happened to him - what did the police do to him. NOTI MJADA He told me that they were - police used to put sex in their faces and they were - they were taken to the dam with water - full of water - and they were severally beaten by the police. He was beaten all over the body. MS SEROKE It is clear that it is this beating that led to him being mentally disturbed. NOTI MJADA Yes, I think so. Because sometimes his eyes and his face got swell up - every day - sometimes - and I could see that his head in injured. MS SEROKE As you are crippled now - is your situation because of what happened to you. NOTI MJADA Yes, I was injured at that time when the police were beating me. They were beating me severely and they told me that I am a terrorist. They other police just pushed me and I fell down and he continued beating me while I was lying down. MS SEROKE Do you have a husband. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE Are you alone now. NOTI MJADA Yes, I am. I only just received pension - just this year. MS SEROKE Do you get a pension. NOTI MJADA Yes. MS SEROKE How much is it. NOTI MJADA MS SEROKE You are supporting your children with this pension. NOTI MJADA Yes. MS SEROKE Ms Mjada, please come closer. NOTI MJADA I also got a disability grant. This is the third month. He got R410.00 initially and then the second time he got R420.00 - the third time he also got R420.00. MS SEROKE Is there something perhaps that your would like to add to your testimony. NOTI MJADA ADV POTGIETER And you are talking to - about the son of the lady next to you in fact. Just that the spelling was not right in the statement. Can I ask you perhaps briefly to move the mike to Ms Mjada. Ms Mjada your son as well has similar problem when he came out of detention. Before he was detained - did he have any mental problems - mental illness. NOTI MJADA ADV POTGIETER Physically speaking he was also healthy when he left you home and the police took him away and took him in detention. NOTI MJADA He was in good health - he was never a sickly boy. He was never sickly - I never even took him to the doctor. They was just muscle as a baby that used to trouble him. That is all. ADV POTGIETER After he was released from detention you had to take him to the doctor. He was in need of medical attention - is that correct. NOTI MJADA ADV POTGIETER NOTI MJADA ADV POTGIETER NOTI MJADA ADV POTGIETER NOTI MJADA As a woman I could not really investigate about that, but his urine was blood. I would give - he then asked for money to go to the doctor - and time and time again I would give him the money. I cannot talk about his penis, because I did not see it. But his urine had blood. ADV POTGIETER But I am going to ask you what did he tell you what happened - did anything happen to his private parts whilst he was in detention. Did they do any harm to that. NOTI MJADA He says that they would open a drawer - put his penis in the drawer and then close the drawer. When I was called the first time - when the police said he was sick - there was a child that kept on writing a letter. I had grandpa with me. ADV POTGIETER NOTI MJADA Thank you. ADV POTGIETER What I wanted to ask you is that - I assume he is still getting treatment for his medical condition at this state. NOTI MJADA Yes, he still gets treatment - monthly. He gets injected monthly. Not on the same date, but every month he gets an injection. ADV POTGIETER Ms Mjada after your son came out you tried to take your son to Doctor Standard. That same doctor which I assume Ms Ntsizakalo is working for. What was his attitude. What did he tell you. NOTI MJADA This doctor had no empathy towards children that were in the struggle. He treated him like a doctor. I then took him to Doctor Thompson. I took him to Doctor Thompson. He then got better. Doctor Standard had no regard - he took him as a dog. ADV POTGIETER [Indistinct] you were terrorists. NOTI MJADA Yes, he used to tell met I am a terrorist. ADV POTGIETER Thank you Chairperson. MS BURTON You were very brave to come here today and tell about this and we thank you very much indeed and we pray that you will be comforted. We are now going to take a in a minute a short break - just for ten minutes or so to give people a change to stand up and move around but we will ask you first to remain seated and to allow the witnesses to go out to the foyer which I presume is at the back. So will the witnesses now leave the room. You can follow Gail in the red jacket and you are very welcome also to leave the stage. I presume you will go that way. Thank you very much indeed. And we will be back here.