TRC Final Report

Volume 5

Chapter 9

Subsection 14

44 At the Empangeni human rights violations hearing in November 1996, Ms J Msweli testified about the killing of her son, Simon Msweli:

They took them to SAPPI to a certain corner… I think they were assaulted until they died because we couldn’t even identify him. His eyes had been gouged out. He was never shot. He was tortured. He was violated. He was also mutilated. We could not identify him. I only identified him through his thumb. There was a certain mark on his thumb.

45 She continued:

I want the people who killed my sons to come forward because this is a time for reconciliation. I want to forgive them, and I also have a bit of my mind to tell them. I would be happy if they could come before me because I don’t have sons today. Their father died at an early age, and I put them through school. Now, they’ve never been criminals. They’ve never had any problems, even with the neighbours. They were Christians. I also want to speak to [my sons’ killers] because I want to speak to them before I forgive them. I want them to tell me who sent them to come and kill my sons. Maybe they are my enemies, maybe they are not. So, I want to establish as to who they are and why they did what they did.

46 At the Port Elizabeth human rights violations hearings, an unnamed witness testified:

Chairperson: Thank you very much for taking the trouble to come to us. Our sympathy goes to you for all the hurt that you had to go through. What we are going to try and do according to the powers that we have, we are going to find the truth and medicine that will heal our country to make us one – something that will unite all of us and make us one, so that we can have reconciliation. Thank you very much for having sympathy for other people while you have your own problems and your own hurt. That is called humanity. Something that we are trying for our country to have, and everybody should have humanity. That is what we are trying to have now so that everybody can stop being selfish. Thank you very much.

Witness: Thank you, Bishop, but I am sorry there is something else that I would like to ask. Do not take me wrong my Bishop, you cannot make peace with somebody who does not come to you and tell you what he has done. We will have peace only when somebody comes to you and says, this is what I did. I did this and this and that and that. If they do not come, if we do not know who they are, we would not be able to. But now I will forgive somebody who has. That is the whole truth, sir. We take it that the people who are listening and the people who are coming to the Commission will be touched as well. Their conscience will tell them that if they want forgiveness they should come and expose themselves so that they can also get the healing that the victims are getting.

Unidentified: This is why we are trying to investigate the truth. Thank you.

Witness: Thank you, Bishop, but there is something more. I do not want to lie to this house. Yes, Bishop, you are my Bishop. I will not be able to forgive anyone until I know who they are. Then I will shake their hands. Otherwise, I will not be able to forgive somebody that I do not know.”

47 At the youth hearings in East London, the Inter-Church Youth (ICY) made the following statement:

We on our side were violated brutally, and we therefore plead with those who were involved in violating our own rights whether they were actively involved or otherwise, to humble themselves and confess to those who suffered in the atrocities of the past. Mr Chairperson, Sir, we are saying we were mostly wronged, but we are prepared to forgive people if they come and tell us what they have done. Surely, this hall here today is full of those people who were mostly sinned against. But where are those people that were involved in the atrocities. If they can come to us and tell us what they have done and start owning up the to process … But instead what we are finding in this country is that those who were involved in the process of violating other people’s human rights are starting to disassociate themselves with the acts of terror. And those people do that publicly because they are political figures, and they say they were not involved. But on the other hand, they call themselves committed Christians who are committed to nation building. We question that.

Coming forward here with a submission as the sinned-against group is an explanation of what type of people we are as black people. We are notoriously forgiving and up against what the missionaries have been saying in statements that are written down in books, implied that we are a non-religious community. I want to say that we are more religious than many a nation. It is because we are notoriously religious that we are notoriously forgiving. So said Dr Weli Mazamisa.

In conclusion, I want to say again that we are more than just religious. We are a peace-loving people and, if the Bible says, “blessed are the peacemakers”, we might have had so many blessings if and only if these people will come forward. The people we want to make peace with are not coming to tell us what they have done so that at least we can forgive them. Please people, we need to be blessed by God for the peace, but they are deciding to run away. They are not just running away with themselves, but they are running away with our long overdue blessings. We want our blessing please. People we urge you to bring back our blessings. I thank you Mr Chairman.