Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1999-10-26

MR WILLIAMS: So a car driving by innocently wouldn't actually notice you there given the fact that it was misty and you were located in such a way that you hid yourselves?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: If the person was driving on the other lane of the road he would be able to see us but he wouldn't be able to see what was in our hands.

MR WILLIAMS: Now so in other words cars driving by on the road would also pose no danger to yourself and your friends, no so?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Cars as in ordinary cars except the police cars did not pose any threats or dangers to us.

MR WILLIAMS: Mr Yekwani, what I also want to know is from the time that you and your friends came onto that scene, how many cars passed by before you attacked this particular vehicle?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Many car had passed and we could see that those were not the cars that we were waiting for.

MR WILLIAMS: Can you then explain to the Committee why this particular car was singled out?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: I can say I got a fright and this car did not come from the direction that I was facing.

MR WILLIAMS: Now can you explain to us why did you get a fright, what was the cause of it?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: It is because I was facing the Philippi direction and I knew that the police were on the way but I heard comrade Tobani telling me that there was a car behind me.

ADV BOSMAN: Can I just interpose here Mr Williams please?
	You were facing the Philippi direction, was that the direction from where you expected the police car to come?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes that is correct.

ADV BOSMAN: So this car that you shot at did not come from the direction from which you expected the police to come?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: It came from behind from the township.

ADV BOSMAN: Thank you.

MR WILLIAMS: Thank you Advocate Bosman.
	Then, what I also want to know is, when you actually shot at this car how far were you from the vehicle?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: The car was not very far from me, I can say it was from where I am to the lady who is sitting here on my right hand side.

MR WILLIAMS: Plus minus two metres, two and a half metres?

CHAIRPERSON: I assume he is referring to Advocate Bosman.  Yes that would be about two or three metres.

MR WILLIAMS: Mr Yekwani, from other statements that were provided was it seems as if the car that Mr Jack travelled in was in fact a Golf.  Would you dispute that?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: No I cannot dispute that because I did not see the car properly.

MR WILLIAMS: Now you also obviously know that a Golf looks vastly different from the normal cars that police travel in, not so?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes that is correct.

MR WILLIAMS: So I fail then to understand how I could have mistaken this car for a police vehicle?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes, as a person who was scared and I knew that police sometimes they use private cars and I did not expect a car to come from behind not on the road because at that time I was not on the road.

MR WILLIAMS: Now then you also stated in your statement that there were two people in the front of the car, did you see two people in the car?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: I did not see them facially but one could see that there were people in the car.

MR WILLIAMS: Now when you fired those shots, who did you aim at?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: When I fired I turned and I pointed straight to the driver.

MR WILLIAMS: Did you fire from the front side, the windscreen side of the car or from the side, the driver's side of the car?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: When I fired as the R4 was at the automatic position I started at the window, driver's window and I continued up to the passenger.

MR WILLIAMS: So in other words you were basically located next to the car, you weren't in front of the car when you shot, you were next to the car, is that correct?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Just a little bit but not straight, even the car was not on the side but was just a little bit on the side.

MR WILLIAMS: So at the time when you shot were you under the impression that these were two police people that were in the car?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes I thought that I was shooting at police and I didn't know that there were two of them, I knew that there is a possibility that there could be other police people at the back of the car, that is why I continued shooting because I didn't want anyone to escape from that car.

MR WILLIAMS: You testified earlier that you could see that there were two people in the car, not so?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes that is correct at the front seats of the car but I did not see whether there were people at the other back seats of the car.

MR WILLIAMS: And is it also correct that you only shot at the driver of the car?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: No, I did not shoot only the driver of the car because I also wanted to make sure that even the passenger should be shot.

MR WILLIAMS: Now how did you do that because we all know now that there was a passenger in the car according to statements in front of us and that person survived, he was not killed?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Do you want to know how did that happen?  I started shooting at the driver and the rifle was on the automatic position, I shot up to the windscreen and I even went ahead to shoot on the other side of the car.

MR WILLIAMS: Did you then make sure afterwards whether in fact the second person that was in the car whether that person was shot or whether that person was killed?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes I did that because even when I crossed the road I was looking and I saw that no one was getting out of the car up until we reached the squatter camp.

MR WILLIAMS: Did you go up to the car and see whether the other person was dead?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: No, I did not go to the car.

MR WILLIAMS: So are you trying to convey to us that you shot recklessly at both and you assumed that the other person was also killed, that was your intention, is that what you're trying to tell us?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes I was so certain that even the passenger had died.

ADV SIGODI: Can I just ask?  What made you think that these people were policemen?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: It was because from the position where we were I did not expect any car to come to us except the police car because this particular car left the road and went on the other side where we were and I thought that the police were coming to me to arrest me or to shoot me.

ADV SIGODI: But were you not hiding in the trees?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: We were not hiding under the trees, there was no hiding place.  If you are standing next to that tree it means you were clearly visible.

MR WILLIAMS: Are you trying to tell the Committee that this car was driving in the road, the car then for some reason left the road and came to your vicinity - I mean off the road?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes that is correct.

MR WILLIAMS: The grass on the veld where you guys were standing?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: Yes it left the road.  If it was the ones on the road or standing I couldn't have fired but when it came to our direction I was sure that the police are coming to arrest me or shoot me.

MR WILLIAMS: Mr Yekwani, I want to put it to you and I'm also going to argue this later, that your story doesn't make sense.  That I'm also going to argue later that it seems more probable that you knew who was in the car and that somehow you must have caught his attention or beckoned or called him to come closer, to leave the road and come closer to you.  What do you say to that?

XOLA TEMBINKOSI YEKWANI: I couldn't be able to do that because I didn't know this comrade.