Human Rights Violation Hearings — Cradock — 1996-02-10

BONGANI FINCA: ... after that, Ntsiki Sandi will lead you as you testify.

REV XUNDU: Thank you Mr Chairman.

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: (sworn states)

REV XUNDU: Thank you Mr Chairman, she has been sworn in.

MR SANDI: Thank you Mr Chairman.  Good morning Thandiwe Agness.  Can I call you Thandiwe?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, you may.

MR SANDI: Thank you.  I noticed that in your statement you have requested to come before the Commission so that you may testify about Luyanda Dano and tell us about what happened.  How are you related to Luyanda Dano?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: He is my son, because he is my brother's son.

MR SANDI: This incident was in 1977?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, 1977.

MR SANDI: Could you inform us exactly what happened to Luyanda Dano in 1977?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Luyanda was a student.  There was a bit of chaos at school and he was one of the children who were active at the time.
 The police were looking for him as well as the other students.  He would run away from the police and he would not sleep at home.
 The one evening the police came to our house and kicked down the door.  They would light torches into our eyes and 
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said that we must not move.
 The one requested that I give Luyanda his clothing.  I got up to give him the clothing.  They then said to me they were just going to take him to the police station so that he could give a statement and they would bring him back.
 There were three policemen that were inside the house, the others were surrounding the house.  They left in a kombi.
 As I was working next to the police station, I went to find out what was going on and I found out that he had been arrested, he had been detained.
 Then I was told that Luyanda was sick in prison.  I would go during my lunch time, because I wanted to find out what was going on.  I then dealt with Seki Meyers.

MR SANDI: Is Lupuwana one of the police that was - was he one of the wardens?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, he was one of the wardens.  I asked Seki  what happened to Luyanda, what was happening with him?  He said that he was ill and that the Doctor had to be called.
 I asked exactly what was wrong with him, they said they didn't know.
 I waited again, I wanted to find out what was wrong with Luyanda.  Lupuwana then said that Dr Robinson had diagnosed him as suffering from nerves, nervous tension.
 He then had to appear in court.  Because I was working that day, I asked his mother to go to court.  He then got latches.  What we discovered however, is that he was just not beaten up, but his head had been damaged at the back and the situation was much more grave than they actually presented to us.

MR SANDI: For how many days were Luyanda detained before he
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went to court?  How much time had elapsed before he appeared in court?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: I think it was a month.

MR SANDI: He then was examined by Dr Robinson.  Was he working for the Government prisons?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: No, he was a General Doctor, he was a District Surgeon.

MR SANDI: You were still telling us that Dr Robinson diagnosed him as suffering from nervous tension.  Could you continue?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, that is the report that I got that Luyanda was suffering from nervous tension.  There were no marks to show that he had latches.  When I then got home, he was there, but he was not well at all, he was deranged.
 He constantly had to go to a mental institution to be examined.

MR SANDI: What else did you notice about him, especially about his health?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: We noticed that he was deranged.  When he came back, he was deranged.

MR SANDI: Where is Luyanda now?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: He is now in Grahamstown, Fort England Hospital.

MR SANDI: Did you take him to that hospital?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, we took him.

MR SANDI: Since when has he been there?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Since April last year.

MR SANDI: Do you go and visit him?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, we do.  We went in December as well to visit him.

MR SANDI: Let's just revert back.  When Luyanda came back from jail, what was his explanation, what did he say happened to him?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: He said that he had been beaten up.  The morning that he had been detained, he had been beaten up.

MR SANDI: Did he explain exactly how they went about beating him up?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: He said that he was hit against the wall.

MR SANDI: Who hit him against the wall?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: He mentioned a policeman called Chris.

MR SANDI: Did he mention any other policemen besides Chris?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: He did, but he didn't know the names.  He said that Chris was not the only one that was torturing him, but there were others as well that he could identify.

MR SANDI: Was there any other way that he had been beaten up besides being hit against the wall?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: He said he had been beaten against he wall and the floor.

MR SANDI: Before Luyanda was detained, had he been ill of health, in the sense, was he deranged?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: No, he had never been deranged before.

MR SANDI: Do you go and visit him in the hospital?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, we do, we went in December as well.

MR SANDI: Is he aware that you are before the Commission today testifying?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: No, I don't think so because the last time we saw him was in December.

MR SANDI: When you go visit him, does he talk about what happened to him whilst he was in detention?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, he does.  One of his major gripes is that he should be at school with the others.  He says that he realises most unfortunately that the remainder of his life will be spent in a mental institution.
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MR SANDI: Are there things that perhaps you feel that Luyanda would be expressing, should he have been here today?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, there are.

MR SANDI: Could you tell us please?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: I am positive that he would be giving a list of people who had beaten him up.

MR SANDI: In your statements you make reference to a bicycle.

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: His mother told us that he had been accused of having stolen a bicycle.  This is what was said in the Court of Law.  (tape ends)

MR SANDI: Was he found guilty of having stolen a bicycle in court?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, yes, he was found guilty because he got the latches exactly because he was found guilty of having stolen the bicycle.

MR SANDI: Did you have a lawyer at the time?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: No, we did not.  His father was in detention at the time as well.

MR SANDI: Is that all you have to say to us today?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes.

MR SANDI: Why was his father in prison?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: His father was in the struggle.

MR SANDI: Where is the father now?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: If he is not here in this hall, then he is back at work, because he was meant to have a meeting at work, but otherwise he meant to come here.

MR SANDI: How old is Luyanda?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Now at the present time?

MR SANDI: No, when he was beaten by the police, was he 15 years of age?
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THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, he was 15.

MR SANDI: Is that all you have to say to us?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, that is all.

MR SANDI: Do you have any requests to the Commission?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: I request that the perpetrators that led to Luyanda's being deranged, be punished for what they did.

MR SANDI: Before I hand over to Mr Chairperson, I just want to ask - did you ever see a bicycle that Luyanda had stolen at home and was he able to ride one?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: Yes, he was able to ride small bicycles, but there was no big bicycle that I saw that he had ridden.

MR SANDI: After that, did any one say he had been sold a bicycle by Luyanda?

THANDIWE AGNESS DANO: No.