Human Rights Violation Hearings — Benoni — 1997-02-05

VICTOR NKWAMBA: Ja, my first letter was to the Minister of Police, Le Grange.  So, he referred the letter to the Minister of Justice and their response was,  they have dealt with such matters for a certain period.  I have the
letters with me.  And my letter now, I was told that nothing could be done about it.

DR RANDERA: Victor, my last question.  I am sure it must have been extremely difficult for you, physically as well as mentally to suddenly find that you cannot walk, play football with other young people of your age in the streets.

VICTOR NKWAMBA: It was.

DR RANDERA: I am interested to know, in the community that you lived or nearby, what facilities were available to help you with suddenly being made disabled as you were?

VICTOR NKWAMBA: Nothing at all.  I was always at home.  Always in my room.  Always.    It was even difficult to go to the streets.  I was always at home.  If  sleeping, I am on my chair.   No counselling whatever, nothing.

DR RANDERA: And the hospitals you went to were Boksburg and Benoni or Natalspruit Hospital.

VICTOR NKWAMBA: Ja.  I was in Boksburg after I was shot and they treated me until November of that year 1976 and I was just in and out of hospital, Boksburg Hospital, until I had
to change hospitals.  
 Then I went to Natalspruit Hospital, hoping now that hospital would treat me much better, because everyone know that Boksburg Hospital has not facilities enough, because in Natalspruit they had a ward for people who were in wheelchairs, so I thought now it was going to be better for me to be in Natalspruit, as well as treatment.

DR RANDERA: Victor may I ask one last question.  Since the Commission started we have heard many stories of young people and not so young people who had been made disabled during this period that we are looking at.  You talked
earlier on what you would like to have for yourself and your family.  Would you like to make any statement about assistance that can be provided or need to be provided for people with disabilities like yourself?   (Tape ends.)

VICTOR NKWAMBA: ... because my .... was not enough.  So I just love to become ......     and to have enough space and to proceed with my education, because I think that is the only way that can help me, in order to survive

DR RANDERA: Thank you Victor.

MR LEWIN: Thank you Fazel.  I will ask other Commissioners if they have any questions.   Joyce?

MS SEROKE: No questions, thank you.

RUSSELL ALLY: Victor just two short questions.  The first one, when you were shot, was there anybody else shot at the time?  You said that you deliberately avoided the place where the confrontation was taking place.  You moved into a street which you thought safe and deserted.
 Were there any other people in the street at the time, any other people who were shot who you are aware of?

VICTOR NKWAMBA: You now mean in the street where I was shot?

RUSSELL ALLY: That is not the question.

VICTOR NKWAMBA: All right.  As I have said those guys were fighting the police next to the railway line, so I saw this guy coming from that direction and I said to myself let me just go back home, because I can just get hurt as well.   That is why I took Mokwasi Street, trying now to be on the safe side.

RUSSELL ALLY: But my question was, are you aware of any other people who were shot at the same time that you were shot at?

VICTOR NKWAMBA: No.

RUSSELL ALLY: Were you on your own, completely on your own?

VICTOR NKWAMBA: I was.

RUSSELL ALLY: And was there any warning at any point that you should stop or that you should not ...

VICTOR NKWAMBA: Not at all.   I just heard a shot and I was down.

RUSSELL ALLY: So your back was turned?

VICTOR NKWAMBA: As I said.  The bullet went through my right elbow here and penetrated my school bag.  So, I think I was just running on my side, not on my back, because the guy would have got me on my spinal cord here, but he got me ...   I do not know what happened really.   Maybe I turned, I do not know really what happened.

RUSSELL ALLY: We have your letters, your correspondence with the different Ministers of Police.  Now the last letter we have is dated the 28 of September 1995.  That is the date the letter was sent out to you or the 22 of the ninth, 1995, where the Commissioner writes back to you and says that they have received your letter.  That in your letter you request an ex gratia payment.

VICTOR NKWAMBA: No...

RUSSELL ALLY: Let me just continue then you can come in.

VICTOR NKWAMBA: All right.

RUSSELL ALLY: That you had asked for compensation.  Originally you were told that when you first asked for compensation you were told that in terms of the Indemnity Act which the then Government passed, nobody would be liable for any compensation for any event which occurred between 1976.  So the police had covered themselves with an Indemnity Act.
 You then later wrote again and asked for 
compensation.  You then wrote again to the new Government, to Mr Sydney Mufamadi's office, the present Minister of Police.   You were told then that your demand for compensation had expired because of the date.  It was in 1976 and this was now in 1995 and it had expired.
 And there was then a discussion about an ex gratia payment.  And the way the ministry explained this, they said ex gratia payments, I think which they do only under exceptional circumstances, and that those payments have to come from the existing budgets of ministries, and therefore ministries only do that if the circumstances in their view, are very desperate.
 But then at the conclusion of the letter the 
Commission says that should your intention be to proceed with your claim, the courts could be approached for the necessary relief, so they suggested to you to go to the court.  
 Did you ever follow up on that?  Did you try to go to a legal aid or a legal resource centre.

VICTOR NKWAMBA: No.

RUSSELL ALLY: Now, I am saying this not because the Commission does not want to take any responsibility, because part of our job is to make recommendations and particularly the job of the Committee which Mr Tom Manthata serves on.   To make recommendations to the President for reparation and for rehabilitation of victims, but you have to understand that that process only starts at the end of the life of the Commission.  At the end of the life of the Commission we make recommendations, which is only in December.
 That then have to go to the President, it has to go 
to Parliament and that has to be debated and discussed.  We have no powers to pay out any monies or any compensation.  We can only make recommendations.  The power is in the hands of the Government.
 But this is an invitation to you by the ministry to say that if you want to proceed with this thing further maybe you should consider the courts.  Maybe you should consider and if you would perhaps want assistance on how to proceed along these lines with either the Legal Resources Centre or Legal Aid.  Maybe that is one avenue to try and see what kind of legal avenues are open to you in the interim.
 Because as I have said there is a long period between when the Commission ends and makes recommendations and now, at least a year.   So maybe that is something that we could consider.

VICTOR NKWAMBA: You see, I was always telling the Ministers that I am not really applying now for ex gratia payment.  What I demanded was now to be compensated for the pain and suffering that I have encountered.  So by now making that charge I was waiting for the Government, the ANC Government, to do something about this matter.  Hence I did not go to the court.
 So as I am here now today, I am here now for the TRC to help me in order to be compensated and just to make my life.

MR LEWIN: Joyce, you want to ask a question.