Human Rights Violation Hearings — East London — 1996-04-18

JOE THETHINENE JORDAN: Well this case took place. I was really shocked, I was amazed at my assault.  The police on their report they said I was at C section and I was already beaten up.  But in this all misery they lost the case.  All of them really lost the case and I was given a chance to lodge a civil claim.  That civil claim has its own story.  I don't really want to explain it here because it's already in my statement.  Even this day I haven't received my civil claim.  I don't want to get into that point because our own comrades who are lawyers really deceived us.
 The problems that I have in all these things in December I didn't work for about 11 days because I have a problem with my back and I went to have X-rays.  They told me that in the results they received before with the problem L1, L2 and L3 this is the locality on my back, that is where the cartilage was damaged between the bones.  The lumbar region 4 was the most severely injured.  They said to me as time goes on this is going to be very dangerous.  They said 
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I will need very strong medical treatment.  I am saying I am very lucky because I am working at this moment.  I can afford treatment.  But in future or even now I cannot drive more than 300 kilometres, I have to get someone to assist me.  Every time I travel I have to get somebody.  If I want to be active in that meeting somebody must drive me so that I can be comfortable up to a place where the meeting would take place.  I cannot even take 30 minutes standing on my feet to address the people.  I am really concerned about the medical treatment that I will receive in future because I am catching up with the age.  I doubt that if I am 45 I will still be in this conditions.  In the whole torture that I received one of the problems that I encountered there is a problem with my stomach.  I cannot use even one single purgative that has phenolthalein drug because the minute I use that my tongue comes out of the mouth.  These are some of the problems that I don't know how are they going to handle me in the future.  Then I have the kids to take care of their future.
 The last thing maybe the Truth Commission has maybe an indication, the men have appeared, I don't know one of them, maybe the Truth Commission has an idea or it has a wish is there maybe a plan to rehabilitate them or whatever?  Well that is something I want to have part, I want to get rehabilitation that will be conducted on those guys.  I want this thing between me and him.  I want to know the problem between me and him.  Most of my colleagues, most of the people van Wyk was also involved, those people are mentally disturbed, they have brain haemorrhages and I have a problem with my head, and we heard that van Wyk is still a major even now.  I would like to talk to him.  If there is any 
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possibility of them repenting I want to be part of that process.  It's then that I think I will be in a position to reconcile through the bitterness.....  I am not going to talk about what happened to my family who couldn't see me for a period of over three years.  ....they will never until the apply from the minister.  Who was Vlok to give permission to a person.  I got only 40 minutes in three years to see my family.

DESMOND MPILO TUTU: Thank you very much.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Minister I maintain that for the period that you have been under all that treatment you would have welcomed the presence of your church, chaplain or your church minister.

JOE THETHINENE JORDAN: That's right.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Certainly I would have loved to know who led evidence against you which led to your conviction for the five years' suspended sentence.  Were these your friends, your comrades?

JOE THETHINENE JORDAN: There is not one amongst my comrades who gave evidence about this.  They were fortunate it was fortunate for them that I got the order.  There were many people in the stadium and I think we were not careful enough.  Some of the spies managed to get information through talking to their friends.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Couldn't your defence make use of your hospital records, records from the doctors to use them in your case, in your defence?  Were they available in short, that is what I want to know?

JOE THETHINENE JORDAN: Let me answer you and say if you talk about the records when it comes to information about medical files at that particular time the man who was employed to look after
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our files while we were in hospital one of the doctors in Frere who examined me and the following day he said he didn't examine me, and unfortunately every time some of my files after we have noticed that (no interpretation).... it was being confronted that he has committed some crimes he denied that.  That Frere Hospital where one of the security forces, his brother or his cousin was a Superintendent at the hospital, the information was linking every time.