Amnesty Hearings — Vanderbijlpark — 1999-05-11

MR BERGER: Chairperson, just for the record, he said six, seven, eight, it wasn't interpreted.

MR STRYDOM: Yes, so being winter time, it was at night when you watered the garden, is that right?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I am not sure whether you regard seven as night or not, I am not in a position to respond to your question.

MR STRYDOM: Mr Baloyi, maybe you can give me the answer because I have been trying to establish if it was dark or if it was still light.  When you watered the garden, was it dark or not?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I was watering the garden, the grass.  When I started it was not dark, but eventually it got dark.

MR STRYDOM: At that stage, according to you, you knew that there was a possibility of an attack on Boipatong or Bophelong that night?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: As I said before, the Priest who had been sitting down there, telephoned me and informed me that his Parishioners had told him that the IFP would attack either Bophelong or Boipatong.  That is what I said before.

MR STRYDOM: I missed that, who told him?

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Baloyi, the question that was asked of you was did you tell the Police that you saw a "koyoco" pulling up in front of or next to your house?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: As I said before, I told them everything that had happened, even including the "koyoco" vehicles.

MR STRYDOM: That "koyoco" vehicle, where did it come to a standstill in relation to your position where you were watering your garden?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Do  you see where I am sitting, my garden would be out there.  There is a brick fence and there is grass outside the fence.  That is where the casspir parked.  Even the white people who arrived the next morning, could see where the vehicle had been parked.

CHAIRPERSON: When this "koyoco" came, were you still outside watering your garden?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: No, by that time I was already in the house.

MR STRYDOM: Can you give an indication how long before you saw the first attackers, did you see that "koyoco" in front of your house?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: They followed the vehicle, it came and first parked and as the people approached near to the house, it drove passed towards Amatola.

MR LAX: Sorry Mr Baloyi, the question was can you remember how long it took between the time the vehicle parked and the time the attackers came.  How much time passed?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: It was not long before they arrived.  It was just a few minutes.

MR STRYDOM: But you testified earlier that you watered the garden between six, seven and eight, so after you had finished watering the garden, you went into the house and shortly thereafter, did you see this "koyoco" or not?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: After watering the garden, I went into the house and the "koyoco" came thereafter, that is when the attackers were approaching from behind.  As they came nearer the house, the "koyoco" drove off towards Amatola and parked under a tree.

CHAIRPERSON: When the "koyoco" stopped in front of your house, next to your house, you were inside your house?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, I was in the sitting room.

CHAIRPERSON: Were you sitting down or were you standing?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I was standing watch because something was going to happen, I was standing next to the window, watching.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you see the people coming behind the "koyoco"?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, very clearly.

MR STRYDOM: So you were not watching TV?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, I was.  My windows are big, they are that big.  The TV was about that distance away and there was  a hi-fi next to it.

MR STRYDOM: You were standing and you were watching TV, is that what you say?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I am saying as I was watching TV, I could also see through the window because the TV is close to the window.  But when I heard the noise, I stopped watching TV.

CHAIRPERSON: When you first saw the "koyoco", were you standing at the window or were you sitting down?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I was seated.

MR STRYDOM: Now let's take it step by step, you are sitting down, watching TV, what is the first thing now that happens after that in relation to what you have heard and what you saw afterwards?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: The first thing that I saw was the "koyoco", secondly people approached and they damaged these two houses that I was talking about.

MR STRYDOM: Just stop there.  In your seated position, could you see the "koyoco"?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Very clearly.  My window is huge and it is low.  You are even able to see a person walking outside.

MR STRYDOM: Now the window that you are referring to, is that the window on the front side of your house, facing the street?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: The two windows that I am speaking of, face the street.

MR STRYDOM: Were you sitting in the dining room?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I was in the sitting room, not the dining room.

MR STRYDOM: Sorry, I wanted to say sitting room.  Yes, you were sitting in the sitting room and that's got a big window you say?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: It is not just one big window, there are many.  I was just watching through this one window.

MR STRYDOM: Yes, and these windows did they have only lace curtains or other curtains as well?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: It does have other, it has a lace curtain and another curtain but I always open the curtains so that you can just see through the lace.

MR STRYDOM: From your seated position, you could see the "koyoco" through the lace curtains in the street, is that correct?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, very clearly.

MR STRYDOM: When you saw this vehicle, what did you do?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I told my children that the Police have arrived, so you should be ready, keep watch.

MR STRYDOM: Ready for what?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I had already heard that an attack was imminent.

MR STRYDOM: Yes, but now you see a Police vehicle, how did you know that the Police will be part of the attack?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: The Police were involved in this, they started during the day and fired teargas.  They closed all the holes that we had made on the road.  They came with tractors and closed up all those roads and they chased the comrades away.

MR STRYDOM: Did you see that, that they chased the comrades away?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, I saw it because we had also taken part in digging up these holes.  We were trying to prevent the "koyoco's" from travelling on that road.

MR STRYDOM: Why did you want to prevent "koyoco's" travelling in those roads?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: We did not want the Police in the township because they harassed people.

MR STRYDOM: Were you happy with the policing which was done by the Self Defence Units?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, we were very happy about that.

MR STRYDOM: Am I correct in saying that at that stage, at that time, you were very negative towards the Police?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, we did not want them.

MR STRYDOM: What did you personally witness during the course of that day, the Police do in the township?  You already said that they filled up holes which were dug in the roads, what else did you personally see?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I did not see anything else, I just saw them filing up the holes and I later saw them lighting up the area so that the Zulu's would be able to walk free.

MR STRYDOM: When did you see the area being lit up?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: When they were at the Metal Box, near the gate.  The casspirs all parked around there, they shot something in the air, something like fire and the area lit up.  That is what I saw the Police doing.

MR STRYDOM: Mr Baloyi, what I am trying to establish, the things that happened during the course of the day, before the attack.