Human Rights Violation Hearings — Klerksdorp — 1996-09-23

MADIBO SHADRACK SEAKGOA: We were being watched around the clock.  At one point when it was during the days when the AWB raided the camps and stole arms from the Army bases. At one point in the middle of the night we were woken by flashlights in the cells, and when you wake up you find a big bearded guy with khaki-clad and AWB badges on the shoulders. Photographs of us were taken there. We couldn't identify those people who were intimidating us, we were afraid of our death.
 Young as we were we vowed that even if we die, our 
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struggle will still or our deaths will not be in vain, and our deaths will accelerate the liberation of many in South Africa.
 I also need to make mention of a certain Det-Sgt Callingan.  At that time when we were detained, I was unfortunate to have suffered from gonorrhoea which is a sexually transmitted disease.  For two weeks in detention I was refused medical treatment.  Even visits from my family members.  I pleaded with the then station commander, Sgt Potgieter of Hartebeesfontein, but to no avail.  Until such time that a certain lawyer from the Lawyers for Human Rights, Mr Atimi Ichbal Motala paid us a visit.  We complained to him.  At least I was sent to a certain Dr Meyer who had his surgery at Hartebeesfontein.  
 I never received any injection or anything, I was given tablets and had to go to my cell. I returned there and unfortunately the disease that I was suffering from, was being attended to some degree. I was recovering.
 This Det-Sgt Calligan came to me and offered me a sum of R200,00 so that I could write down the names of all my leaders.  He bought me a packet of cigarettes and biltong and he gave me 24 hours to write two pages of all the leaders that I know, who had given me instructions as to what to do, what to organise and what not.
 He came the following day and he found a blank page.  He found his packet of cigarettes and his biltong.  He told me why did you not eat it - he asked me why did I not eat that biltong and I bluntly told him that I suspect maybe that it has been poisoned and being in prison is an advantage in stopping smoking.  
 He gave me the pen and I started writing the names: 
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Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Joe Slovo ... (Laughter).  All the people that I know are famous.  Under the name of Joe Slovo, I underlined that, and that was the great mistake that I did.  I was made to squat on the floor and kicked on my private parts by Sgt Calligan.  
 Thereafter I was told to report the following morning to the charge office so that I can supply him with a fresh list of all the names of the leaders that I knew.  Again, I gave him the very same names of my national leaders, the leaders of the democratic revolution.  Again, I was viciously tortured.  My pleas went on deaf ears.  Family visits were not permitted.  Even our attorney visited us only once.  We couldn't buy ourselves food. We were given rations that were of poor nutritious value. To this point I still suffer from some of the repercussions of the treatment that I received.
 At one point a certain Mr Tsitse, whose rank I don't know, he was also in the security branch, hit me repeatedly with my head on the wall.  I fainted and I woke up in a pool of blood. Until today I have a serious problem of nervous tension. I was hospitalised about three times in the past three years. I am saying all the expenses that I have incurred because of the gross human violations that I encountered, need to be looked into and my future medications or whatever implications that I may be involved in, because of what I went through for the justified struggle against a minority regime, be looked seriously into by government.

PROF MEIRING: Mr Seakgoa, thank you very much for your testimony. You brought many things to our attention and put many different issues on the table.  Before we talk about
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your own personal circumstances at the moment, can I briefly ask you on circumstances in the wider community at that stage.
 You said earlier in your testimony that 1990 was a difficult year, that many fierce battles were fought in the community.  What was it about?  Why was there so much tension in your community in that year?

MADIBO SHADRACK SEAKGOA: In the earlier statement made by Miss Puleng Dithejane, she mentioned that there were vigilante groups involved in the whole defence of the councillors and in the assistance of the police. I am going to add by saying that there were people who were made known to us by the very system that we are working for. For instance, when in 1990, I should think it was in November, when we were going to write - I was going to write a History examination by then.   There was a certain council employee who was ordered to go and cut the water supply to Tswelelang because there was a rent boycott.    As the youth of Tswelelang and as the cutting edge of our liberation struggle, we resolved to go, to confront him and take the key from him and go and open the water supply.  It was unfortunate that an hour before I went for the History exam, the very same council employee drew a weapon and shot a (indistinct) comrade, by the surname of Lanks, at point blank. I can get testimony to that, I am a witness.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you.  I wanted to - I made a note about that. Do you know whether the family of that young man has approached the TRC?  Will they give a testimony on his death?

MADIBO SHADRACK SEAKGOA: I was in contact with them, about a week or two ago, where they mentioned that they have witnesses who are
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prepared to come forward.  There are only minor arrangements to be made, but they are prepared to make their statement.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you.  The second issue that you opened was the difficulty at the schools and the problems that you had with a specific school mistress, Mrs Sochaka who was t he headmistress of the school.  What was the trouble about at the school, why were their grievances amongst the students?

MADIBO SHADRACK SEAKGOA: To start with, we said we want a democratically elected SRC at the school, with its own constitution.  But the principal came with a constitution that was drawn by the DET, and we rejected that.  So she didn't want to accept our own constitution and push this one on us.  We said a big no to that.
 That was just the beginning.  In the follow-up to that we resolved that each class mentions its grievances.  We compiled it as a student body and presented them to the principal.  But not even one answer came forth from the principal.

PROF MEIRING: So you were feeling very discouraged by what happened at the schools.  There is a third thing I just want to put on the table. You said at the end of your testimony that when you were taken to Hartebeesfontein, you said that it sometimes happened that AWB members presented themselves at the camp or at the institution.  Do you think, were they invited by the police, were they in collusion with the police, how did it happen that AWB people came where you were at a police station?

MADIBO SHADRACK SEAKGOA: I should think that if a security person stands at that door, and he lets a terrorist in, deliberately, it therfore means that he is in the know that this terrorist
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must come in. So I therefore say they were invited by the police.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you. I just want to add one question and then I will hand you over to others. I can imagine that they want to ask you a few things. Just a little bit about your own personal circumstances at the moment. You say that you suffer from bad health, that you still have nervous problems. Are you able to work at the moment, and are you employed?