Human Rights Violation Hearings — Alexandra — 1996-10-29

MS MKHIZE: Kenneth, we would like to welcome you.  I would also like to thank you for having been patient with us.  We would like to thank you for that.  Can you tell us who is sitting beside you.

KENNETH MANANA: It is my father.

MS MKHIZE: We would also like to welcome Mr Manana for coming together with your son to give him the courage and strength.  Now I would like to ask you Kenneth to stand on your feet while you take oath.

KENNETH MANANA: (s.s.)

MS MKHIZE: As usual one of us will help you in leading evidence and I would like to ask Mr Manthata to.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Mr Manana, please relax, you and Kenneth so that you should be able to tell us what you are going to ask us about.  Can you tell us in short what Kenny is doing, your history.

KENNETH MANANA: I am Kenneth Manana.  In 1986 I was involved in the struggle of the PAC.  I will say that we were under the APLA organisation.  We were sort of reacting as to what was happening to the community and also the children.  We were involved in operation exactly attacking the government forces.  We had two ways which we used in fighting back against these forces.  When we had problems financially we would go to white people to get sponsors and firearms.  At the present moment I am working.  I am working at Queue. I
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am also saved, I am a Christian and I was so happy to get a subpoena to come before the Commission and explain as to what have happened to my friends and others.  From the time we were detained after we robbed some premises at Savoy there were some people from Soweto and others were from Alexandra.  So they have to drop me on the way to come back to Alexandra and then (indistinct) Soweto.  When they let me off the car they didn't realise unfortunately that there were a car coming behind us which have seen us while committing the robbery.  They found me while I was on the way to come to Alexandra so they shot me on my left thigh and also the right thigh.  Therefore I collapsed.  They came towards me shooting at me, hitting me.  They took me to Bramley police station.  That is where they started calling the Brixton Murder and Robbery Squad, explaining that they are suspecting me as being a member of the gang called Scorpions.  Those people who went in for the Scorpion gang they were also wanted by the police so there were pamphlets distributed.  They took me to hospital.  While in hospital I stayed there until the following day.  They had to take me for an operation on that day.  The police arrived, they took me and they told the nurses that they are transferring me to another hospital.  Unfortunately that wasn't true because they were not going to do that.  They took all the files from the hospitals, they took me to the Brixton police station. I was still suffering from the wounds and I also had one bullet in my body.  They started interrogating me about the activities within the community, asking me about arms and many other things and they started also torturing me. They took me to the second floor, they let me sit down on a chair and tied me on the chair, I couldn't do anything
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nor move.  They electrocuted me on my private parts and also on my hands.  They also tied my face with a sack, also poured me with water, continued to electrocute me.  They said that I knew about arms in Alexandra, they said they would leave me and let me go back to the cells.  On the following day in the morning they called me back and they said that they found the car that we were travelling in and the people who were in it and they killed them.  When I enquired further they told me that they found them, they were only away and they said they were attacking them while they were travelling in the air with a helicopter.  On the third day I had to go to court and the charges were read out.  From then I was taken back to Sun City.  I told them about my problems that there was a bullet in my body and asked them if they can take me to hospital outside where I can get help.  I continued with the trial and the bullet was still in my body and I was sentenced to ten years but I only served four years.  While I was in prison I also tried to ask them to get me to hospital where they can extract the bullet out of my body.  I served the four years and I was released.  I was released in 1991.  After my release I tried to look for a doctor who can help me.  I found one who said to me if I had a medical aid he was going to take me, refer me to hospital to see if the bullet even caused any damage in my body.  But unfortunately I didn't have any medical aids so even today I still have the bullet in my body.  About those who died I don't know how they were killed but I was told that they were killed by a helicopter.  That was rumours, I didn't know much about it.  But what I saw in the paper was that I was also among those who were shot by these people in the helicopter.  Unfortunately I was arrested the
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day before these people were killed.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Kenny please forgive me, I will try to find out as to your arrest.  Was it to do with your robbery at Savoy?

KENNETH MANANA: I would say it was connected with that matter.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Because the others were killed there was no one who witnessed that your issue was political.

KENNETH MANANA: Are you asking about the media or what?

THOMAS MANTHATA: I am not talking about the media.  I am saying you yourself you appeared in court.  When you got in court you were charged for Savoy.  Your case wasn't married with the issue of APLA.

KENNETH MANANA: In court they never enquired anything about the involvements of APLA.  What they have asked it was about firearms and they generalised the whole issue saying it was ammunitions.  They said they found the guns and they were illegal in South Africa.  They generalised the whole case and saying it is ammunition.  They didn't specify what we did with firearms.

THOMAS MANTHATA: What I want to find out is whether you were sure that there wasn't anyone, we know that you were an APLA member, that all that you were doing you were involved in politics and did you only (indistinct) a story.  I would say that up to the time when the case came to an end you were the only person who knew that you were an APLA member.  Your involvement or your contact with police, it wasn't anything connected with politics.  It was only the robbery issue which came into the focus.

KENNETH MANANA: I would say that the police knew about the issues of guns.  While they were investigating they also assured me - they were telling us that the particular
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organisations they were using these arms in their struggle.  Police knew that but in court they used it - they called it as a criminal case.

THOMAS MANTHATA: You as people, did you have the arms?

KENNETH MANANA: Yes, we did have the arms.

THOMAS MANTHATA: And where did you use them?

KENNETH MANANA: I would say we used them, they were used in Alexandra and the other surrounding areas.

THOMAS MANTHATA: When you say they were used in Alexandra were  they used in the police station or the councillors?  Where?

KENNETH MANANA: I would say that from my knowledge there were groups within the community who were doing the operations. Well I know that we also had to work with the soldiers.

MS MKHIZE: We thank you very much. I will ask the other members of the panel to ask questions to further clarify your matter.

YASMINE SOOKA: Could you tell me besides the armed robbery that you were involved in, did you deal in arms, was that part of what APLA was doing at the time?

KENNETH MANANA: Yes, I was in one operation here in Alexandra.

YASMINE SOOKA: So this was just one of many?