Human Rights Violation Hearings — Uitenhage — 1996-08-28

PANEL MEMBER: Subsequently, why they did that, why they removed you from the police station, took you to the residential area in Despatch and asked you to lie down in the car, as if you must ride away?  Did you find out why they did that?

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: There was a reason for it, because I heard, when I was in this house, when I was out of bay, that they had gone there to look for me there in Despatch.  At that time, I was in a very bad state because of the assault by the Ama-Afrika, so they were hiding me there because they didn't want them to see me.  My parents had gone with the people of Black Sash, there in Despatch, that is why they therefore decided to take me and to hide me.

PANEL MEMBER: Why did they keep you there in prison?  Were you charged with anything?

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: What they said at the regional court was that they were charging me with public violence.

PANEL MEMBER: But, they never arrested you for anything, they just stopped the car that you were driving in, you were on your way to Kabar, and they just kept you in police custody and afterwards you heard that you were being charged, and you knew nothing about this charge.  Do I understand the position correctly?

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: Yes, it is like that.  These people had a grudge against the members of the Youth Congress and even the begrudged the members of the UDF, and I was a member of the United Congress at that time, so they decided to put these allegations because they did not just want to release me for nothing and then they decided to accuse me of public violence, not just to let me go.

PANEL MEMBER: So you were found not guilty?
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ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: That is right, sir.

PANEL MEMBER: In prison at Kirkwood, when were you released.  They took you in January 1987, when did you get out of prison?

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: I was released in September on bail, that was in Kirkwood, so I spent a long time in Kirkwood.

PANEL MEMBER: What was the effect of all this on you?  Did it leave any effect on you, on your body, on your medical condition?

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: Firstly, my eyes were affected because after all these assaults, I had some growth here on my eyes, and I had to be operated at Livingstone hospital.  I again went to the provincial hospital for testing of my eyes.  There is an old deaf doctor there who would always say that there was nothing wrong with my eyes.  I still have my files there, but this doctor keeps on saying that there is nothing wrong with my eyes and yet I feel that there is something wrong with my eyes.  Which is the reason why I put on these sunglasses.  At night I can not see clearly, even here at the back, I feel some pain from the assault even here inside, I feel some pain.  At the provincial hospital, I told the doctor that he should sent me for X-Rays, so as to see whether I wasn't perhaps affected by those injections because I just loose weight for no reason.  I am a sportsman but my weight has just gone down in a very bad way.
 One other thing sir, is that ever since I went through this incident, my father was also assaulted by those Ama-Afrika, I omitted that my father was a taxi owner, and he was driving to Khayelitsha, and he was assaulted by the Ama-Afrika when they were trying to find out about my whereabouts and ever since, my father became ill and he 
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ultimately had a stroke and this really bothers me and this case was sent to Mrs Vanessa, a lawyer, but there was no progress because the kept on saying why investigating up till now.  Yet, we see the perpetrators and they still say they are investigating even now.

PANEL MEMBER: Just before I conclude, are there any specific issues that you would want us to attend to, that you would like to draw our attention to as a Commission?

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: My request to this Commission is that these perpetrators should come and appear before this Commission and come and tell the reason why they did all these bad things to us and who had sent them to do it.
 Again, I am asking that I should excellent medical treatment because we are just in this hospital, given some tablets that are of no help to our health.
 Some of us had to leave school. We could not continue with our education, we are asking this Commission that there should be some training centres that are to be erected so that we at least acquire some skills so as to be able to lead a better life.  Thank you.

PANEL MEMBER: Thank you Mr Blaauw.  Thank you for the detailed evidence and thank you for the requests that you have made, it is really a challenge to the Commission, we have heard it so many times and we quite appreciate the approach that you are adopting.  Thank you very much, I am going to hand you back to the Chairperson now.

CHAIRPERSON: There is a question from Rev Xundu.

REV XUNDU: I would like you to be brief as much as possible because time is against us.  You made mention of SABTA somewhere in no. 2, I want to know who was the owner of this SABTA taxi, or what was the role that was played by SABTA in UITENHAGE HEARING TRC/EASTERN CAPE
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this conflict?  Just tell us in short.

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: I really don't know the owner, but it was blue in colour, it was written SABTA.  What was happening that very morning as I was walking down, that taxi was driving right round the location.

REV XUNDU: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: .... to determine, how the security forces enticed people to become informers and collaborators.  In your statement you say that they asked you to be an informer, exactly what did they say to you?

ANDILE PHILLIP BLAAUW: They said to me at the time, they were taking me out of the cell, they asked about Netisi Toto and Hwangala, and other members.  They said I should work for them, they were going to give me money.  They brought money notes and showed them to me and they said that I should be their informer and I said I was not going to do that.  They could kill me.  So, they actually entice people by showing them the notes.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mr Blaauw, could you take your seat.