Human Rights Violation Hearings — Upington — 1996-10-03

CASE NO: CTO/1417.

MR POTGIETER: Mr Links.

NICHOLAS MAKANDILE LINKS: Good afternoon sir.

MR POTGIETER: Do you prefer to give your evidence in Afrikaans?

NICHOLAS MAKANDILE LINKS: Yes I would.

MR POTGIETER: That is fine, we will speak Afrikaans, it is not a problem.  It is actually very nice to be in Afrikaans because we don't often have the opportunity to speak Afrikaans.  Who is that next to you?

NICHOLAS MAKANDILE LINKS: It's my uncle.  It's my father's brother.

MR POTGIETER: Is that also a Mr Links?

NICHOLAS MAKANDILE LINKS: That's correct.

MR POTGIETER: Mr Links senior, good afternoon.  Welcome.  Thank you for accompanying Oupa today.

NICHOLAS MAKANDILE LINKS: You're very welcome.

MR POTGIETER: Mr Links before we can start with your testimony could you please stand to take the oath.
NICHOLAS MAKANDILE LINKS Duly sworn states

MR POTGIETER: Thank you.  Please be seated.  Mr Links your nickname is Oupa?

WITNESS:  That's correct.

MR POTGIETER:  And you were formerly a municipal policeman?

WITNESS:  That's correct.

MR POTGIETER:  Is it correct that when you became aware of the fact that the Commission would have hearings here in Upington, you voluntarily approached the Commission and made a statement to us in which you made certain submissions?

WITNESS:  That's correct.

MR POTGIETER:  Yesterday we heard some evidence, the evidence of Ms Lumkwana.  She testified yesterday afternoon and we heard her referring to you in her testimony, you aware of that evidence?

WITNESS:  No I must have left by that stage.

MR POTGIETER:  Did you become aware of that, that she made a reference to you?

WITNESS:  No, no, this is now the first time that I've become aware of it.

MR POTGIETER:  Well we will get back to that.  Perhaps you can tell us now - you were a municipal policeman?

WITNESS:  Yes.

MR POTGIETER:  But you left the service, when did you leave the police force, the municipal police force?

WITNESS:  It was around about six months after the incident about which I am now going to testify and I immediately left to go to Namibia and I returned from Namibia in 1991 and I then went back to Cape Town with my family and at the end of 92 I came back to Upington.

MR POTGIETER:  Now at the moment you are employed, where?

WITNESS:  At the South African Police service.  At the South African Police service as a labourer.

MR POTGIETER:  So you are not actually a policeman as such, you are just in the employ of the South African Police service?

WITNESS:  Yes that's correct.

MR POTGIETER:  And that is here in Upington?

WITNESS:  Yes.

MR POTGIETER:  At which police station are you?

WITNESS:  At the Upington police station in town.

MR POTGIETER:  You want to tell us about an incident which took place and a couple of months after that you left the municipal police force.  Please tell us about this incident.

WITNESS:  I would like to give my statement to you.  Allow me to read it Mr Chairman.

MR POTGIETER:  Yes, please go ahead.

MR POTGIETER: I, Mr Nicholas Makandile Links from Brown Street 572 in Paballelo at telephone 26425 (at my house).  My works telephone number 22792.  I was a municipal policeman during this incident.  I, my wife and child returned from church on the 31st December 1985.  While walking to our residence at 709 Brown Street, we could smell teargas.  At approximately five minutes past 12 on the 1st January 1986 we heard stones falling onto our roof. I then went out and saw four young males standing opposite my house.  When I approached them they fled and ran away.  I went back into my house and informed my wife to switch off all the lights and I hid my family in the lounge.  The same four young men returned to my house and threw my front windows broken.  I ran out again and fired two warning shots at the four young men.  They fled and returned a few minutes later and once again stoned the house.  I chased after them and shot one of the young men who had thrown at my house.  I then realised that I had killed this young boy.  I phoned the Paballelo police station twice to inform them that I had shot somebody.  The following policemen arrived in a casspir - Inspector Swanepoel, Fanie Burger and Tarrie Smith [Tarrie, Tarrie, that's correct] and Captain Botha.  Inspector Swanepoel congratulated me on my first murder but I was severely reprimanded by Captain Botha who called me a hoer kind and that I was a bad shot and I should have killed all four.  Captain Botha commanded Swanepoel to give me a shotgun with one hundred rounds of SSG ammunition.  Constable Ben Rabuthle was posted at my residence as a guard for the evening.  At approximately 0400 a.m. some children once again returned and stoned the house.  I informed my colleague not to shoot at the children but to fire in the air.  The next morning I was once again severely reprimanded by Captain Botha who accused me of being a bad policeman who wasted the goverment's money and that I was a bad shot.  I later discovered that the victim was Matan Jonga but I am not sure about his age.  I do not know who the others were.  I left the employ of the municipal police and went to Namibia where I stayed from 1986 till December 1991 when I returned to Upington.  When I came back the community accepted me back and I wish to apologise in public to the community and the victim's parents.  In September 1996 I went to the Station Commissioner to retrieve the inquest docket relating to the death of Matan Jonga.  I was told by the aforementioned that the inquest docket had already been destroyed.  To my knowledge this is contrary to the regulations because all documentation has to be kept for 15 years.  Approximately three weeks ago I saw documentation being destroyed by the police and I assume that it was as a result of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's investigator's pending visit to the police station.

MR POTGIETER: That is all I would like to state.

MR POTGIETER:  Thank you Mr Links.  Could I start at the end.  Is it the police station in town where you work, where these documents were destroyed?

WITNESS:  Yes.

MR POTGIETER:  Do you know the person who destroyed the documents?

WITNESS:  I went to the archives where they keep the dockets.  I asked the people who work there, the clerks, I asked them to give me my docket because I wanted to submit it to the Commission and one Ralie Kok told me that Captain Raaf had given instructions that the documentation should be destroyed.  Captain Raaf is fortunately here today.

CHAIRPERSON: If I ask you to please be quiet then you must please obey me.  I don't want to keep on repeating the same thing as if I am dealing with small children.  Please we are dealing with serious matters here.  Please.

MR POTGIETER: Mr Links you say that according to what you were told, Captain Raaf gave the order that the documentation be destroyed.

WITNESS:  Yes that's correct.

MR POTGIETER:  And you also indicated that Captain Raaf is present here in this hall?

WITNESS:  Yes he is working outside the hall.  I don't think it will be very difficult to get hold of him.

MR POTGIETER:  Did you notice Captain Raaf here this afternoon at the proceedings?

WITNESS:  Yes.

MR POTGIETER:  Can you see him at the moment in the hall, is he present in the hall?

WITNESS:  I can't see him right now, I think he is outside.

MR POTGIETER:  According to the clerks, when were they given these instructions to destroy the documents?

WITNESS:  They didn't tell me the exact time and date when they received the instructions but it was in this period just before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to come to Upington.

MR POTGIETER:  So it was during the time that the TRC was present here in Upington?

WITNESS:  Yes, according to the clerks.

MR POTGIETER:  And you said that it was approximately three weeks ago that you noticed that somebody was busy destroying documents.

WITNESS:  Yes.