hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, SUBMISSIONS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1996-09-23 KLERKSDORP 1 PULENG LENAH DITHEJANE 01391 https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55393&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/klerks/dithejan.htm DR RANDERA Good afternoon, Mr Dithejane. We welcome you. Can you tell us who is the person with you? MS DITHEJANE This is my father, Hendrik Dithejane. DR RANDERA Mr Dithejane, good afternoon and welcome to you. Puleng, you are 20 years old now and you are coming to tell us about your sister, Kebogile Elizabeth Dithejane. You are from Tswelelang Township which is just outside Wolmaransstad. Your sister died on the 3rd of July 1990, when you were 14 years old. Can you first of all tell us about something about yourself and your family before you go on to tell us about what happened to your sister on that day. MS DITHEJANE I am Pulen Dithejane, the son of Susan and Hendrik. I am the last born at home. I come from the family of eight, six of them, all the girls are married except the one who died. All my three brothers married and my two brothers died and there is one left. I am still at school. I am at Trebona Secondary School, I am doing Std 9. I am left with my father and mother. I took that responsibility because I am the one who is looking after them because all the time I am with them. DR RANDERA Thank you very much, Puleng. Will you please tell us what happened on the 3rd of July 1990 to your sister KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG 2 P L DITHEJANE Kebogile. MS DITHEJANE At that time there was unrest in the location. When the comrades went out to look for support at the various houses. At the time that they were looking for support at the houses, they came to my house. They said they are asking for support. Then she agreed to go with them, because the main issue at that time, was that they intended to ban the Rev Ngwani's shop, who was regarded as an informer. They did that. What I remember well, when they arrived at my home it was nine o'clock in the evening. They came to support to us as usual, then she went with him. When they arrived at that shop, before they burnt the shop, the police came and shot with the tear-gas as usual. Then everybody ran his or her own direction. Some of them were hiding at different places. They were hiding at the principal's house, because there were many trees outside and they were sitting under those trees, when others were going to shoot there. Those who were going to burn the house, they ran and the road which she took, that's where she was injured. It was not her alone, and even some she was with, were injured. She was shot at the back of the head and part of her brain fell there. After she was shot, they beat her and her body changed colour. Her one hand was broken. They took her to hospital. They took them to hospital. The reason was that when they came back from the hospital they will take them to the police cells. We slept there, not knowing what happened, whether she is safe or not. On the following day, very early in the morning my uncle came and asked my father if he knows her. He said yes, I know her, because I have been looking for her KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG 3 P L DITHEJANE the whole night in the location, but I didn't find her. Then he told him that that person is in hospital and the way he was told, she died at six o'clock at the hospital. My father contacted the hospital to find out whether this was true. He found out that that is true, my sister has died. We also went to confirm her death and found out that it is true. After that these police were not bothering with her because before the funeral they came to ask my father to come and make a statement, because they say there is money, he was promised money. We didn't know what that money was for. They told him to come and make the statement. At the time he asked, he said should firstly prepare for the funeral, then he will attend to everything thereafter. He was saying to himself why would they say he must come and make a statement, knowing that he is doing that. The funeral was arranged and it passed. Every day during the mass actions the police used to come and they used to shoot with the tear-gas and people used to run away. But they were shooting only tear-gas, they were not shooting guns to kill. On the day of the funeral they were trying to cause confusion. But the comrades who were there, and other people there at the time, they didn't pay attention, because they were trying to do their own thing. The funeral went well. After the funeral they took my father to come and make the statement. He made the statement. Since it was made, he was not called or even given that money which he was promised, which he didn't know why they wanted to give him the money. They did not even give him the money and we don't know what has happened to the case. KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG 4 P L DITHEJANE DR RANDERA Puleng, thank you very much for telling us that story. I just want to ask a few questions for clarification. Your sister was how old when she died? MS DITHEJANE She was 17 years old. DR RANDERA You said in your statement and just now again that there was a great deal of unrest in Tswelelang Township at the time. What was that all about? MS DITHEJANE That unrest, I cannot even understand what caused that, because schools were disrupted. Police used to come to our schools, and when they used to come we used to run, run away. Lastly it ended being a big thing because when we have meetings, when the comrades were doing their own political things there, then this man we suspected of being a police informer. It was believed that this is the person who was giving the information from the location to the police. That is why there was unrest between the police and the comrades. DR RANDERA Did I understand you correctly when you said that when the comrades came to get your sister, they also said that they were going to go and burn down the reverend's shop or house? MS DITHEJANE On that day they told themselves that they are going to burn the shop. After the police had shot the tear-gas, and after they had run away, the comrades came back to burn that shop. DR RANDERA So as far as you know there were policemen around the shop at the time, that were protecting the reverend's property? MS DITHEJANE There were no policemen who were guarding that shop. What made it possible is that every time these policemen would come in and out of the township and if the KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG 5 P L DITHEJANE comrades are singing on one side, the police are on the other street, you know. At that time they were coming straight to the shop and that is the time when the comrades were trying to burn that shop. DR RANDERA Your sister left the shop with other comrades. Was anybody else injured that night? MS DITHEJANE She was amongst the comrades. She was not alone. Two people died on that day, that is Gaulage and my sister. Others were injured. DR RANDERA Two other people died with your sister in that same incident? MS DITHEJANE It is my sister and the other girl. My sister was shot in the head and the other girl was shot in the stomach. DR RANDERA The other comrades who were there, did they say to you or to your father or your mother, who was responsible for the shooting? MS DITHEJANE No, they don't know the person who is responsible. Even at the house, even our comrades, they don't know the person who shot. They didn't end up seeing exactly who is responsible for shooting. DR RANDERA Let me just clarify that question. I am not asking specifically about a person. Was it the police that were responsible for shooting or who was responsible for shooting on that night? MS DITHEJANE On that day, there were other people whom the police were giving them the guns, so that they should help them, but I believe that it is the police, because the police were hiding and those are the people who were shooting. The people who must take responsibility are the police. KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG 6 P L DITHEJANE DR RANDERA Sorry, but there were other people who were given guns by the police? MS DITHEJANE We would see that when we have our political activities, we would see police handing guns to other people to help them, but on that day it was done by the police people themselves. DR RANDERA In other places that we have been to, vigilante groupings were formed, who were supporting the councillors or maybe supporting other people. Were there vigilante groupings in Tswelelang at the time? MS DITHEJANE I beg your pardon? May you repeat your question, Sir? DR RANDERA I will repeat my question. Were there any vigilante groupings, these people whom the police were giving guns to, were they in opposition or were they part of another political party or who were they? MS DITHEJANE Yes, I know they are there. DR RANDERA Do you know who they were at that time? MS DITHEJANE No, Sir. DR RANDERA I don't have any more questions to ask you. I will hand over to the Chairperson. CHAIRPERSON Thank you very much. Prof Meiring? PROF MEIRING Just one question, if you don't mind. You mentioned the Rev Linkwane whose shop they wanted to burn down. Did the family Linkwane still live in the township? MS DITHEJANE Yes, they are still there. PROF MEIRING Have you talked to them or have your parents talked to them about the incident? MS DITHEJANE No, this Mr Linkwane, he used to come to our house and he doesn't even come to my father, coming to talk about things. My father was not anxious to ask him about KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG 7 P L DITHEJANE that incident, because he said what has happened has happened. So he took it that way. They are friendly and they are still friendly now. PROF MEIRING Thank you. CHAIRPERSON We thank you, Sis Puleng, your dad and all the family members for coming to talk to us. We sympathise with you. We are weak and we don't have enough words with which to encourage you and comfort you. But you may know that even when you give evidence you are among people who are your friends and who understand your experience. It is only God who can encourage and give you the courage and the power to help you. This is the same God whom we asked that he should help us. We will try and find out the truth about this incident so that we can know exactly who are responsible for this incident. But we leave you with these words; that when you look around you will see that these people did not sacrifice for nothing. Because today we are a different people. We have our democratic leaders whom we have elected ourselves, because of your sister's contribution. KLERKSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG