hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-10-15 WINELANDS 2 CT/00789 DOUGLAS FRANS NOBANTU FRANS [mother] KILLED IN ANGOLA https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=56141&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/wineland/ct00789.htm MS GOBODO Could you assist the witness with the - yes those headphones please. DR ORR MS FRANS DR ORR Right can - can you hear me now Ms Frans? MS FRANS Yes. DR ORR NOBANTU FRANS Duly sworn states DR ORR I will now ask Glenda Wildschut to help you to tell your story. MS WILDSCHUT Good morning Ms Frans. MS FRANS I also greet you. MS WILDSCHUT Are you hearing me clearly? MS FRANS Yes, I can hear you. MS WILDSCHUT MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT Would you just tell us a little bit about yourself and then you can proceed and tell us about your son, Douglas Frans whom you say died in Angola in 1985. MS FRANS So I was left like that up to now. So I have now decided to come before this Truth Commission because I need his body that he should have a decent burial here at home. I also ask the Government that he should have a tombstone in memory so that his children should see where he is. And I would also like the Government to help me with educating these 3 children because one of them is in Std 6 - staying with his mother and 2 of them are with me. One is doing Std 4 at Mboniselo Junior Secondary School and the other one is in Std 2 and he lives with my daughter and he only comes to me during holidays. MS WILDSCHUT Ms Frans I just want to ask you a few questions so that we can understand the story correctly. Is it true that your son left South Africa in 1985, do you know about that? MS FRANS Are you asking - yes he left in 1985. MS WILDSCHUT And you heard the news from the young men - the 2 men who came to visit you that he passed away in 1988? MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT And you say that he died in Losaka? MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT Before I continue can I just find out from you did you know that your son had another name? MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT Could it have Solly? MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT But you are sure that the surname was Nzuzu - Nzuzo? MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT Are they all then with you? MS FRANS No, one of them - the eldest - lives with the mother. MS WILDSCHUT And the other 2 are living with you? MS FRANS Yes. MS WILDSCHUT MS FRANS MS WILDSCHUT MS FRANS We do have contact with the mother and we communicate. She lives in Polla Park. MS WILDSCHUT MS GOBODO Thanks Glenda, the Reverent? REV XUNDU Thank you Chairperson, I would like to ask how old was - was your son when he left in 1985? MS FRANS REV XUNDU How old was Douglas when he left the country in 1985? MS FRANS He was 20 years old. REV XUNDU Was he working, where was he working? MS FRANS He was a road worker. REV XUNDU Was it quite some time that he had been working? MS FRANS Yes. REV XUNDU What member of - what member of the organization was he? MS FRANS He was a member of the African National Congress. REV XUNDU MS FRANS He was a member of the UDF - he was a UDF member. REV XUNDU Thank you Chairperson. MS FRANS Thank you. MS GOBODO Many people lost their children and many children lost their parents. We therefore thank you that you have come to share your pain with us and we also promise that we are with you at heart, thank you.