Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 1998-01-27

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: No, I had nothing to do with that.

MR VISSER: Did you have anything to do ...[intervention]

CHAIRPERSON: Did you mean to say in Bloemfontein?

MR VISSER: No Mr Chairman, in Brandfort.  If I said Bloemfontein that was a mistake and I appreciate you correcting me.

MR VISSER: Did you have anything to do with an attack on the clinic or the house of Mrs Winnie Mandela at Brandfort?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: No I did not.

MR VISSER: Did you have anything to do with anything other than an attack on the house or clinic of Mrs Mandela?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: When the house was attacked I was the investigative officer.  I could however not succeed in tracing any
suspects and the case was later closed as unsolved.
	And the clinic, as regards the clinic, the same morning that it burned down I visited it and reported back to Major Coetzee at that stage and the docket was transferred to the Detective Branch at Brandfort and they took the matter further.

MR VISSER: That is the evidence in chief thank you Mr Chairman.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR VISSER

MR DU PLESSIS: Thank you Mr Chairman, no questions for the witness.
NO QUESTIONS BY MR DU PLESSIS

MR STANDER: Mr Bester, did you have anything to do with a certain Mr White Mohapi?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: Yes that's correct, I know Mr White Mohapi.

MR STANDER: Were you present at the stage when an arrest took place after Mr Ngo apparently or was apparently assaulted?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: I don't believe that I was present with his arrest.  If I remember correctly he was arrested by somebody else but I later participated in the interrogation of Mr White Mohapi.

MR STANDER: Were you also involved in that case with the investigation thereof?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: I will - I could possibly have been involved
indirectly.  I can really not remember whether I was the investigative officer but I was involved indirectly because I did assist with the interrogation.

MR STANDER: Because you see it is my instruction that you were part of the group, I'm now referring to Mr White Mohapi, that while you were busy with the investigation you assaulted him and at one stage you also went so far as to have him undress completely.

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: That's not completely true, as a matter of fact it's not true at all.

MR STANDER: Have you any knowledge of such occurrence?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: I have no knowledge of it.

MR STANDER: Apart from this particular occasion, did you ever thereafter have anything to do with Mr White Mohapi again perhaps with regard to the investigative work that you had to do?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: If you just give me a chance to see if I can remember.  All that I can remember is that on occasion I saw Mr White Mohapi in the street where we greeted one another and chatted for a few minutes.  I cannot think that I had anything to do with him in official capacity?

MR STANDER: Were you the only investigative officer there who did so called posted service?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: I just want to tell you, let me just rectify this.  The period we are referring to was in '85 and I was part of an investigative team which had not yet been sub-divided.  It was Colonel Ben, Sergeant van Wyk, myself, Constable Strydom.  I think that these were the people.
	I just want to tell you that when I was posted, sub divided, it was after the 11th of June 1986 the year thereafter.

MR STANDER: And tell me at the stage when you were doing the investigative work, did you do so under the protection of the security branch, in other words your investigative work?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: No, I didn't do investigative work under the protection of anyone.  I do not understand the question.

MR STANDER: What kind of investigative work did you do while you were associated with the security branch?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: The work that I did there was all unrest related, matters which dealt with unrest, stone throwing, intimidation, everything in that group of matters.

MR STANDER: Am I correct if I say that if there were matters regarding Mr White Mohapi, it would have formed part of your daily duties?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: If it was unrest related yes, but otherwise no.

MR STANDER: You see, why I'm asking you this question is because Mr Mohapi testified that time and again he was arrested, charges were brought against him which were often later withdrawn and soforth and that is why I am putting this questions to you and we now know that he was member and Chairman of COSAS here in Bloemfontein.

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: I understand the question.  As I have told you I cannot remember everything but I cannot remember that I arrested him again or that I was part of the group that did so, I can really not remember that.

MR STANDER: It is also my instructions that, not specifically you but the Investigative Team as a whole, sometimes withheld information or twisted the information so that he had to be charged or that other circumstances had to prevail around him which was not the correct position.  What would you say about this?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: I have no personal feud with Mr White Mohapi, I would never have been part of such a thing and I cannot see the use of even trying something like this.

MR STANDER: Would you have said that it would have been in the interest of the security situation at that stage to possibly have him detained?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: I was not part of the security branch or part of the plans that were made at that stage.  As I have testified, I only did investigative work, I received a docket and I investigated the matter.  I would not fabricate matters or cases against people, I had
too much work to do that.

CHAIRPERSON: I take it it wasn't in the interests of the security branch that it should be known that time after time they prosecuted people who were found not guilty.

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: That's correct, yes.

MR STANDER: And therefore I assume that certainly you or members of the investigating team would have done everything in your power even exceeding your power in order, in the case of persons of his stature, to have them accused.

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: If they had committed crimes, yes.

MR STANDER: Did you hear what I'd asked?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: If you wish to repeat, yes you may do so.

MR STANDER: I don't think in all reasonableness that you understood me.  I meant that you used everything within your power, that you sometimes even put in false statements in order to have people of his stature accused.

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: Mr Chair, that is not true.

MR STANDER: I also wish to state to you Sir, lastly, that upon more than one occasion you were either present or involved when Mr White Mohapi was arrested, assaulted and maltreated.

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: Mr Chair, I vehemently deny that, it is untrue.

MR STANDER: I have no further questions to the witness thank
you Mr Chair.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR STANDER

ADV MEMANI: Mr Bester, isn't it correct that you were investigating criminal matters which had a political content?

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: Until such time as I started at the security branch I investigated unrest related matters.  After 1989, if this refers to the period after 1989, the answer will be yes, if it's before that period the answer will be no.

ADV MEMANI: I don't understand how you draw the line between political content and unrest.

HENDRIK JAKOBUS BESTER: Only in April 1989 did I start working at the security branch as a member of the security branch and then I was included in the investigating team of the security branch where we also investigated matters involving political motives.  Unrest in my opinion is not always politically motivated.  I investigated blundering which was not of a political nature in my opinion.