Amnesty Hearings — Port Elizabeth — 1997-09-10

MOKOTEDI MPSHE: Thank you, Mr Chairman.  Mr Chairman, we are ready.  I would request the Chair to cause the legal representatives who are herein present to put their names on record.  All people are represented;  that is the victim and the next-of-kin to victims are all here as well as the applicants, Mr Chairman and members of the Committee.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.  Will counsel announce themselves and place themselves on record?

MR BOOYENS: May it please the Commission, Mr Chairman?  J A Booyens.  I appear on behalf of the applicants - Snyman, Siebert, Niewoudt and Marx.

MR DU PLESSIS: Mr Chairman, I appear on behalf of Mr J J O Beneke.

MR BURMEISTER: Mr Chairman, M Burmeister, on behalf of Dr
Laing.

GEORGE BIZOS: May it please you, Mr Chairman?  I, G Bizos together with my learned friend, Mr Patrick Mpshwulana, instructed by the Legal Resources Centre, represented by Mr Clive Plaskid from our Grahamstown's office and Ms Kamen Shepele from the Johannesburg office, appear on behalf of Mrs Biko, the wife of the deceased and Mr Peter Jones, in respect of whom there is also an application for amnesty.

MOKOTEDI MPSHE: Mr Chairman, members of the Committee, G M Mpshe for the Amnesty Committee.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Mr Booyens?

MR BOOYENS COMMITTEE AND GIVES SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Thank you, Mr Chairman.  Mr Chairman, we intend leading the evidence of Mr Snyman first.  I think it may be desirable in the circumstances just to very briefly set out what the nature of the evidence would be, without at all suggesting that that is comprehensive.
	The evidence will be that the late Mr Biko, whom I will hereinafter refer to him as the deceased, had been arrested in a road block on the 18th of August 1977.  He was thereafter taken to security police headquarters in Port Elizabeth, where he was kept in detention at Walmer Police Station.  
	A team consisting of the four persons that I appear for, was 
put together with the purpose of questioning the persons arrested.  That would be Mr Jones and Mr Biko as well as some others;  in connection with certain pamphlets that had been spread in the Port Elizabeth area as well as certain activities - other activities.
	On the 6th of September 1977 the questioning of Mr Biko commenced in the morning at security police headquarters.  The evidence will be that Mr Biko was brought in from Walmer Police Station and once brought into the same office as his would-be interrogators, he was told that he should remain standing when he sat down.
	After approximately half an hour and during some rather fruitless efforts of getting information out of Mr Biko, he again sat down uninvited;  whereupon the applicant, Mr 
Siebert, grabbed him on the front of his clothing and forcefully pulled him up from the position in which he was seated.  
	Thereafter, Mr Biko, the evidence will be, apparently lost his temper.  He pushed, had thrown a chair in the direction of Mr Siebert and aimed a blow at him.  A scuffle ensued which was initially between Siebert, but at the same time the applicant - that I do not represent - also joined in from an adjoining office and;  in what one could perhaps describe as a shoulder-type rugby tackle, bumped into Mr Biko. 
	A full scuffle ensued in which Siebert, the applicant, 
Niewoudt and the applicant I do not represent, were involved.  During the course of the scuffle there were blows being exchanged, although nobody is really certain whether any of these blows landed and eventually during the course of the scuffle, the parties grabbed hold of each other and moved towards what would for convenience sake be described as the northern wall of the office in which they were.
	In the process of the scuffle, Mr Biko lost his balance and the four people;  that would now be Siebert, Niewoudt, the deceased, as well as the applicant I do not represent.  Initially Mr Biko's head hit the wall and all four parties fell down.
	It was noted that Mr Biko appeared to be, one could use the word stunned, confused, in any event his condition was such, we are not suggesting that these are accurate medical descriptions; that he did not get up immediately.
	He was thereupon handcuffed where he was lying on the floor and after a while he was pulled up at the instructions of Snyman and cuffed to a door - some bars of a door that was in the office, with his hands spread out to his sides, with handcuffs as well as with foot-cuffs being threaded through the bars of the door.
	It was noted that he still seemed to be confused and Snyman went to report the matter to Goosen, the then commander of the security branch.  Goosen came in, spoke to Mr Biko.  It was 
apparent that he was probably not compos mentes and Goosen gave instructions that the members Snyman and Siebert should continue with their work, whereas Niewoudt and Mark would watch Mr Biko and as soon as he recover, the questioning would continue.
	The deceased was left in this standing position for the best part of the day and his condition did not improve.  During the evening when the night staff took over, his cuffs holding him against the bars were unlocked, but the leg-iron was kept on and he was offered some mats to sleep on.
	The next morning;  that would be the 7th, it was noted that Mr Biko still hadn't recovered whereupon the district surgeon was contacted, who examined Mr Biko and reported to Col Goosen that he could find nothing wrong with him.
	However, his condition still appeared to be a state of confusion.  He was kept at the security police offices throughout the day and observed, but no further efforts to question him were made, due to the fact that his state remained more or less the same.
	Throughout the day of the 8th he was seen again by the doctors and then on the evening of the 8th he was removed to a prison with the intention that he would be examined there.
	He was kept at the prison until the Sunday - Sunday the 11th of September and after some medical examination and it being reported that nothing apparently could be found wrong with him, he 
was during the course of the morning removed from the prison and lodged in a cell at New Brighton Police Station again.	I correct that, Mr Chairman, it is Walmer Police Station.  
	During the late afternoon, Goosen gave instructions that due to the fact that the deceased apparently was not recovering, he should be sent to Pretoria Central Prison, that he can be observed in the prison hospital there.
	A Land Rover station-wagon was made ready after all efforts to obtain a military flight to fly him to Pretoria proved fruitless, according to Goosen, and he was driven to Pretoria where the parties arrived on the morning - early hours of the 12th of September. He was lodged in Pretoria Central Prison, where he died on the same day.
	Subsequent to that, once the news of his death became known, Goosen gathered all the policemen on the next Saturday and statements were prepared.  These statements were false in many aspects.  The most important being, that it is was in fact alleged that Mr Biko was questioned by the security policemen involved on the 6th for the whole day and an incident which apparently caused his injury only occurred on the 7th.
	That is - would appear already from what I've said earlier on, was false.  
	Subsequent to that, in a further investigation, the policemen stuck to the story and also at a later inquest hearing this false evidence was perpetuated.
	That, in a nutshell, Mr Chairman, is what the evidence on behalf of these four applicants would cover and I would ask leave to call Mr Snyman.