Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pretoria — 1996-08-13

CHAIRPERSON: ... that are going to give your testimony in Afrikaans.  Mr Malan is going to assist you and he is going to ask you to take the oath.

MR MALAN: We welcome Mrs Walters and just before you start can you please rise and lift your right hand.

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: (Duly sworn in, states).

MR MALAN: Mrs Walters, the lady next to you, who is she?

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: It is my eldest daughter.

MR MALAN: And her name?

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: She is Renata.

MR MALAN: Very welcome to you too.  You have given us a complete statement and you may add to that if you may, but we will be glad if you can give us the story as you have given to us here.  You may now proceed and give us your story in your own words.

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: Can I use my notes?

MR MALAN: Yes you are welcome to use your notes.  You do not need to use your earphones.  You may use the headset if there are questions posed to you in another language, but other than that you may remove it.

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: My husband was a victim in the Church Street bombing as already mentioned earlier.  It happened in 1983.  As far as we know 19 people died and more than 200 people were injured.  My husband was seriously injured that night.  PRETORIA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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When he by six o' clock that evening did not arrive home I started getting worried because he was a very conscientious person because he would have always advised me if or when he should have been late.  I then went to look for him.  We went to several hospitals that night.  In the end at around 11:30 that night we finally found him.  He was seriously injured.  He had multiple injuries, he had a broken arm and a broken leg, his face was severely burnt, he also had internal injuries and he was, of course, at that stage unconscious.  When I found him he had just come from an operation.  A week later on the 28th of May he died due to his injuries.  He died without ever regaining consciousness.  We were never able to communicate during this time.  
 For me and my children it was a very traumatic and very painful experience.  The experience to see my husband suffer so much.  At the time of husband's death my daughter Renata, who is with me, was in matric.  My son was in standard eight and my youngest daughter, Liezl, was only four years old then.  The tragic and sudden death of my husband drastically changed the life of me and my family.  Apart from having to assimilate this terror event, we also had to drastically change our way of living.  My husband was a family man and we all supported him and he supported us.  He had a very special relationship with his children.  We all leant very heavily to him.  He died at a time when his three children needed him and his guidance the most.  We have had to go without my husband's income.  I have had to go out and work.  I have had to put my youngest daughter in a creche.  A few months later the Principal of the creche called me and asked me if I would rather not remove her from the creche and look after myself as she suffered greatly and that her feeling at PRETORIA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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the time was that one of us might disappear.  My youngest daughter had to grow up without the presence of a father.  I then decided to stay home and I did freelance work in order to make ends meet.  The other two had to further their studies and I had to make provision for this.  
 Previously my husband was a Minister.  He served at various congregations.  At the time of his death he was busy with his doctorate in Communication.  I would just like to make mention of the fact that the true suffering that myself and my family have endured over the last 13 years can never ever be calculated.  I can only imagine how different my life would have been if my husband was still alive and even though the alleged bomb planters died in the event, I still feel that those, the masterminds behind this despicable deed, is still at large.  I therefore request the Commission to investigate this matter.  I would like the perpetrators to be brought to court.

MR MALAN: Thank you very much Mrs Walters.  I hope you do not mind to answer some questions.  I suppose you would also expect us to ask some questions.  You have listened to Mr Clarence and his evidence and that he said that it was a kind of a war and that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.  I would like to ask you are you, and I do not mean this in a bad way, are you able to, when you make mention of terror acts, are you able, not that I expect it from you, but I just want to know how do you feel at present?

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: Can I put it to you this way.  I just feel that to plant a tree and to plant a bomb and to look at this from a distance and to look at people who are not able to defend themselves, that to me is despicable.  That is not
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right.

MR MALAN: You are aware of how the Law works and you are also aware of the fact that people can come forward and ask for amnesty.  If the perpetrators should come forward and ask for amnesty how would you feel about this?  Would you have peace with this?

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: Yes, I think I would.  It is 13 years ago and nothing can bring back my husband.  I think I will.

MR MALAN: So if you ask that the perpetrators should be brought to court, then you are actually asking us that we should bring the facts out in the open.  Is that what you are asking?

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: Yes, it is.

MR MALAN: I do not think I have any further questions for you, but I think that my colleagues might have so over to them.

CHAIRPERSON: Tom Manthata.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Mrs Walters, as it has been pointed out, even by others, we are addressing here things that happened during a time of conflict in our country and this being the case had you ever known about the killings in other parts of our country during this time?  That is besides the bomb which we condemn, admittedly, but what, have you ever had a picture of the killings in the country?

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: I was aware of it.  I can also just mention it to you that my husband was a Minister in Rhodesia and, in particular, there we dealt with a similar situation.  I was aware of what was happening in our own country and I have always had sympathy with those people especially those who were involved.

THOMAS MANTHATA: It is in the light of this that we all condemn PRETORIA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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killings of any nature, but sometimes when we look at the broad perspectives of the killings that were characteristic of this time, we are sometimes requested to be a little sober and talk about the way forward.  Could you just briefly tell us which way forward do you have in your mind to stop all this kind of killings in future?

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: I think it is within all of us to have peace in our land and I think all we can do is to strive for peace and to constantly strive for peace.  Even though this deed has been committed to myself, my husband, my family we have to look forward and we have to put this behind us and we have to strive to be together and to work together.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Thank you, mam.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Walters, you mentioned compensation as one of your requests and you say for all victims, but in your specific case did you get any compensation?  What was the situation with your husband because if you, in the previous testimony we saw the difficulty which Mr Clarence experienced.

SUSAN LEONA WALTERS: I received a pension from the Church as well as the Defence Force, but as you know it is very small and the cost of living is constantly rising.  I received a small compensation just after my husband's death.