hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, SUBMISSIONS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1997-04-10 TZANEEN WILLIAM MATIDZA 2019 https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55983&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/tzaneen/tzamatid.htm DR ALLY Will you do that one Joyce ? DR RANDERA Mr Matidza, good afternoon. MR MATIDZA Good afternoon. I also greet you. DR RANDERA Could you please introduce the young man who is with you. MR MATIDZA DR RANDERA WILLIAM MATIDZA (sworn states) DR RANDERA Thank you very much. MISS SEROKE Mr Matidza, could you tell us your story. MR MATIDZA Yes. Yes, I can. MISS SEROKE Please continue. MR MATIDZA It was during those previous times. I used to go about with these freedom fighters or the people fighting for freedom. As I was doing that, in that process, I, he was in trouble, because most of the White race of people and some of our fellow people, Blacks, were not interested in what I was doing. MISS SEROKE According to your statement here Ndade Matidza you were born in 1903. Am I correct to assume that you ... (interrupted) ? MR MATIDZA I was born in 1899, 1895. MISS SEROKE 1895 ? MR MATIDZA 18, in 1895. I was born in 1895. MISS SEROKE So, you probably are -. How old are you now ? About ... (interrupted) 100 and a 102 ? MR MATIDZA Yes, 102. MISS SEROKE MR MATIDZA MISS SEROKE MR MATIDZA Truly, yes. MISS SEROKE They came to fetch you and you were released ... (interrupted) MR MATIDZA Truly. MISS SEROKE And then they came to fetch you and then the third time. MR MATIDZA Truly. MISS SEROKE What was your political affiliation at that time ? MR MATIDZA I belong to the Progressive - the one where Madiba is. Mandela is. I mean initially. MISS SEROKE So, that is the ANC. Am I correct ? MR MATIDZA Well, it was not that officially recognised as an ANC, we just knew it as a Progressive Government, I mean Party. MISS SEROKE And the third time you were arrested, you say that Chief Ramabulani harassed you because you voted for the VIP party. What did you have against this VIP party ? MR MATIDZA Well, I was the organiser of the VIP. MISS SEROKE MR MATIDZA Well, we have suffered a lot, because those people were mixed with Whites or boers. MISS SEROKE And if they were mixed with White and boers, what is it that they did that you thought was wrong? MR MATIDZA MISS SEROKE Where you in favour of the Venda Homeland ? Government ? MR MATIDZA No, because they used to torture us. They were troublesome. MISS SEROKE Did they finally evict you from your place, or are you still remaining there ? MR MATIDZA I was never evicted. I just said to myself, let them kill me. MISS SEROKE No further questions. DR RANDERA Tate, you have said a number of times when you, in the arrest that took place and you were tortured, they were asking you about the help that you were giving to so-called terrorists. Were you actually assisting these so-called terrorists and what were you doing if you were ? MR MATIDZA Well, regarding the so-called terrorists, no, they were not really terrorists. They are just, they were just ordinary people who were really helping in organising inasfar as the freedom was concerned. To attain freedom. DR RANDERA Okay, I understand you. Thank you. DR ALLY Tata, thank you. Thank you very much. As my fellow colleague has already indicated you have lived through so much and you have survived so much and I think it must be, for you it must be a real personal triumph to know that you outlived all of these systems which attempted to oppress and repress you. You outlived the apartheid system; you outlived the homelands system and you are now able to live in this new democracy and that must be a real tribute and you must feel personally vindicated that throughout all of these years, you remain true to this belief of yours and people, the rights of people, the need for people to enjoy democracy and not to have governments forced on them which they did not agree with. Thanks for coming and for sharing with us and we will certainly be getting in touch with you regard to your particular case, your torture and the gross human rights violation which you personally suffered. Thank you very much. MR MATIDZA Thank you very much, too. Sorry, sorry, he was still asking something. DR ALLY Yes Dada ? MR MATIDZA What about the compensation about the fields that I lost, what about that? Is there anything that can be done about that? Well, the torture and all those things that I experienced ? DR ALLY As we have said to all the other people who have come forward, there is a Committee which is known as the Committee on Reparations and Rehabilitation and it is this Committee that is going to make recommendations to the President and to Parliament and it is through the recommendations of this Committee that a policy will be put into place to assist those who have suffered gross human rights violations. Unfortunately however, this will come at the end of the work of the Commission, because we have to listen to all cases and have to hear from all the witnesses, all victims before we know what exactly it is that the government needs to do in regard to, with regard to things that have happened to people. So we will just ask you to please be a little bit patient but if there are urgent issues with regard to your health that you need urgent, that needs urgent attention, then you can communicate that to our, to our staff, to our briefers, because there is an urgent interim relief policy for those kinds of cases but in terms of the long term reparation that will come at the end of the life of the Commission. So thank you again. MR MATIDZA DR ALLY MR MATIDZA Thank you very much too.