Human Rights Violation Hearings — East London — 1997-06-10

BONGANI FINCA: We would like to call on Pralene Mora Botha.  Welcome, is it Mrs or Miss?

UNKNOWN: Pralene.

BONGANI FINCA: Pralene we thank you for coming forward to give your testimony to the Commission to-day I see you have someone accompanying you.  Is she a relative of yours?

UNKNOWN: Yes, she is my sister-in-law.

BONGANI FINCA: Is she going to be giving evidence as well?

UNKNOWN: Is it necessary for me to give evidence as well?

BONGANI FINCA: I didn't hear that.

UNKNOWN: Is it necessary for me to give evidence as well?

BONGANI FINCA: No it's not necessary if the evidence of Pralene Botha is sufficient there is no need for us to take your evidence if it doesn't add anything new so we will not swear you in but we appreciate that you are you here to sit next to your sister-in-law and to support here as she gives her evidence before the Commission.  We'll now ask you Pralene to stand up to take the oath and Reverend Xundu will administer that.

REV XUNDU: Thank you Mr Chairman.

UNKNOWN: (sworn states)

BONGANI FINCA: Thank you Reverend Xundu we will ask Mrs Crichton to put a few questions to you based on your statement.

JUNE CRICHTON: Thank you Mr Chairperson.  Good afternoon Pralene.

UNKNOWN: Good afternoon.

JUNE CRICHTON: You are here this afternoon to tell us about your husband George and his death on the fifteenth of December in 1976 but before you start could you tell us a little bit about George about his character, what kind of a person he was before we actually start.

UNKNOWN: George was a school teacher and he related very well to his pupils and to the people and persons around him he was loved very much by his family, his mother, his sisters and the rest of his extended family as well as by us.   His friends and his pupils still speak of him to this day.  They still tell us that they miss him and that they can actually think how he would have reacted especially to the occurrences of our times.

JUNE CRICHTON: At that time in 1976 there were student uprisings around the country, what was the situation in the area where you come from in Port Elizabeth?

UNKNOWN: At the time he was teaching at Patterson High School and even those pupils during those last six months had occasions where they also had clashes with the police or where they also came into uprising with the situation at the schools and in the country and George himself was very much involved with the pupils.  He was actually the person who stood behind them when persons perhaps some of his colleagues or other adults were a bit more conservative in their approach to the situation George would actually be with the pupils and understand their position and not condemn them for the stance they took.

JUNE CRICHTON: Thank you for filling us in on that bit of background, can you now proceed with the story of exactly what happened as you understand it.

UNKNOWN: George was detained from his school his place of work on the tenth of December at about noon that day.  He was detained with another colleague of his Miss Amelia Gervel but she was released later that same day.  George was detained and taken to a police station and from there he was taken to the Sanlam building in Strand Street.  He was held there and at various police stations or police cells without us actually having any access to him.  On the Friday when he was detain I tried to find out where he was held but nobody was available to inform me of his whereabouts and of course the reason why he was detained.

JUNE CRICHTON: When he was actually arrested who came to arrest him at the school?

UNKNOWN: To my knowledge it was two or three security policemen but who they actually were I don't know.  I did hear that it could have been a Colonel Snyman but I'm not sure at this stage any longer.

JUNE CRICHTON: Can you now continue and tell us what happened on the Wednesday when Colonel Snyman came to see you.

UNKNOWN: You mean the Wednesday of his death?  At that time I was working at one of the banks at Port Elizabeth and I was supposed to have phoned them at ten o'clock that morning and they would have told me if I was allowed to see George during the course of that day.   Just before ten o'clock before I could actually phone them to ask whether I could see George because I wanted him to have clean clothing and toiletries etc. they came to my place of work, to the bank and they informed me that he was dead.

JUNE CRICHTON: Previous to this you've just said that he was moved from one place to another, how did you know that, was that what they were telling you?

UNKNOWN: Afterwards we learnt that he had been held at the Despatch police stations overnight but he was brought to the Sanlam building in Strand Street for questioning during the course of the day.

JUNE CRICHTON: And what did they tell you the cause of death was?

UNKNOWN: They said that he had flung himself down the stairwell from the sixth floor of the Sanlam building.

JUNE CRICHTON: Was there an inquest?

UNKNOWN: Yes, an inquest was held about May the following year, May 1977.

JUNE CRICHTON: Did you attend that inquest?

UNKNOWN: Yes, I did.

JUNE CRICHTON: Can you tell us something of what happened at those proceedings?

UNKNOWN: The memory is a big vague because at that stage it seemed such a lost cause in any case but I do remember that policemen (I can't even be sure) but people were called to the stand and they gave their testimonies but I can't recall who they really were but they outcome of the inquest was that nobody was held responsible for George's death.   Although he died he went down the stairwell and he was accused of having done it himself, of having killed himself.  They say that nobody was held responsible for his death.

JUNE CRICHTON: One of the reasons why I asked you to give a character reference, if you want to call it a reference, at the beginning was so that we would know a little bit of what his personality was like.  Do you believe that he committed suicide?

UNKNOWN: No, I never believed it and nobody else has actually ever believed it.

JUNE CRICHTON: What do you think happened?

UNKNOWN: George was held in detention for five days he was questioned, he was most probably tortured and perhaps during one of the torture sessions they went a bit too far and perhaps he died at that point or perhaps he was mutilated at that stage that it would have been better or they felt it was better to just finish off the deed.

JUNE CRICHTON: Are you aware that there is a document that comes out of UNESCO entitled Commission on Human Rights from the Thirty Fifth Session of the Agenda, Item 16.  Do you know about this document?

UNKNOWN: No, I don't know.

JUNE CRICHTON: In the document there is medical evidence given not only by the State Pathologists but also by a Doctor Cooper, have you heard about this Doctor Cooper?

UNKNOWN: I know that at the post-mortem there were a number of Doctors present even our family Doctor, Doctor Lionel Smith at that stage was asked to be present and I know the State Pathologist was also present but I'm sorry I can't recall their names at this stage.

JUNE CRICHTON: Because in this document it is actually stating that there were wounds on the body which were inflicted some hours before the death of your husband and this document will be handed in the TRC so that they can use it in their investigations.  Obviously this has had an effect on you and your family, could you tell us Pralene how has affected your children?