Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1998-03-30

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: On the 18th of August 1977, there was the commemoration of the breaking out of the riots and inflammatory pamphlets were distributed in the black townships.
	The information at our disposal at that stage was that Mr Biko was responsible for the drafting of that pamphlet and that the BBC was responsible for the distribution of the pamphlet.

CHAIRPERSON: The contents of that pamphlet, did that give rise to the unrest and riots?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, it further activated the riots because it started in 1976, and in 1977 there was the commemoration service and they once again conditioned to continue with the violence.

ADV BOOYENS: If I could refer you to my Annexure 7, Mr Chairman.   In front of you you've got the document headed August 18, Commemoration Day.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Booyens, we are just looking for the particular page.

ADV BOOYENS: Page 135, Mr Chairman.

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Could I refer you Mr Chairman, to the last paragraph, wherever you are, organise yourself into groups to deal with those who do not heed this appeal, beat them, burn their books, burn their cars and shops, show no mercy to informers and other collaborators, they must be all killed.

CHAIRPERSON: You are saying that this came into your hands at some stage?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, it was distributed in the black townships.

CHAIRPERSON: What year?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: 1977.

CHAIRPERSON: And your information was that the author of this document was Mr Biko?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, that he had drafted it and his organisation was responsible for distributing it in Port Elizabeth.

CHAIRPERSON: What was his organisation?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Black Peoples' Convention, BPC.

CHAIRPERSON: Could you give us a date when this document came into your hands?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: It was approximately the 12th, if I remember correctly.

CHAIRPERSON: The 12th?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: The 12th of August, it could have been later Mr Chairman.

CHAIRPERSON: But it was before the 18th?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes.  It had already been distributed at that stage before the deceased, Mr Biko, was arrested.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes?

ADV BOOYENS: I think we all know that Mr Biko was arrested on the 17th and he was detained in Port Elizabeth from the 18th.
	So, the document on page 135 was in your possession before that date?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes.

ADV BOOYENS: Mr Niewoudt, I am now referring to the stage before you became involved in the interrogation of Mr Jones and Mr Biko.
	The information which you got regarding the involvement in the drafting of the document, was that information which you got yourself or was it obtained by your colleagues and conveyed to the Branch?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: It came from our colleagues and it was conveyed to us.

ADV BOOYENS: If we can go back to your application, page 10, there you say in paragraph 3 that considerable pressure was exerted on the Security Branch.  Please tell us in your own words what do you mean by that?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Our Commanding Officers placed pressure on us, we who were actually in the field, to gather information and to identify the ring leaders who were involved in the riots and unrest, and we had to prioritise them.  The deceased Mr Biko was the leading figure at the time responsible for fermenting the violence.
	There was pressure from higher levels on us.

ADV BOOYENS: Do you confirm paragraph 4?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, that is correct.

ADV BOOYENS: And the definition which is given to drastic action, in other words it was drastic action within the framework of the security legislation then valid?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes.

ADV BOOYENS: Paragraph 6, you were not present when Mr Biko and Mr Jones were arrested, is that correct?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct.

ADV BOOYENS: In fact they were arrested by the Security Branch in Grahamstown and they were then transferred to you?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, that is correct.

ADV DE JAGER: Mr Booyens, are documents are differently numbered, Annexure 4, what is the heading of that?

ADV BOOYENS: That is a newspaper report Mr Chairman of the Sunday Times, of 05-01-1979, page 117 apparently.

ADV DE JAGER: Thank you.

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: What is important there, is the first paragraph, apparently that was obtained from the archives of the old State Security Council resolutions.  I had no knowledge of those.

ADV BOOYENS: I think to some extent you have already dealt with the importance of Mr Biko?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, that is correct.

ADV BOOYENS: In paragraph 7 on page 11, you give further information that he went to Cape Town to have discussions with Dr Neville Alexander, to have contact with him.  Did you know anything about Mr Neville Alexander?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: From reports which we received, I gathered something about Mr Neville Alexander's actions, and also as a result of Mr Jones' interrogation.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Niewoudt, how many pamphlets were confiscated and which were similar to the one appearing on page 135?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: I would like to help the Commission as far as that is concerned, but I have no independent recollection of that, but there were quite a few pamphlets which had been intercepted by informants and conveyed to us and which we also picked up in the black townships.
	There were quite a few.  If I had to wager a guess ...

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, before you do that, I am talking about pamphlets which according to your information had been written by Mr Biko, or had something to do with Mr Biko?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: If I understand you correctly, that is the pamphlet which I referred to in Annexure 7, on page 135.

CHAIRPERSON: Is that the only one which you had at that stage?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes.  And as I said, if I had to estimate then number, well quite a few pamphlets were seized in the black townships.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, but that is a different kind of pamphlet?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: No, I am talking about this specific one.

ADV DE JAGER: So you are talking about copies of this particular pamphlet?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, they were photocopied pamphlets.

ADV DE JAGER: Was there also another pamphlet with a different content of which you were aware or was it only this one pamphlet of which there were hundreds or thousands of copies?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, it was only the one.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you, after his death, get hold of any pamphlet which allegedly had been drafted by Mr Biko?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: No, not as far as I know.

CHAIRPERSON: So the only pamphlet which you knew about and which had been allegedly drafted by Mr Biko, was this particular one headed 18th of August?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, Mr Booyens?

ADV BOOYENS: Thank you Mr Chairman.  If you can go back to page 11, paragraph 6, I know you weren't present at the arrest, but the information given to you was to the effect that there were pamphlets in the possession of Mr Biko and Mr Jones, similar to the pamphlet on page 135, that is when they were apprehended at the roadblock or what was the situation?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: No, as it said in my application, one could interpret it in that way, but it was in fact not that case.  No pamphlets were found in their possession.
	Those pamphlets had already been seized or confiscated.

ADV BOOYENS: So what you are actually saying is that upon their arrest the pamphlets had already been confiscated, that is correct.

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct.

ADV BOOYENS: Page 12, paragraph 8, there you refer to a special investigation team which was established by Dr Alexander.

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct.

ADV BOOYENS: And you were once again the junior member?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct.