Human Rights Violation Hearings — Louis Trichardt — 1997-04-09

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much, Mr Machete for the vivid explanation of the harassment and the violations that you suffered.  I would like to find out, were you a shop steward?

MARUOINI MACHETE: Well, according to the law, they used to refer to me as a shop steward coordinator, because there were three of us.  I was a coordinator.  I was the one leading amongst the shop stewards.

CHAIRPERSON: You were part of those who arranged, who organised a strike at OK Bazaars?

MARUOINI MACHETE: Well, regarding the strike, I would not say there was a real strike.  It was just that we were talking about the police people in Louis Trichardt, that they did not want the existance of what we were trying to imply.  Especially because we were contacting big companies like OK and they were targeting us.

CHAIRPERSON: We also heard during the day about the people who were in that bus that were stopped and you mentioned that you were one of the victims.  Why did you think that you are the one who suffered more torture than the others?  What did they have against you?

MARUOINI MACHETE: What I can explain is that as a person who at work was in the workers organisation, I only realised at a later stage, that maybe it had to do with Mr Ntsengeni, because they might have known that I was the one who had to be taken from the van and to be beaten.  Because there was nothing else that I could say I was conflicting with them.  Because it was at the same time when the same vehicle, well according to what could have happened there is nothing more that I could say.  I was talking to a certain policeman.  When I queued along with the other people, they were beating us up and they took us from the van the same way.

CHAIRPERSON: Were you also a member of the Vleifontein Crisis Committee?

MARUOINI MACHETE: I was not a member.

CHAIRPERSON: Okay.  When they searched your house in the manner that they did, what do you think, what did they say they were looking for?

MARUOINI MACHETE: They were looking for, well of course I cannot explain, because they had already called  me by then to warn me that I should not be surprised, because they will be making surveillance trips.  I knew very well that there was nothing that I was hiding, an illegal item.  That is why I am saying that ....

CHAIRPERSON: Are you still working now or?

MARUOINI MACHETE: Well, I am still working.  I have just asked for permission from work.  I also asked for my colleagues to be released from work.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Any questions?  Tom?

THOMAS MANTHATA: All this time, what support were you getting from SACCAWU that is through all this intimidations and what not?

MARUOINI MACHETE: Well, during those days it was still referred to as CAUSA.  We used to go to gatherings and when we raised such issues, you know, the situation was not so conducive, because it is just like what used to happen in this other shop stewards' meetings because it was not that very proper, because a lot of policemen were guarding us.  Although there was nothing they could do against that, we were just going forward.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Oh, that is the union had never sent special lawyers to track down all those movements of the police against you?

MARUOINI MACHETE: Truly speaking, no.

THOMAS MANTHATA: But to this crisis committee it was known that it had the support of the workers.  In short, the workers were directly represented.

MARUOINI MACHETE: Well, regarding the crisis committee which was established in Vleifontein, I would have to say most of the people, the community people in Vleifontein supported it.  The citizens really elected the committee.  They supported it as it was said that there had to be a ten rand contribution per house so that there should be some representations.

THOMAS MANTHATA: I think that one is clear, you know of the community and the support from the students as we have been hearing about this the involvement of the students and even which resulted in the death of a fourteen year old.  I just wanted to know that was the group of workers, you know, distinctly present in the crisis committee?
 Sorry, could you repeat the question?

THOMAS MANTHATA: The question is ....

MARUOINI MACHETE: The workers in our organisation were there, they were present.  However, ...(intervention)

THOMAS MANTHATA: Okay, yes I think you have answered.  The other question was, you have responded to it already.  How far has the SACCAWU effort in support of these people gone?  Was it just as far as it could form a link, if I heard you well, between the crisis committee and the Black Sash or the Lawyers for Human Rights?  You keep referring to Morrison.

MARUOINI MACHETE: Well, if I am not mistaken, SACCAWU was just only attached to Checkers.  It was not really affiliated or attached to the Vleifontein activities.  It is just that we came from Vleifontein and we joined it at work.  It did not have anything to do with the crisis committee.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Thank you.  No further questions.