hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, SUBMISSIONS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1997-04-08 MESSINA 1 MIRIAM M MULEYA 3190 https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55607&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/messina/mesmule.htm DR RANDERA Meriam, good morning. MRS MULEYA Morning. DR RANDERA Can you hear me clearly? MRS MULEYA Yes. DR RANDERA Can you please take the oath. Miss Joyce Seroke is going to help you and then Mr Tom Manthata is going to help you in, as you tell your story. Thank you very much. MISS SEROKE MRS MULEYA (sworn states) MR MANTHATA Good morning. MRS MULEYA Good morning. MR MANTHATA You are going to tell us about Betty. Is Betty your mother or sister? MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA What are you doing now Betty, Meriam? MRS MULEYA Nothing. MR MANTHATA You are not working? MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA How many are you at home? MRS MULEYA We are seven. MR MANTHATA How many are working at home? MRS MULEYA Six are working. MR MANTHATA MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA: When your mother got injured was, was she working? MRS MULEYA She was sleeping in a, in a room. MR MANTHATA Can you please tell us, how did it happen? MRS MULEYA My mother was sleeping in a room so people were going to the stadium. MR MANTHATA Okay. Shall we, we go back a bit. MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA The interpreters are confused but they, the Peddie, the Sotho MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA MRS MULEYA No, they were getting out of the stadium and they were going. They were going. MR MANTHATA You say you were not at the stadium? MRS MULEYA Yes, I was not there. MR MANTHATA Could you tell us what could have been happening in the stadium? What was taking place in the street? MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA And were the people going to the stadium marching in an orderly manner? MRS MULEYA They were marching in an orderly manner. MR MANTHATA There were no demonstrators? MRS MULEYA Not that I know. MR MANTHATA What would you say the reason was to throw a teargas if it was orderly? MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA Was it thereafter, was it realized that it was your family only that was affected or could other families nearby have been affected by the bomb? By the teargas? MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA I see. Was your mother ever taken to the doctor? MRS MULEYA Yes. MR MANTHATA Did the doctor tell you what the problem was? MRS MULEYA She might have. The doctor might have told my elder brothers, me, no. MR MANTHATA Were there ever letters written by the doctor regarding the diagnosis taken by him? MRS MULEYA Yes. Yes, there were letters. MR MANTHATA And, having discovered or have been, having been told that it was, it has affected your mother that much, were there ever steps made to take the instance to the police? MRS MULEYA No. No. No action taken. MR MANTHATA And you say, for how long has your mother been in that state of ill health? MRS MULEYA About six years. MR MANTHATA By the way so she, she is since late. MRS MULEYA MR MANTHATA Okay, no further questions Meriam. I hand over to the Chairperson. Thank you. DR RANDERA Joyce? MISS SEROKE Meriam, I just want to clarify the fact about your mother. In your statement you say she is paralyzed on the left side of her body and just now when you were talking to Manthata you said, she has since passed away. Is she still alive or has she passed away? MRS MULEYA She passed away last month. MISS SEROKE That was before you made the statement. I mean after you had made the statement. MRS MULEYA After. MISS SEROKE MRS MULEYA Yes. MISS SEROKE Why did you not report the matter to the police? MRS MULEYA MISS SEROKE Thank you. DR RANDERA Dr Ally? DR ALLY MRS MULEYA DR ALLY .......... statement in, in your, this document that you filled in about stones being thrown. Where does, where does that come, did you make that statement, that stones were actually thrown during this, this march. MRS MULEYA DR ALLY MRS MULEYA DR RANDERA Meriam, can you just tell us how old was your mother when she passed away? MRS MULEYA DR RANDERA I just want to get some clarification. You say your mother was paralyzed. How soon after the teargas canister was shot into the bedroom, did she become paralyzed? MRS MULEYA She became paralyzed in 1994. Shortly, around July. DR RANDERA So that was almost a year after, after the day of this incident? MRS MULEYA Yes. DR RANDERA _________________________