Human Rights Violation Hearings — Newcastle — 1996-09-12

WITNESS:   When they arrested me I was at work.  It was on the 24th.  I was working at Consol Company.

MR DLAMINI: What were you doing there?

WITNESS:   I was sorting the bottles.  They arrested me at work.  Police came.  They were two white police.

MR DLAMINI: Do you still remember the names of these two white policemen?

WITNESS:   No, I don't remember their names.  I don't even know their surnames.  They didn't show me their identities.  The people who made this possible that I must be arrested, it was Mr Stocks.  They called me into his office.  When I arrived in his office ... (intervention)

MR DLAMINI: I would like to disturb you there.  Who was Mr Stocks?

WITNESS:   Mr Stocks was the white guy who was working at Consol Company.  I can't remember his position there, but he was a senior management.  He's the one who called me to his office.  When I arrived in his office behind his door there was a police, and he just handcuffed me.  When I asked what was going on they told me they are taking me, they are arresting me under the state of emergency, and they told me it's only 14 days, and then afterwards I'll be released.  My question was to Mr Stocks, "How come that you are handing me over to the police, because this is against the rule of the company?"  Mr Stocks said, "There's nothing that I can do.  The Government has sent the police to come and arrest you.  You will come back after 14 days and you will still have your job."  Then they took me.  When they left with me, when we arrived at the car - they were driving a van.  They tied me in two irons at that van.  They left with me to a certain farm.  They were looking for someone.  They took me at about 10 o'clock, and they were looking for someone whom they heard he had been hidden in a certain farm.  They couldn't find that person so they came back with me, they locked me at Dundee Police Station.  And then they left me there, they went for meal.  I was there without meal.  They came back at 2 o'clock, they took me to Newcastle Police Station.  We stayed there.  As we were staying there no food was given to me.  They took me to Newcastle Prison.  That's where they locked me up in that prison.  I was wearing what I was wearing at work.  My wife came the next day to visit me, so they chased her away.  She couldn't see me.  I think it took a month.  When we left at work for home for them to search my house, because when we came from that farm they said we must go to my house, so they searched my house.  They took T-shirts which were written USAWU, which was a union for employees.  They took those T-shirts.  Then they wanted to arrest my brother-in-law, and then I asked them that, "How can you arrest my brother-in-law and myself?  Actually who were you looking for?  Was it me or someone else?  Then leave me and arrest him."  They denied, and then they took me alone, they left my brother-in-law.  After that while I was in Newcastle I stayed in that prison.  I think three months passed, because after two months they allowed my wife to come and visit me, even to bring clothes for me to change.  After three months I wasn't even sent to the court.  We asked Mr de Kock or Sergeant de Kock that, "How come after three months we are still locked up, after we were promised that after 14 days we will be released?  Are we will going to find our jobs back?"  They just sweared at us.  We tried to go on a hunger strike.  De Kock came back and he said to us if we continue on a hunger strike he will distribute us.  Others are going to go to Johannesburg Prison, others to Barberton Prison.  So we discontinued our hunger strike because we wanted our families to come and visit us nearby.  What was so sad is that my mother and my father came to visit me, but they were not allowed.

MR DLAMINI: We understand, Mr Hadebe, that this was sad for you that your parents would be denied visiting time, because as a child you always want your parents to be there for you in times of troubles.

WITNESS:   It went on.  I was detained until my parents died.  They just wouldn't allow them to visit me.

MR DLAMINI: They died while you were in detention?

WITNESS:   My parents died in 1988.  My mother passed away in January 1988, my father died in 1988 on the 11th.  That was the day I was released in prison.  My father died at 5 o'clock after I was released in the morning.  Even then my wife had called them to tell them that my father had died.  They didn't tell me anything, because when I was released from Kandaspunt to Newcastle I went to the township.  When I arrived there that's when I heard the news.  I was just released from prison.  I was tortured in prison.

MR DLAMINI: We would like you to tell us more about the torture and the harassment that you received in prison, because some of us thought that you were just being detained, and we only found out when people like you come back and tell us how you were tortured, harassed.  And also tell us about the people that actually harassed and tortured you.

WITNESS:   The torture in prison was too much.  I was tortured the first day when they started searching me or interrogating me.  They asked me many questions.  Some of the things I knew, but I just didn't want to tell them because I knew that they knew.  I only told them that if they wished to know what was going on they would have came to meetings, because in those meetings which we used to held they were open.  Everyone was allowed to come in.

MR DLAMINI: What meetings were these?

WITNESS:   SAAWU at Blaauwbosch.

MR DLAMINI: Did you have a position, or you played a certain role in those meetings?

WITNESS:   No, I didn't have any position, I was just a member.

MR DLAMINI: Why then - why they arrested you?

WITNESS:   The reason they arrested me I think it's because I was a member of SAAWU, and they didn't like SAAWU because they said SAAWU is the reason people are going on strikes.  And also SAAWU used to go for civic association meetings.  That's why they were after us, because they wanted us to talk more about what was going on at Sibongile township.  We were born there at Sibongile township, but we were not happy as the community of Sibongile because of the toilet system that we had, because other townships which were developed after Sibongile improved more.  They got more improved toilet system than ours.  Our houses were bad, and rain could come inside the house, so we were not happy.  We were not happy at all as residents from Sibongile township.  The whites who were administrators they used to promise us, and they use to raise rents and they didn't do anything.

MR DLAMINI: Would you please tell us more about what happened to you when you were detained.