MS SOOKA: Before we begin the next session I would like to welcome Miss Fatima Hajay a Member of Parliament to the proceedings today. Miss Fina Roy a member of the ANC's Women's League. Miss Tandi Swakamisa a member of SANCO in Tembisa. Miss Regina Dhladla a member of the Gauteng Legislature. We would like to thank you for sharing this day with us. I would now like to call the next witness Mrs Zodwa Mofikeng to the witness stand please. Mr Mofokeng I believe your surname is Mlhabene is that correct?
MRS MLHABENE: Yes.
ZODWA MOFOKENG MLHABENE: (sworn states)
MS SOOKA: I have asked Mr Hugh Lewin to assist you with your evidence.
MR LEWIN: Thank you very much for coming to join us and for agreeing to tell us your story Mr Mofokeng Mlhabene. As we said before please feel at home, feel relaxed, you are with friends. What you are going to tell us about relates to events in 1987.
MRS MLHABENE: Firstly I will start by the incidents where I started being an activist. I don't know whether will that be relevant or must I start when my husband left?
MR LEWIN: No please tell us your own story as well, that's as important. Thank you.
MRS MLHABENE: I was active from 1976. Many things happened. I remember all the painful things that I saw happening to the youth. The one thing that I remember very
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clearly is when an airplane was flying above and they almost shot me near the railway line in Tembisa. Thereafter most of the youth were harassed and some disappeared and the one that I remember clearly is Brian Mazebuko who was thrown into Robben Island Prison.
Thereafter in 1981 when they started increasing rent there was a meeting held. The ANC was not much operating at that time but I was an ANC member at that time, underground. We were at a meeting with AZAPO at that time. In that meeting there were policemen but they were not dressed in their uniform. I forget this gentleman's name but he was staying in - he's a Black policeman who after that meeting said he'll arrest me.
Thereafter we established a committee that we called the Action Committee. As we were proceeding with this Action Committee we were holding many meetings in secret. In one day whilst we were in Ndulweni Church, I forget the name of the place clearly, after that meeting while sitting in that meeting, it was a big meeting and thereafter we just heard gunshots and even through all the windows we couldn't even move. When they got there they said that we were influencing the residents of Tembisa. Amongst those policemen there was a Black man called Pat Vilakazi. They threatened us and harassed us and finally they said that if we don't want to land in trouble we mustn't hold further meetings again. They left us.
We decided to change the venue for the meeting and we used our homes. Whilst we were at my home trying to hold this meeting, I remember we were with Mr Seata in that meeting and David Mofokeng my husband and Mongezi, I cannot remember the fourth one clearly, they came again. We saw
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them approaching but we could not run. We just stood there. They came in and they took us away, but they never took Mongezi with. They arrested us but nobody knew where we were kept.
On the way Pat Vilakazi said you Zodwa, if you are going to continue with this dirty influence this is a White man's world and we are going to keep you and the residents of Tembisa will never see you again. I said I don't have a problem with that. They kept us in the Benoni Police Station. People kept on trying to find us but they never managed to do that until we decided to go on a hunger strike.
As they were keeping us there they also arrested the AZATA comrades, it was Workshop and Khetla Mtembu. They were also kept in Benoni Prison and Amadakwati as well. We sat there and we continued with our hunger strike and they called Pete Jalewa who wanted to know why are we going on this hunger strike, but we explained to him that we want to go back home. He promised that he would take us back home. He gave us some food that he brought with him and he pleaded with us to eat and promised that we would be released tomorrow. And definitely we were released the following day.
After being released I continued being an activist and tried to bring people together to try and address the issues like rent. As we had united as women the White policemen came again and they said that if we don't disperse within five minutes they will shoot us. They chased us, and they chased women around along the tar road. Thereafter I didn't run away, I just stood there and they took me and said I am the leader and they arrested me. Two women decided to stay
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with me because they said that I cannot be arrested alone because I was not alone in this matter. When they dropped me off at the Police Station I found policemen dressed in camouflage uniform carrying firearms. At that time in the Station Commander's office there was Canel-Smit who was responsible for the East Rand. As I went in they said to me you have prohibited cars from running around and I wanted to know how could I do that. I wanted to know from him how do you know that? They said no arrest her and charge her for prohibiting cars from moving around the township and they threatened to shoot me. They took me upstairs and there they showed me Steve Biko's photo, and they told me that I will die just like him. I said it's fine.
They brought me down and they said we must be charged again for blocking the roads. They said they wanted everything that we had written down including the pamphlets, and we had told them that we don't know why did they increase the rental and therefore we will boycott. We showed them those placards and they chased these two women away so that they should be able to talk to me alone. They said they would be able to control me if these women are away. They released me and I addressed the people relating to this.
My husband, on his way back from home he heard about this matter. We continued with our activities from that day. They detained two of us. I don't remember the year clearly, but firstly they detained us in 1981 and secondly they detained the two of us again. They kept us in detention for some time. I was kept in Sun City Prison and he was in Modderbee. They released me first and him thereafter.
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They detained us again for a second time. As they went into the house they searched randomly and ransacking everything and left everything as is and they will take you with. On our second detention whilst I was in prison I sent a message that I want to - I think I will take you a bit backwards again. There was a time when Coetzee came. He came to my house and said I must be an informer, but I said to him how many people am I going to work with? He said there are many people. I said just mention one name. He said there was Sam Mwedi who was staying at a certain address that I cannot remember. He gave me the address and then they promised me that they would buy me taxis and give me licences and they would build me a beautiful house because you are the troublemaker here in Tembisa. And then I said to him this licence that you are going to give me, where am I going to use them in Tembisa? I said why don't you later all the way in Tembisa where I am going to - where these cars are going to drive around? He was annoyed. He said you kaffir woman, but I didn't mind because I was already having this address that he gave me.
After he had left I heard that he went to Durban. And after him Smith came in. I showed my colleagues this address that he gave me and I told them that these are the people who are responsible for all this harassment from the Police. I gave this address to .....(tape blanks out)
Going back to our second detention I was kept in Sun City Prison and my husband at Modderbee and the children were left unattended to. My first born at that time in 1982 - my first born was born in 1967, if you can help me there to work out how old was she then. And my second born was born in 1971 and my third born in 1974 and my last born in
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1980. In 1982 my last born was going to turn two years old. We left them unattended to with no food, with nothing. They couldn't even go to school. I called them and asked them where are my children. I wanted to know where are my children. I was asking Smith and Smith said he doesn't know. I said to him you have detained me and my husband and you don't know what the reason is and you don't even care about my children. All you care about is detaining us. Can you please take my children and everything that I have, my dogs, and everything and put them in the police station because I can't keep them anywhere. He said I don't know where to find your children. I said to him you must know because when you took me what did you expect to happen to my children? He wanted to know what if he could release one of us, I said I don't know, you do as you please. He just left off and he never said anything to me. He just left.
After some time he came back and said he released my husband. I said that doesn't matter. I just stayed in detention. I don't remember how long I stayed there. I was released and I came back home. From there on they came almost every day. There were these cars that were moving around and assassinating people and I decided to run away and my husband was detained again for the third time. I ran away to hide in Hammanskraal or Siyabuswa area in Kwandabele. I don't remember clearly which area. I ran away and my children couldn't further their schooling.
Whilst I was in Siyabuswa I would just come back for my political activities and go and hide again in Siyabuswa but they used to come and look for me at home every day, and used to find out from my grandfather where I am and he told them that he knows nothing. After some time I came back,
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and I was trying to visit my husband at Modderbee where he was held because they were desperately looking for me. So I could not go and see him therefore I ask other people to go and see him. My children were not receiving schooling all this time. I left the children there hiding in the bush and I came here in Tembisa and when I got here I found my grandfather there, but my husband was not at home. I found out how things were. He said we keep on visiting your husband. We have spoken to him. My husband was still in detention at that time, but he was released to come and visit during the weekend because he was in Baragwanath Hospital.
I kept on running away time and again and he was still kept in hospital. I don't remember in which year they arrested me again and they put me in Sun City Prison again, and there I became very ill and they sent me to Boksburg Hospital and there I stayed for three weeks. On my discharge from Boksburg Hospital I came straight home. I managed to stay here at home but running away frequently. Our car was being harassed all the time by these policemen's car.
There was a time when my husband was already released and I was back from hospital and I was at home and with my gates locked so that they shouldn't see if there was anyone at home. On that particular day I heard the phone ringing, but before that at night I saw many cars arriving and they had come to arrest me. My husband was there. He had come from Baragwanath Hospital coming to visit for the weekend. They found us, although we had locked ourselves in, when they got in they demolished everything and they wanted to know what was my husband doing at home. But I said to my
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husband to say to them should they want to know what is he doing there he must tell them that he was released on Friday. When they wanted to know when did he come back he responded and said that they released me on Friday. They wanted to know where are you from? I said I was on "fed-up" leave. I was from the Transkei. You said you cruel old woman who is influencing Tembisa with all our ill-manners are you back again? I said I will never quit.
They called another White man. Smith left now and he was no longer harassing the politicians and Borman replaced him. At this time that I said that they came at night it was Borman at that time, Smith had left.
MR LEWIN: Can you remember the date then?
MRS MLHABENE: I cannot remember the date clearly, but my husband has got a few cards that he has of his hospitalisation.
MR LEWIN: So that must have been in the mid-eighties, '85, '86?
MRS MLHABENE: Ja it's from '81, we were being detained all the time from 1981. I can't even count how many times were we detained, but it was many times. But what I am talking now, this incident when they came in cars that was in 1987 when my husband was visiting from Baragwanath Hospital, it was in 1987. They came in and they swore at us. I was trying to tidy up and to pack up my bags as usual. They said you don't need to pack up anything we just want to see you. Another White man came in, I don't remember his name clearly but he was in charge of Borman and his group. He said he was from Soweto. He said that you are going to work with me hand-in-hand. He wanted to know were you running away all this time I said no, I was not running away I was
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on "fed-up" leave. After having said that to me I felt helpless, I just gathered my things and I was thinking of my children that I left back there in the bush. He said don't pack up anything I am not going anywhere with you. He left me behind and the following morning I went to see the children. When I got there I realised that the last born was not well, and I brought the children back because I was no longer banned, but they never managed to further their schooling.
David left, David Mofokeng left. In the morning I got a telephone call to say that David Mofokeng was released from Baragwanath and he came straight home.
TAPE ENDS
And a chairperson of zone 3 in the street committees. These policemen when they came they said your husband is giving problems at work and in the Township as well. We must put him somewhere safe and I wondered where is that. I wanted to know where is that? They said that is the police station. They came again whilst we were sleeping and my younger daughter responded and said that my parents are not at home. She was just being courageous but we were there, but they turned away and left.
Thereafter my husband was expelled from work because of his political activities, but there were a lot of letters that they sent to him regarding his expulsion, and he was out of work and he was detained again. They took him and I thought they will never bring him back again but they didn't keep him for a long time. That was towards November. I think they released him in October. When he got home, because he was not working at that time we stayed with him for about two weeks. He was attending FAWU meetings.
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And on the 3rd of November, it was early in the morning and he said we must go and visit Tembi, and we did go and visit Tembi, who is my sister who stays in Hammanskraal, and we did that. It around about ten past nine when we left for Hammanskraal. When we got to my sister's house in Hammanskraal we had some mechanical problems with the car. My sister took the car to a mechanic and we stayed there until four o'clock in the afternoon. We left for home at about four o'clock. He suggested that we must go via Warmbaths and we did that. We drove around in Warmbaths and we bought some refreshments and we sat under a tree, and he suggested that I must do the driving because he was feeling tired. I did the driving while he slept. I drove until we got here at home at quarter to six and I just prepared a light supper because he said that he was hurrying to a meeting.
After having had supper it was towards seven o'clock when he decided to leave and I asked somebody to go and buy myself some cool drink but he said to me don't worry I will bring some cool drink from Olifantsfontein, I won't stay long, I am just going to get some report-back. I gave him the empty bottle and he drove off with the car.
I don't know what happened, where he had gone to, but around about 9:20 I saw two boys arriving. I saw the car coming in and I told my grandfather that how can David come back with my cool drink at this time. But when I saw the car I saw two people. He was not in the car. Then I was shocked. These young men came in and they wanted to know who Zodwa is. I wanted to know why are you asking? They said we are being sent here by David. I wanted to know what is he saying. They told me that they found him being
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arrested by policemen in Olifantsfontein. The policemen wanted to take the car as well but he was fighting with them and he said that arrest him alone and not his car. And when he saw us he asked us to bring the car here at 497. And he said that when you phone you must call as far as Pretoria.
Then I started making a few calls. I tried many police stations and even the Tembisa Police Station in Kempton Park but I never found him. That was on the 3rd. On the 4th I phoned my sister at Hammanskraal who arrived on the 4th in the morning or the afternoon, I don't remember clearly. I tried phoning the whole day on the 4th but I never found him anywhere. When my sister arrived she suggested that we should try calling the hospitals as well, but we did try but we never found him.
On the 5th in the morning we kept on phoning. It was round about 11 o'clock or just after 10 o'clock, we phoned Olifantsfontein. I don't remember how many times we called from the 3rd, we called Olifantsfontein again and we asked them to give us some more numbers, Verwoerdburg numbers, they did. We tried to find out if there were any other police stations. We phoned again and that's when we got a response, the voice saying that "Is it you David's wife?". I said yes. They said please come here we want to see you. I told my sister and we went to Olifantsfontein immediately.
At Verwoerdburg we went into the police station and we found a White lady standing over the counter and a young policeman standing next to her, and I told them that I am looking for David. They said you mustn't come and tell us about that thug, he has killed somebody. I said I don't care even if he has killed anyone but I just want to see him. They showed me to a certain office and we went into
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that office, and I looked at the time it was five to 12 then. We spoke to another White man who was just sitting there dressed in uniform. That I think was the station commander. He wanted to know are you David's wife? I said yes. He said you may sit down. He wanted to know who was accompanying me. I told him that this is my sister. He said David is around but he's not here at the moment, he's been taken away by Oosthuizen. I wanted to know where did Oosthuizen take him to, he said I don't know but he said he'll call Oosthuizen. On the phone he said David's wife is here. But I couldn't hear the response on the other line but I heard him answering when he said that the one of the bullet. And then I told my sister I think they have shot him, and my sister believed that as well.
We left. They said we should go to Central Prison. When we got there they are trying to find Oosthuizen, they cannot locate him and some say they don't even know him. It was three hours that they spent looking for Oosthuizen but they never found him. A Black policeman came and he wanted to know what are we waiting for, we have been waiting for such a long time. We told him that we are looking for Oosthuizen. He told us no, he doesn't know Oosthuizen but he tried to find Oosthuizen. When we wanted to give up he decided to find out from Verwoerdburg again and then they gave him the right number.
He phoned again and he said we must go down to Kerk Street and we went there. We went into a dark strange building. It's an old dilapidated building. It had wooden floors. We didn't know how to go about this building. We went down the passage and as we approached a certain door we met somebody and we told them that we are looking for
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Oosthuizen. They said proceed to the back and we did that. At the back yard we found some rooms, domestic servants' rooms. There were many doors but the one door was closed and there we found White policemen who were not dressed in uniform but we could see that they were policemen because they had firearms with them. When we appeared they wanted to know whether I am David's wife. I said yes.
As I was looking on my side I saw two to three cells, but it seems like a strange deserted place. We were scared but we went in. They offered us some chairs and thereafter he sat down as well playing with a pen in his hands. He said that I am happy that you came here because I was intending to call you. He wanted to know how old was David and I told him. He wanted to know how old am I, and I told him as well. He wanted to know how many children do I have and I told him it's four children. And he said to me, how old are your children, and I said to him they are very young. And then he said your children should David go who will support these children? I said where would David go? He said what if another woman takes him? I said no if he goes away with another woman he will still support his children. I wanted to know what was David arrested for. He said we arrested him at ten past three or ten to three on the freeway from Pretoria. He was stealing a van that was delivering meat. But I didn't want to tell them that I knew that they were lying, but I didn't want to alert them but I just wanted to know what did they do with him. They said no we just arrested him. They said he had held the van at gunpoint. But David doesn't have a gun, but I wasn't telling this to them. It was an inner thought.
Then I wanted to know where David is. Then he said he
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has run away. But when I asked him where David is he said you had a handsome man. He didn't say that you have a handsome man. But then I asked him when you say that I had, where is he now? He said he has run away. He showed me a flat wall and he said that he jumped over this wall. I said but he's very old and he can never be able to jump this wall. But then he said he managed.
Then I told my sister that we must go. I said to Oosthuizen I know that you have killed my husband, but at the end you will talk the truth. We ran to the Johannesburg town centre and we went to some lawyers and we told them about this matter and that's when they investigated. On their first call they said that the policemen said that he escaped in Mabopane. But then they said that he escaped in Siyabuswa. But then they said that they had left him with another policeman in the car and they were trying to go and find somebody else that they were looking for for some time but they decided to take him along, and on the way he decided to go to the toilet and they suggested that the other one must guard him while they go to look for this other person they were looking for, but they said that that was when he disappeared. Then I became surprised that now it's Siyabuswa, it's not in Johannesburg again.
They told me that they didn't find him guilty. They were deciding to bring him home. That's what they are telling the lawyers. They decided to take him to Siyabuswa to find this person and they forgot the fact that they said that he was not guilty and he's not supposed to be guarded because he's not guilty. They even forgot the fact that they said that he held a vehicle at gunpoint.
I went to Siyabuswa many times accompanied by many
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people to see if we can find him. When we got to Siyabuswa he was not in their OB. He was not appearing on their OB. We tried but we could not find him anywhere in Siyabuswa. Time went on and I was even going there to Siyabuswa unaccompanied. As I was driving there these cars were following me and you could see that they were trying to do something. This car once before he chased me and I ran into the yard and that's when I decided that I rather use a car and not walk.
I went again to Siyabuswa. I was accompanied by somebody else. When we got there there was a lady in Siyabuswa, I think it was for the first time if I can remember clearly. When we got there they said that this person escaped from this police station. It's supposed to be reported here. This girl wanted to know, are you looking for David? She said that I know about David because Oosthuizen is my friend. David ran away on his way to the toilet. She said that he is appearing here, and when we opened the OB we found that his name was there, but you could see that his name was not originally on there, but all of a sudden his name was on that list. We asked this lady, all the people here in the police station could not see this and how could you see this. And she just said he's my friend, and she just disappeared.
We came back again. Immediately after his disappearance we also checked the mortuaries as well. We went all over. I went there again. I was just searching, but I realised that they were following me and I was driving alone in the car. As I went into the yard I was feeling frightened. I just decided to open the gate abruptly and I left the car abruptly as well and went quickly inside the
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yard and I greeted the old man inside the house. I sat on a sofa next to the window, as I was sitting there after some time I decided to go to the bedroom. When I decided to stand up the old man had just cracked a joke when I decided to laugh, but immediately a shot was fired. We were frightened and the old man thought that the policemen were there already. We were all frightened.
Thereafter I saw Borman and I told Borman that you have killed my husband and now you want to kill me. You want to leave my children as orphans. Even till today that bullet hole is still on my window pane. Borman says that he knows nothing. He doesn't even know what the policemen from Pretoria are looking for, and that was the end of it.
After a few months a letter arrived. They never came to look for me at home as somebody. They never came to look for him as somebody who has escaped, but after seven months Black detectives came and they greeted us, and they just told us that they were just passing by, they wanted to know where David is. I told them we don't know. They said no we are just looking for him because we understand that he has disappeared. But I was wondering now that he disappeared on the 3rd of November but you only come looking for him now, why didn't you come and look for him the same day? Or perhaps to cross-question us as to whether we know about his whereabouts. They told us that these White policemen know what they are doing. They know where David is. They realise now that they are being pressurised by the lawyers, that's why they decided to send us here after seven months. And that was the last time I saw them.
My last born loved her father very much and after some time she realised that there was some problems at home and
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I think these affected her.
MR LEWIN: Mamma I am sorry to interrupt you, could you please end the story now because we must move on, I am afraid. If you could just tell us if you ever did find out anything about what happened to David.
MRS MLHABENE: There is nothing that I have heard afterwards. There is nothing that's happened until today, that is why I say that this has affected a lot of things and even now I am still surprised and even my last born underwent an operation in her skull as she cannot even study properly.
MR LEWIN: Thank you Mamma.
MS SOOKA: Mamma are you able to answer any questions?
MRS MLHABENE: Yes I will be able to.
MS MKHIZE: We thank you. We realise this is a very painful thing that you are telling us. I would like to ask one thing that when they started assaulting you and harassing you when they said they wanted you to work with this person that they gave you his number, do you think that they were just giving that person's name or are you definitely sure that they worked hand-in-hand with this person?
MRS MLHABENE: I am definitely sure that they worked with this man because they spoke about somebody who is a taxi man that I suspected from the very first day. When they brought us her in the location he was accompanying us but they wanted him to know me well. He was not detained. It was quite obvious because they just dropped him off at Mfuyanene, he was not detained.
MS MKHIZE: Another question. Regarding your husband's disappearance, as you have mentioned in front of us here and TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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in your statement you were people who were involved in the political struggle, was there anything that you did to try and get help from the political parties regarding him?
MRS MLHABENE: No they never helped us.
MS MKHIZE: People used to go to Lawyers for Human Rights and to the SACC, did you ever try doing that as well regarding your husband's disappearance?
MRS MLHABENE: SACC used to help me a lot, and Black Sash as well, and Black Sash even tried to find him across the borders, but in vain.
MS MKHIZE: I thank you.
MS SOOKA: Mamma I notice in the papers that you gave us that attorneys Nicols and Kambanus acted for you, is that correct?
MRS MLHABENE: First it was Naidoo, but they were working hand-in-hand. I cannot remember clearly but it is here on paper.
MS SOOKA: Were they never able to find out anything from the police about your husband's disappearance?
MRS MLHABENE: They never, but what they said is I must just realise that it is obvious that they killed him because they kill all activists because...(tape ends)
...it is true, he has run away.
MS SOOKA: Mamma thank you for telling that and sharing that with us. It's a very painful story and again one where we have heard a number of people who were last seen in the company of a policeman and who never actually came back. We will contact the people that you have named in your statement as well as your attorneys and try and find out anything more. We will also contact the police and ask them if they know anything more about this matter.
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Your story is very painful and you yourself have been a victim of harassment. You have lived under a lot of fear, but yet with all of that you have survived but the impact on your family has been tremendous. You have explained to us how your own daughter has been affected by this as well.
We have taken note of all the things that you have told us and I wonder if there is any last thing that you would like to tell us?
MRS MLHABENE: Perhaps what I would say to the Commission is I have a request that if it's possible for my children to further with their education so that they should be able to bridge that gap, the time lost, because some of them are too old to be at the standards they are at the moment. So if it can be helped that they should be able to bridge this gap. Moreover this one who underwent an operation and she is progressing slowly and the doctors have recommended that she goes to a school for special children. I know that if my husband is dead I won't be able to bring him back, but if Oosthuizen can only show me where his bones and body are. And they must come forward and tell me as to why did they take him away from his children and talk the truth. Maybe this will make me be at peace, if they can show me where his bones are. Thank you.
MS SOOKA: Thank you Mamma. We have heard that, and as I have said that we will contact the police and see if we can trace this policeman so that at least we can be able to give you some kind of answer. Thank you for coming today and we share in your pain and your sorrow and we hope that we will be able to find you some kind of answer to at least let your heart rest in peace in this particular matter. Thank you for coming.
