hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-10-14 WINELANDS 1 CT/00267 CHUMANI MILTON MATSHIKI NOTHEMBA KABANE [wife] SHOT & KILLED https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=56124&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/wineland/ct00267.htm MS BURTON NOTHEMBA KABANE Duly sworn states REV XUNDU Thank you Mr Chairman, greetings to you Nothemba Kabane. What is your clan name? MS KABANE REV XUNDU Are you married to new Zulu clan? MS KABANE Yes, I am REV XUNDU Thank you, where did you grow up? MS KABANE My home is in Lady Frere. REV XUNDU Thank you, where did you get married, did you get married in Lady Frere or here in Paarl? MS KABANE We got married in 1960 back home. REV XUNDU Your husband, according to this statement, was - his views were in contras to the POQO Regime. MS KABANE Nozulu, my husband was against the POQO Regime - he spoke openly. REV XUNDU In which organization was in? MS KABANE He belonged to no organization, it was in 1962 one could not say anything about the POQO Regime - not even to the next person - because we were never sure whether that person belonged to POQO or not. REV XUNDU What is it about the POQO Regime that your husband did not like? I - pardon, what is it exactly that your husband was against in the POQO Regime? MS KABANE He did not like the killing of people - where were a lot of people who got killed by POQO. REV XUNDU According to your statement - apparently somebody said your husband must be careful of speaking about POQO in the negative. Did your husband tell you exactly who it is that your husband was against? MS KABANE REV XUNDU Are there particular people that you know or that Jam-Jam knew. MS KABANE It was in Langabuya Jam-Jam stayed in Mhaluweni. My husband was with me at home. MS KABANE Did he not say exactly who it is that wanted to kill your husband? MS KABANE No, he did not say, it is just they - it is just that they gave him lethal looked should he speak against POQO. REV XUNDU Did you not know POQO members? MS KABANE No, we did not. You could not identify them as POQO members. It was a terrible situation them. REV XUNDU MS KABANE REV XUNDU Did these people not say exactly what happened to your husband? MS KABANE REV XUNDU Where did [indistinct] and your husband separate? MS KABANE REV XUNDU Did you then go and investigate if it was him? MS KABANE We were not able to go because it was Sunday [indistinct] . My neighbours then stayed with me until the morning on the Monday. On the Monday morning there were a whole lot of people - our neighbours. Investigators then came with Ndugela, the police van went to the farm were Mr Nxhani stays. Ndugela and Ndunlungu in the presence of Mr Ndongeni asked were Nozulu was. I then said he left on Saturday, they then said to Mr Ndugela why is it that her husband should not come back until Monday morning. I then went to the police station, I left my children with Manthene. We went to the police station - when we got to the police station on the Monday morning, there were a lot of people from Umtata, that were at the police station. The investigators then said: Your husband is headless, can you not go and identify the body? I said: I have a young child, I cannot go to identify the body. I then requested that they bring his clothing to me, then Ndugela brought his clothing, I said : This is it. I then went back home and there were a whole lot of relatives at home. On the third day the police came again saying I should identify his head. I then went because I could not escape from this, I identified his head. REV XUNDU Did they then allow you to take the corpse to bury him? MS KABANE The Umtata people buried him but as Anglican I could not bury him. The Methodist Church buried him. He was Anglican member and I was Methodist, but it was difficult for him to buried according to the Anglican routine. REV XUNDU Was it the churches that was censoring the churches? MS KABANE It is this organization. REV XUNDU Where was your husband working at the time? MS KABANE REV XUNDU So you were not able to receive any of his pension? MS KABANE No, I did not receive anything, I was under a lot of stress and heart ache. I have not been well since because it was the first time I saw a man headless like a sheep. REV XUNDU Did you investigate if he had any rights or pensions that had been deducted from his salary? MS KABANE No, I did not, it was very stupid of me. REV XUNDU Do you have enough evidence that your husband worked at Rembrandt? MS KABANE REV XUNDU Do you wish that the Commission would investigate for you? MS KABANE REV XUNDU Do you work? MS KABANE REV XUNDU Besides what you have already said, do you have any more to request to the Truth Commission? MS KABANE REV XUNDU The people - the other people that you think were there besides those that were hung, if the Government would investigate the people that were with Nozulu. Besides those that were hung? MS KABANE Yes, they are in the villages, some in Okadjana, some in Nxamakwa, others were just given suspended sentences. REV XUNDU CHAIRPERSON Pumla Gobodo MS GOBODO MS KABANE I had 2 children: Nosipo was born in 1960, the 5th of September Sithembila was born in 1962 on the 4th of September Even those who are still alive, my heart is still against them until they come and ask for forgiveness. MS GOBODO This picture that you have drawn of holding your children by the teeth shows us how much you are struggling for your children, it depicts the picture. Is this your daughter? MS KABANE Sithembila was bitten up at eMalholweni in 1988 on the 10th of April. Stembele passed away, he was beaten up at eMalholweni I had 2 children, I now have one. Sithembila was beaten up on the 10th of April 1988 and he died immediately. MS GOBODO Why was he killed? MS KABANE I do not know because I was of ill health and I was not there, but because my husband passed away in the nature, and then my child died, I related the 2 but I could not be sure. MS GOBODO CHAIRPERSON