Human Rights Violation Hearings — Winelands — 1996-10-14

CHAIRPERSON: Order please.

MR FAAS: It was heartbreaking for me to think that the NG Mother Church could cast us as the NG Daughter Church.  The Dutch Reformed Church could cast us aside like dogs, even their priests they are as guilty for their prejudice and one day I got a tape for Allen Boesak when  he was in Belhar.  
 I played this tape and his message was that God's word is not bound, and that's where I realized out of that message that the priests had misled us.  They had misled us to their advantage and I would like to say to you today, I am a member of the Dutch Reformed Church but I would like to say thank you to the ANC, I would like to say thank you to Reverent Maart.  Those people supported me far more than my own church.  As a missionary I would like to say it in all honesty, the Dutch Reformed Church's people I don't even know if they know that God exist to them, God is but a word.
 They cannot say that they've excepted God, because it is but the word of God that can - that can free you.  God's work can set you free and I would like to say today that my child's death was a loss to me.  Thanks to that my whole home has suffered because it was a loss to me, I even lost in court.  My wife and I have been divorced since - as a result.  When we appeared in court Rossouw the magistrate said
What do you want here, you husband and wife, go out.
And the advocate said to him
These are the deceased's parents.
And I've never seen a court like that, that's where we were sitting, that's where the magistrate was sitting.  All these policemen were sitting between us  and they gave conflicting versions of what happened and they'd be laughing.  How would I - how was I suppose to feel as a parent and that led to the breakup of my home.  But I thank God I have since excepted God in my life because I realized that when you except God you have to fix your things with God first, you have to fix your relationship with God first.  Because without building a relationship with God you cannot do that with - with - with your fellow human beings. 
I've forgiven them because I do not want their children or the community should point a finger at their children in the future and say they did that.  They are children, God wants us to come together and it is my feeling that I do not want to bear grudges and I want reconciliation but reconciliation is only possible threw God.  Only then can reconciliation with our brothers and sisters be possible.  And I trust that  God - we don't know - will make it possible for us to hold hand with each other that we know and we see.  Because he is a just God, he is after 11 years God has placed you here to come and wipe our tears so that we can know that this is our souls  and this is where we can come and tell our stories.  
So that when we leave here we can say truly there is God and I would like to say I have a son that left school in 1987.  He tried to apply  to be a prison warden, a policeman, they would not except him - a traffic warden.  He  is independent - he as my daughter, she is a matriculant.  I retired out of the building trade last year as a painter, I receive a mere R460.00 per month and I have got to support my children.  And until - when God blesses me with a few odd jobs, I get a bit of an extra income.  
But what will happen to my children, who is going to care for them.  And that's why I would like to ask the Honorable Commission, I have done a lot in live but I'm not - I don't care about myself.  I know that I have settled my matters with God - because when one settles matters with God he says that we have to share with each other and I am sharing my feelings with you now and also with the community.  So that they can understand how bitter my wife and my children and myself were and what the cause was because if my  child had lived today, he might have had his own practice and he would have been able to help them to.  
But God has always been good to us and we trust that he will take care of their needs and that there will be compensation and this is my wish - my wish is that God will carry us threw to the times that lay ahead that we don't know about.  So that we as a community will reach out to each other and insure that something like this never happens again, that we will hold each other by the hand cause you are here today to make it possible that there should be reconciliation and that we will hold each other by the hand and march forward together towards the path of reconciliation.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you very much Mr Faas, can I just ask you a few questions about this incident itself.  There was an inquest at the Paarl Magistrates Court to - with regards to the death - this death which was held on the 17th of February 1986 with residing officer Magistrate JHA Rossouw.  
And according to the  medical record the - your son's death was caused by brain damage due to the shooting incident and there are three - there were three bullet wounds on his body - found on his body.  There was a bullet wound behind his left ear which penetrated his brain, there was a bullet wound to his left shoulder which penetrated the mussel tissue and there were two shooting - two bullet wounds to his right arm.  
And this indicated that all these shot were fired from behind and  that this Lieutenant Colonel Oosthuizen acknowledged that he had fired the shot with a - a - his own personal  shotgun and this shotgun was a weapon known as a SSG.  It wasn't bird shot, it was buck shot  these were big bullets that he had used.  They were SSG bullets which were much bigger than usual and the evidence that was given by the persons who were with him that evening - his friends.  
His one University friend was with him and that was Godfrey Hendricks and Isaac Fisher and also Precilla Jacobs and all of them  submitted statements to the effect that your son was not involved in any stone throwing or riotous incident but he was sitting looking at a drum which was burning in the road and that the evidence heard from amongst others the Lieutenant  who acknowledged that your son had run away when we wanted to shoot and that the eventual finding of the court on the 19th of February - two days after the - the matter was heard in February  [indistinct] was to the effect that no one was - could be held responsible for the death of your son and that there was no - there was no offense - there was no criminal offense and no one could be charged as such, is that so?

MR FAAS: Yes

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you very much, that was just to complete the record.  What was so interesting to me was that in that finding of the Magistrate was that I couldn't believe it - I couldn't believe that a person could be so unchristlike.

MR FAAS: Do you know how they laughed, they absolutely rejoiced - they rejoiced.  I cannot believe that a person could stoop as low as those coloured policemen did.  Your own race, you know I am not angry at this one policeman but I would like to say today what kind of person he is.   There's no point in a person going to - coming before people but in your heart you've got no regard for your fellow humans.

ADV POTGIETER: In conclusion to my questions I would just like to say that there was a Captain Peter John Clayton who submitted a statement to the Commission and who is prepared to come and give evidence - he will give evidence when you're finished to indicate what the attitude of Lieutenant Oosthuizen was on this particular day.  He will give evidence so you will hear what he has to say.
 That is all I wanted to say to - all I wanted to mention to you, thank you.