Read the stories of three family members of the disappeared whose remains have never been recovered. They shared their stories at a Khulumani Remembrance for International Day Of The Disappeared, that was held on August 30, 2011 at our offices in Johannesburg.

Mrs Julia Ngcobo – I became engaged to my husband (Zebulon Ngcobo) in my teenage years (‘70s) and at which time I was clueless about his underground political involvement throughout his working days while we were married. Eventually my husband disappeared before the advent of 1976 and my family was subjected to constant raids by the former security branch who wanted to know my husband’s whereabouts. During 1980 our house was bombed.  Our family became displaced as a result for the subsequent 22yrs. From this time, we have never learned the whereabouts of my husband or his fate. During my displacement I continued to bring up our children. i learned about Khulumani during the lifespan of TRC. Khulumani helped me to access the TRC. In 2009 I finally found out about my husband’s fate through Khulumani’s efforts. I learned that he had been killed in Angola during military action against Jonas Savimbi. My husband’s name has been inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance in Freedom Park where veterans of the struggle are honoured. His memory was honoured on 16 December 2009 as one of the heroes who had contributed towards the liberation struggle against apartheid. I am grateful to Zweli Mkhize for his unceasing support that has boosted my morale and has helped me through many gruelling encounters while I applied for my husband’s Special Pension. My efforts were unsuccessful for more than 8 years. Eventually this year the special pension was finally approved.

Mrs Emelina Ngubeni – My son, Siphiwe Mbatha, was a student activist. He disappeared while he was visiting a friend in Alexandra Township during 1973. I searched for my son. I went to hospitals, mortuaries and prisons. At Leeukop Prison, I met a former police officer. This person called a colleague to introduce me to him and this person then promised to visit me once they had done some investigations. They never came back to me again. i was introduced to Khulumani by Dumisane Khumalo who assisted me to access the TRC. The TRC, however, did not officially recognise me as a victim. But I am grateful for the support I have received so far from Khulumani.

Mr Dumisane Khumalo – My brother, Caswell Khumalo was constantly sought after by the security police. He was a prominent student activist of COSAS in the 1980’s. In that period former security branch operatives detained him with fellow student activists. He was kept at different places of detention where neither families nor friends were allowed to visit. This was during the State of Emergency regulations. At this time, my family and our home was raided and we were continuously harassed. This caused all of us tremendous mental stress. I feel that it changed me completely until today. During the TRC hearing it emerged that perpetrators had abducted three student political activists. My brother, Caswell, was amongst them. The security police plotted to eliminate them using different methods. At an amnesty hearing, we learned that they killed them claiming that it was in self-defence. The security branch were branded as enemies of the people. All this information came out during a TRC amnesty hearing. However, my family still has no knowledge of where Caswell’s mortal remains lie even up to today. This is a continuing trauma for us.