Human Rights Violation Hearings — Messina — 1997-04-08

DR RANDERA: Sorry, can I ask Jeanet Ramakokovhu to come forward. Jeanet, good morning.

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: Good morning, Sir.

DR RANDERA: Can you introduce the person who is with you?

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: She's my sister.

DR RANDERA: I welcome her too.  Jeanet, Miss Seroke is going to help you as you tell your story.  Can you please stand to take the oath.  Can you just repeat after me.  I swear that the story I'm about to tell is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: (sworn states)

DR RANDERA: Thank you.

MS SEROKE: Jeanet, you're going to tell us about an incident that happened in 1992 when there was a consumer boycott in Messina.  Could you tell us briefly what happened to you on that day?

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: On that day, this is what happened.  It was in the evening when we held a meeting in our hall.  Suddenly we arranged to go to, it was told there are people who will go to town to buy, whosoever could buy cool, could really face, be faced with a lot of problems and then we'll have representations.  The following morning I woke up and bathed.  I put on my uniform, ANC uniform and went to town.  Arriving on town I sat there.  As I was seated a train arrived from Jo'burg.  There were people going to Zimbabwe.  Some of them were off-loading, I mean alighting, some of them were going to the shops and I had to rush to those people to stop them.  There was a factory which is now closed.  When I stopped those people, I was trying to explain to them that we are engaged in a consumer boycott and people are not allowed to buy here in these shops because we are fighting against the boers, 'cause we are fighting, we have some problems around and the Zimbabwean women were explaining to me that, well, we know well about the South African war and we are not involved because South African people were not also involved in our Zimbabwean fight in 1966.  I then explained that by then I was till a very young person.  I was getting born.  We just want you to support us as our fellow Black people.  Please don't buy and those people went to the shops and bought and then I explained to them furthermore and we went towards the railway station.  Arriving at the railway station, whatever they had bought, they had a lot of plates and I just broke them.  When breaking them I also took all the soaps.  Suddenly Zee Moiana arrived.  When Zee Moiana arrived he, he said to me, what are you doing?   And I told Zee Moiana , that as police you know very well that we are in a terrible situation.  I explained it to these people that they shouldn't buy or they must buy in Jo'burg and go to Zimbabwe because we are still engaged in a struggle here.  He held me on my clothes and then he, he took me to the station, police station and we went there.
 When we were at the office, they took me around to another private office.  Whilst we were there, there was another  White  man Backs, who was watching over the window and he followed us.  He clapped me on my face.  After having done that he ordered me to sit down and told me that I was not really illiterate or educated in what I was doing.  I just kept quite, I couldn't respond.  Zee then started taking some books and pulled them down and there was a docket.  He told me that there was a docket that was going to be opened.  I admitted to the statement taking and then he said to me, the people who are encouraging you to do this are not going to be in such trouble and very soon you are involved in these struggles and you are not even educated and I asked him if at all the struggle really necessarily need people who are educated or only the people who are Blacks, fellow Blacks?  Then when those women were taken they were just put outside.  I had to take statement.  There was nothing that I had to say there.  I said I will have to say something in court and he said, you are very stubborn and those women were called to the office.  I was put in a very private office like these where the people are interpreting.  There were some burglar doors there.  They didn't close the outside door.  After that I was put there aside.  I asked to go to the toilet.  Having done so Backs told me that there was no toilet and he said, just do it there and I sat there.  As I was seated there I could feel that I was really pressurized.  I had to urinate and I just did it there.  After that it was late afternoon towards three or four.  I told them about my hunger.  I asked for food and the people who were buying food, who had bought food from the cafe, they ate the food.  After having eaten, they just gave me part of the food.  I said, I cannot eat this dirt,  I'm not a dog.  I wouldn't mind staying hungry for such a long time.  I will just go and eat in the cell. Then I just pushed to the food away and then they asked me to fetch the food again.  The statement was taken.  That was around past six, past five to six.  I went, I was taken by a van, four by four.  Backs took the, I was handcuffed, I, I was cuffed on one of my legs and I went to the police station.  They took me to the charge office and I was booked in, in a book and the cuffs were taken off.  I went to the cells.  I had to ask for people to  relay a message home that whosoever will see Orbit or Abraham Lerule or Jackie Makombi to tell them that I'm in the police station.  There was a message that Jeanet shall not be a worried because we will be coming to release her the following day.  I couldn't worry.  I stayed there in a cell.  Subsequently, my own people from home brought food.  I ate the food and slept.  
 The following day, in the morning, I went to court.  When I was in the court I was told that my involvement in such case was very major and there was a bail that had to be given up.  Orbit went and fetched the money for the bail.  I was released and there were taxis, so there were a lot of people inside.  I boarded the taxi and went to the hall.  On arriving at the hall  people explain as to what happened on my arrest during the boycott times and now he's back.  There, but there was no problem at all.  The others will have to be consulted and that court was postponed.  The following day a lawyer, Ntai, arrived who asked me several questions and I explained to him and he was the one who was going to represent.  It was postponed more than three times.   I was discharged.  Thank you.

MS SEROKE: In your statement you said that you were still attending school at that time and you were ... (interrupted)

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: I didn't say that.

MS SEROKE: You said you were an ANC member and you put on your uniform.

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: Yes, it is true.

MS SEROKE: How old were you at that time?

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: I was twenty six years of age.

MS SEROKE: .You seemed to have a consumer boycott.  Was it made by the ANC and did everybody in the township respond to that?

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: It was very involving and then we were all affected by the way, how the boers were really handling us.  Everybody in Messina was involved at the time.

MS SEROKE: What other protests did, demonstrations did you have to put your about you, your, your pride in, in, in the township.

JEANETTE RAMAKOKOVHU: During that time, the boers could take dirt from the location to throw them in Nancefield.  All the boers will take the dirt and throw them in Nancefield and there was a lot of dirt and you know, a lot of flies and we were fighting against that so that, you know, it should be arranged somehow.

MS SEROKE: Annikie, just before you also talked about a march against, against VAT and what other methods did you use?  There was a consumer boycott and VAT and what other marches were organized?