On 3 January 1987, Mthetheleli Mncube (aka "Caesar") could no longer walk properly, as his feet were full of thorns, one of his knees was giving him problems, and he was exhausted after a week without food. At that time he had shorts on and “rampantjanas” (a piece of leather tied with rags as a shoe) on his feet and his body was full of scratches.
He then decided to leave his hiding place and started walking towards some houses nearby where he found a blanket and put it on as he walked to a tarred road. As he was walking, he saw a woman with two children exiting a farm gate and approached them to ask for water. The woman promised to get him some water and walked away, leaving Mncube waiting by the gate.
After approximately twenty minutes waiting, he decided to move again, albeit for a short distance, as he was without enough strength. He then resorted to resting again and just then, an apartheid police van passed him in the direction of the farm.
After a short moment, the police van returned from the farm, and a white policeman, with a surname of Erasmus, approached him, accompanied by his black counterpart, Siphuma. The latter interpreted what Erasmus was saying, and Mncube was arrested and shoved into the van, which headed back to the farm.
At the farm they found the woman Mncube had asked for water, with her two children, and in the company of the farmer’s wife. When Erasmus asked the children if Mncube was the person that asked for water earlier on, the
Good story to read from Mk