Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — UNKNOWN

MR PRIOR: May I call Mr Cerqueira?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.

MR PRIOR: Mr Chairman, there's no statement of Mr Cerqueira.

CHAIRPERSON: It doesn't matter, you lead him.

MR PRIOR: He is the brother of the deceased Mr Jose Cerqueira who was present at the Machados Restaurant on the night of the slaying.  Mr Chairman, may I move my position, I can't see the witness?
	Mr Cerqueira, could you come up to where the previous witness was?

CHAIRPERSON: What are the witnesses full names Mr Prior?

MR PRIOR: His first name is Francisco.

CHAIRPERSON: What are your full names please and could you just spell your surname?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Do you want me to spell my surname?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, please.

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: C-e-r-q-u-e-i-r-a.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Are you prepared to take the oath?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes, I am.

CHAIRPERSON: Will you please stand and raise your right hand.

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: (sworn states)

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, you may be seated.

MR PRIOR: Mr Cerqueira, is it correct that on the evening of the 30th of December 1993, you were at the Machados Restaurant in Observatory?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes, I was, I was the whole day until a quarter to twelve that evening.

MR PRIOR: Who was the owner of the restaurant?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: My brother, my brother Jose.

MR PRIOR: Could you tell the Commission or the Committee what occurred at between approximately 11H30 and midnight on that evening?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes.  We were about to leave, my brother was standing behind the bar counter and I was standing on the opposite side towards the door when he asked me to take the key and open up the next morning.  I know the doors were open and the restaurant was empty, there were no patrons in the restaurant.  For some reason or other I turned back and I saw this vehicle drive past slowly past the restaurant - look inside, the car was heavy laden.

MR PRIOR: Just stop there.  You say a vehicle drove past the restaurant?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes, it actually slowed down to the door where the door was.

MR PRIOR: Now, the Machados Restaurant is situated where in Observatory?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: It's situated two doors from the Heidelberg Tavern.

MR PRIOR: And how far from the corner of Station Road and Main Road?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: We're on the corner Sir.

MR PRIOR: Is that at the robots?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: At the robots.  The car slowed down, I noticed there was a driver wearing - I think wearing glasses, squared faced - drove up to the top and with about three minutes from noticing that we got talking and we heard what sounded to us or to myself as firecrackers.

MR PRIOR: At that stage, were you still inside the Machados Restaurant?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: We were still inside.  The one waiter had started walking towards the door and told me - his name was Benny, he told me that it sounded like crackers.  I followed the waiter to the door, another waiter followed.

MR PRIOR: Did you go outside onto the pavement?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: I went onto the pavement, Benny the waiter was standing in front of me looking towards the Heidelberg Tavern, in other words right of the restaurant.  There was another waiter in front of me and I was the third person on the pavement.

MR PRIOR: Mr Chairman, could the translator just give me an indication when to proceed, I don't know when the translation ends.
	Please continue.

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: What sounded like crackers seemed to be more sort of repetitive - I actually thought it was a car's exhaust being dragged going gr, gr, like that ...[indistinct]  When I looked up there was that same car which was a dark car, it was coming in the opposite direction - that being a one-way going up.

MR PRIOR: Was this vehicle - this dark coloured vehicle travelling towards you at that stage?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Towards us which is in the opposite direction of a one-way - it seemed very strange to me.

MR PRIOR: Sorry, is Station Road a one-way going up towards ...[intervention]

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Going up.

MR PRIOR: Sorry, from Main Road?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: No, it's going up from the stadium up towards the hospital, it's a one-way going up.

MR PRIOR: And this vehicle was travelling against the one-way?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Against the one-way.

MR PRIOR: Yes, what did you observe?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: I observed the guy in the back seat of the car - there was what I believe was a R4 or an R1, I don't know what you call these things now, or an AK47 through the window ...[intervention]

MR PRIOR: What did you see?  Could you identify anything at that stage?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: They were shooting - there was a guy shooting towards the right of the car and another guy shooting sort of in the air towards the restaurant above at random, they were just shooting.  Then they turned the gun - they guy on the left turned the gun towards where we were standing, fired a couple of shots, hit the wall next to where the waiter was standing, the waiter froze, I dragged the waiter inside.

MR PRIOR: Who was that?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Benny.

MR PRIOR: Are you able to tell the Committee, how far was this vehicle from you when the shots or shots were directed at you?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: About as far as what you are from me now.

CHAIRPERSON: ...[inaudible]

MR PRIOR: About ten to twelve paces Mr Chairman, thank you.
	You say you dragged Benny inside?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes, I caught a hell of a fright obviously, people were shooting at us.  I dragged Benny inside, there was another waiter - the three of us went through the door and I went inside shouting for my brother, shouting for him:  "Where are you, where's the gun, where's your gun"?  I dived over the counter looking for the gun, I didn't see my brother, went into the kitchen asking for the staff "Where's my brother"?

MR PRIOR: Yes?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Benny as well went in screaming for my brother, asking for my brother.

MR PRIOR: Penny?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Benny.

MR PRIOR: Oh, Benny.

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: The waiter.

MR PRIOR: Yes, then what happened?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Then I got a funny gut feeling for not finding my brother.  I walked towards the door again and when I got outside he was shot.

MR PRIOR: Are you okay to continue?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes, I'm fine.

MR PRIOR: Yes, what was the next thing?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: When I got to him he was laying there, I was hoping that his legs were shot but he had been shot underneath his left arm.

MR PRIOR: Did you see whether he had a firearm in his possession?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: No, Sir.  This is what he had in his hand, this is what he had in his hand.

CHAIRPERSON: What is that?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: It is a pouch Sir, where he kept all his documents and where he kept the store keys in there.

MR PRIOR: Did you stay with your brother the deceased, until the police arrived?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes, I did.  I stayed with my brother and I took his gold chain off him and then Benny took his watch off him until the police arrived.  And then Benny brought me my brother's gun which he evidently found afterwards - I don't know where.  The police asked me if the gun had been shot, I said: "No, test it for yourself".  They took the gun and they tested it ...[intervention]

MR PRIOR: Sorry, just stop there.  What type of firearm was it?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: It's a .45, a .45 Parabellum or Star, I'm not sure.

MR PRIOR: A semi-automatic?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Yes.

MR PRIOR: Can you tell the Committee, as far as you know - you were there on the pavement at a certain stage, whether your brother the deceased fired at this vehicle?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: No Sir, not to my knowledge.

MR PRIOR: The exhibit that you've tendered, the leather pouch - you say he kept his documents in there and the shop keys?

FRANCISCO CERQUEIRA: Shop keys, documents.

MR PRIOR: Did he normally take it home with him?