Human Rights Violation Hearings — Mmabatho — 1996-07-08

EDWIN B MOLAOLWA: ...coming into the location, why don't we better split from this place and somewhere, because during those days also, they used to visit us and threaten us.
 When they arrived at Edward's place, no, firstly they went to my place and I wasn't there - the way my aunt told me - they surrounded the house and those soldiers were heavily armed.  And they screamed that people should get out of the house.  They threw something out of the house and I think it was something that could detect where I was.
 And when someone told them that I as not at home my grandmother, my aunt were made to lie down on their stomachs.
They destroyed the kitchen schemes, they destroyed the drawers because they were looking for me.   
 When they found me, they kicked the door and the door got broken and we didn't even hear them when they entered MMABATHO HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
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the yard.  There were so many they were full in the yard - I think there were about 20 or more than 20, or such soldiers, who were coming to arrest me.
 When we came out it was very bright outside and they were using the spotlights to see us.  When they opened the door and I woke up I met a baby of where I was staying.  She was falling from the roof.  And from the house I can't remember myself walking on my own feet, I can't remember myself touching the ground. 
 From the house, I think they moved about a distance of 50 metres, whilst I was flying in the air and they were still assaulting me at the same time.  Then came Warrant Officer Kok.   Warrant Officer Kok when he came said, this is the one, this is the piece of shit I have been looking for a long time.  So everyone was coming out of the yard, but these soldiers had time to hit me.
 And by that time I was lying on my stomach.  Others were putting their boots on my back.  And on that day there were some activities.  We had been raided.  
 They took us to the police station - I mean the Security Branch Offices. From there they shared us, because they took us from one van and they split us, each person taken to different security branches, because, normally they use to report from different places like Bloemfontein and Kimberley.
 They blindfolded us, they took us to a farm which I don't know.   If I remember well it must be somewhere in the west of Vryburg, because the cars were parked next to Vryburg and when they left they turned into another way, which I think was at Kuruman direction.   Probably they had farms in that direction, and I think this farm, these tall MMABATHO HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
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trees, and one would think it was a deserted place, it wasn't used for farming, because there was nothing, neither the sound of a cow or a pig.   One would think it was used only by the police. 
 On that farm is where I got assaulted the most.  They assaulted me and tortured me through the system of helicopter, put me in the bag and they all did bad things unto me which they could do at that time.  
 There was a time when they brought Edward Romagadi to me, because they said what was the time that we were from the church.    I said quarter past nine and this other guy said half past nine and this made things worse, because of the different times we told them.
 From there I was very weak.  They took us and we got to the farm at about four o'clock in the morning and we were tortured up until seven o'clock, that is we took about three hours under torture. 
 Later they took us to the police station.   Comrade Jomo saw I was very weak and he took me to the doctor.  The doctors were also afraid to write a medical certificate regarding my condition.  The doctor just wrote that I had bruises and I could see that he was afraid to tell the truth and there was no doctor we could trust among the whites, except the Indian doctors who could help us, but they were also afraid to help us at that time.
 And on that day, in the evening, Jomo forced the people to take me to Johannesburg.  And the following day I was taken to the doctors from Nanda. I received treatment from those doctors, where I stayed for two weeks.  But at that time I was really weak and the way I heard the doctors speak, they thought that my brain was shaken.  They were 
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still contemplating what to do so that I could recover.   
 I then returned to Vryburg.  And this went on every time these policemen met me.  They would take me or if I would sell a newspaper they would take me again to the police cells.
 When they again came to fetch me, I think it was in June 1985, I'm not sure of the date, they again came at about four o'clock in the morning.   I was together with Abraham Moklete and Errol Ramorogadi. 
 They said to me we are here to pick you up.  I was scared and I just gave up.  I said, let them do what they want to do.  They picked me up and took me straight to Kimberley in Transvaal Road.   They took me to the sixth floor at the Security Branch, or it was a Department of Security Branch. I think we arrived at about six o'clock in the morning and the police have been waiting for me there.  When I entered through the door they were on me.
 Speelman started, he was a Sergeant at that time, he slapped me and I was so angry, I wanted to revenge or 
to retaliate and I opened the door so that they could all take part.   
 They applied the helicopter system again and they electrocuted me.  They used a plastic bag to suffocate me and they were still hitting me underneath the feet.  They used something to hit me on the head.  I didn't know what was happening.  
 When I regained consciousness I was in another room. It was now in the afternoon, at about 3 o'clock and I asked myself, am I still asleep?   There was a black policeman who was standing there, guarding me.  My body was painful.  You know, the pain that I was in was even worse than a 
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toothache.   I wanted to stand up but I couldn't.  They supported me and they took me to a cell.
 The following day I asked them to take me to a doctor.  They refused.  They cross-questioned me in stead, asking me about the activities of the ANC, the whereabouts of the people who skipped the country.  They said I was in a position to tell them exactly what happened.
 Everytime they would come to me to interrogate me and torture me as well.  They were searching for Muluke, for Muluke was one of the people who skipped the country.  Everytime they would come and torture me.  
 I spent about two months in the process of torture. I was being tortured from time to time.  And every time after two weeks I would be taken to a doctor and I didn't trust the doctors to an extent of telling them where the pains were in my body, because I knew them as enemies as well.
 This really affected me mentally.
 In the third month, if I am not mistaken, I was taken to Zeerust.  There were Security Branch Offices in the Old Mutual Building.  That is where I got further torture.  They fiddled with my private parts, they did everything to me.
 They still maintained that I was in a position to tell them about the people in Botswana.  They insisted on the fact that I know how the people skipped the country.
 I was under Section 29 until I was released in February 1986.  I wasn't myself.   I was very weak.
 Some of the people say I am much better because I was nearly mad.  A few days after my release I wasn't quite well but I remember that when I got back the vigilantes were in Huhudi.   And my aunt felt that my life was in danger.  I would never last.  And then I was taken to Johannesburg.
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 The activists from Black Sash organized me a treatment at a Transvaal hospital.  I can't remember the name of the psychiatrist, but I was under psychiatric treatment.  
 I stayed in Johannesburg until June and on the other hand I was still going for treatment.  That was twice a week.   
 Since then I have suffered a lot.  From the farm and to the period of solitary confinement I had this terrible headache that will never stop if I use tablets.  Even in exile I was attended by a psychiatrist.  I am not sure whether it was a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but it was treatment that he gave me.   
 Up until now I won't say I was the original person I was.  I will stop there.