 families can go back to your areas in peace. Thank you for coming here.
CHAIRMAN: (Incomplete)... Commission. There are people from the Commission staff who are able to take statements. They were at the back of the hall. If I can just ask them to wave their hands so you can see who they are. Right there at the back. If anyone wants to make a statement please will you contact those people at the back and they will try and take your statements. Thank you.
The next witness will be Bhekisizwe Professor Mbanjwa from Ephatheni. Good afternoon Bhekisizwe. If you can just put the headphones on please. Can you hear me now?
MR MBANJWA: Yes, I can hear you.
CHAIRMAN: You come from the Ephatheni area in Richmond, and we welcome you here. Before you give your evidence if you could please just stand to take the oath.
CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Please be seated. I will help you with your evidence this afternoon. Now, you were born on the 10th of January 1974, is that correct? --- That is correct.
 Can you tell us about your parents? Are they both still alive? --- Yes, they are still alive, but I am staying with my father. My father is at his home. We don't have our home. I am owning my own house now.
Are you married? --- Yes, I am married.
And how many children do you have? --- I have two children.
Is that aged eight and one and a half years respectively? --- Yes, that is correct.
Who is Sabelo Mbanjwa? --- That's my child.
Your child. How old is Sabelo? --- He is 13 years old.
He's 13 years old. Are you working at the moment? --- I am not working.
 --- My mother is a pensioner, she is epileptic, and my wife is not working.
Thank you. Now, the story you're going to tell us about happened in July 1991. What was going on in the Ephatheni area at that time? --- I will start from the beginning. My mother left me with her brother. That was my uncle. I grew up at my uncle's place. I was staying there with my grandfather... (incomplete - end of Side A, Tape 3)... took care of me. I went on with my education even though the situation was bad, and my uncles were working in Johannesburg, and the other one was working for Hulett Company, and the other one was - I started working at NPA. I left my uncles' place and I went and worked for a white man. His name was English. I started working at Mr Gammon when I was 17 years old. I could know stories about the Ephatheni area. I was no longer a hedge(?) boy. My mother got me before she was married. I used to work from early age. That's how I grew up until I became old, and when I was employed at Mr Gammon it was because I was a soccer player, and he had a firm. I worked there. One day I went visiting my home at Ephatheni. Violence began. I went visiting there. The white man whom I was working at told me that there was violence in the Ephatheni area.
I went visiting home. It was on Monday. I was a delivery boy, so I brought maize meal at home.
Carry on. --- I got injured and my uncle took me to hospital, to Ixopo Hospital. I stayed in that hospital. They failed to help me. They transferred me to Edendale Hospital. That's where my leg was amputated. At home they requested me from the hospital. I didn't like going back to Ephatheni because I thought ANC did what - shot me. My uncle took a car and they went to KwaGengeshe. The situation got tense at KwaGengeshe so I had no choice but to return back to Ephatheni. It wasn't easy for me to return to Ephatheni. I went to my mother's house. I wasn't satisfied about the treatment we were receiving from my stepfather. My stepfather used to swear at my mother. I asked the white man whom I was working at to take me to Government offices so that I could obtain an ID. He helped me and I have obtained an ID, and I started working at Mr Gomez. I got married to my wife, or I paid lobola, and she was pregnant at that time. At that time I was receiving pension, and my child died. I started taking care of my father's child, or rather my stepfather's child. And then he grew up and then he got married. My mother left her house and then she came and stayed with me, and then my stepfather came and chased my mother out of my house.
So the situation is that you are living in your own house. --- Yes, I am staying at my own house.
Is your mother back with you again? --- She ran away, because my father came and told her that I was his child and she must go away from my house.
that you were shot. Can you - what happened? Were you driving a vehicle, were you walking on the road? You didn't say very much about that. --- I got injured because on a Monday afternoon after work I had to bring my mother some maize meal, and I have heard about the situation that it was tense, so I took one of the lorries and I went home. I am staying nearby, and then the lorry dropped me there, and I got attacked late at night at home.
So you were walking to your mother's home? --- That's correct, it was my mother's home. It was before I have my own house.
Now, in your statement you've said that you believe that the people who shot you were actually IFP members. --- Yes, they were IFP members. I wasn't happy that I was attacked by ANC. I wasn't happy that the people who attacked me were ANC.
Sorry, the translation is saying ANC and you're saying IFP. Can we just clarify this please? The people that attacked you, what were their - what was their political affiliation? --- It was late at night at about half past 11. I wasn't happy that it was ANC who shot at me. I think - I suspect that it was IFP. I am not happy that it had been said that it was ANC.
Who said it was ANC? --- As I have already explained it was late at night. In my mind I wasn't happy that it was ANC.  Those people who attacked me ran away, and my uncle when he came he didn't find them there.
didn't see them at all? --- No, I am not sure. I never got to know who they were.
In that place where your mother was living at that time what was the predominant political affiliation? --- At Ephatheni we were divided into two. When this thing happened I wasn't there, but I know those boys - or rather the youths in that area they were divided. They youths left their parents. They used to come at night and attack.
What was your own political affiliation at that time? --- Where I grew up at KwaGengeshe there were no political organisations. I was staying at the white man's house where I was working.
So are you saying that you were not aligned to any political party? --- Yes, I wasn't, because I was staying at the white man's house. I became an IFP member because I am now at Ephatheni.
Just to deal with your injury. You lost your leg in this incident and you now have a false leg, is that right? --- That is correct.
Are you able to work and... (incomplete) --- No, I am unable. I tried to go back to the white man I used to work for, and he told me he can't give me any job now. Now he can't give me any job. I didn't further my education, I left school at standard five.
Do you get a disability pension? --- Yes, I do, even though I have faced a problem in 1994 July.
Was any report made to the police about your shooting? --- No. Police didn't receive any information because people were threatened to - they were scared to talk to police.
So are you saying that some people did actually see what happened, but they were too afraid to talk to the police? --- At home they know about this incident, but people were scared and they were being attacked by talking to police.
So there's been no case about your injuries? --- There was never one.
Bhekisizwe, I can see here that what's really sad is that you lost your future. Is that true? --- That is correct, I lost my future, and I could tell earlier on that I will become a star in soccer.
You are still young. Can you please tell us your dreams? --- There are some dreams which are still left, which are still there.
that I can make things.
Thank you. That's exactly what we wanted to know. We wanted you to tell us as to how we can help you. After you've made up your mind you can come to our offices and let us know how to help you.
Mr Mbanjwa, I would like to go back a little bit, especially as to why were you injured, or why were you attacked. You said you are now an IFP member. --- Yes, that is correct.