Human Rights Violation Hearings — Heiderveld — 1995-04-25

DR BORAINE: Okay, what happened after that?

MR SNAYER: Well by this time it was about possibly three o'clock in the morning.  And the shooting hadn't abated  - I then went back to the back of the house, opened that same window and I think it could have been around three o'clock or just before when I saw a Casspir vehicle coming done Denton Road which is that road at the back.
 It's a cul-de-sac and I suppose with no space to turn the vehicle that had gone past reversed again out of the - of that street.  It must have made a turn and minutes after that came back  this time reversing passed the window again and I was watching all of this.
 And I must - must also say I - before that I am just remembering at - maybe before - before some of the other events that  I've described already I phoned also to another person called Bennie Ghool who is a photo journalist I know and I told him what was going on.  He said to me that he would be coming through to take some pictures.
 Then at - at around that time, when the vehicle had gone passed again, I then heard it revving up.  It speeded up and rammed the wall of Mr Noordien my neighbour next-door, rammed the wall about three attempts were made before the wall gave and the Casspir then parked right opposite in very - very close proximity to the apartment where - where Anton was apparently living.  It was at that there was an increase in the gun fire and also in the - in the type of sound that I heard.
 Only to discover afterwards of course that there were huge holes in the wall, both outer and inner walls right through the wall.  Soon after - after this exercise of the Casspir, I went back to the room to report to my wife what was happening.  And then I heard the front door bell ringing and I went to see who was there.  A person who identified him as either Sergeant or Captain Brazelle said [intervention]

DR BORAINE: Sorry could you just repeat that Brazelle.

MR SNAYER: I - I believe it was Sergeant or Captain Brazelle or Brezel or something to that nature.

DR BORAINE: Okay, thank you.

MR SNAYER: He said to me that I should open the door because there is a terrorist in the house next-door and they needed to come in.  I think protested and said my family had been terrorised right through the night already, and that I didn't think it was a wise thing for them to come and use my house as a advantage point from which to fire heavy artillery.
 They were all very heavily armed, who were standing outside behind him.  He said to me all this time I had the safety chain on my door.  All this time he - after that he said to me, he didn't need my permission.  I then felt quite helpless and frustrated.
 I opened the door and he barged in with about four or five policeman in uniform following him with guns at the ready.  They took various position two in the kitchen, at the kitchen window opposite the apartment and two in the bathroom next to the kitchen, also opposite the apartment.  I was ordered for my own safety to go into the room where my family was and not to come out.  I didn't obey that, I went into the room and kept the door open.  And I then saw that the two policeman who were at the kitchen window bashed the - the kitchen windows out end of Tape 16, side B ... - sounded as if the house was blowing up.
 I - I began to feel increasingly compromised by a situation over which I had no control and which clearly could in my view have - have degenerated into a - into a situation where from which ever side, my house could have been blown up with my - with my family in it.
 I heard voices outside shouting kom uit jou vark, come out you dog, today is your last day - today you going to die.   I - I didn't - I really didn't know why this was happening.  And why - why it was that to my mind at that time there could have been - there could have been easily about 30 or 40 policeman if not more who had surrounded the place.
 And every time the  voices or voice said kom uit jou vark which to my mind - only fighting one person.  The shooting didn't - didn't stop.
 Then I went into a room adjacent to  the back room where I - where I had spend much of my time that morning and at around 745 the morning about ja about quarter to eight, I became aware of a policeman on the - on the roof lying or crouching and a hand or arm movement which could have been either trying to catch something that had fallen or throwing something.
 Very - I mean almost immediately after that, there was a loud very-very loud explosion.  And then everything just went quite and minutes after that, I heard someone saying, you may come out now it's all over.
 No-one was allowed into - into that department until the police had done what they - whatever they were doing inside and whatever was - or whoever was carried into an ambulance or a police vehicle that arrived, I can't clearly remember.  But when we - when people who were surrounding the place were finally allowed in by Mr Noordien, we saw the effect of whatever had been - had been shot into the room or whatever explosions occurred. 
 There were bits of clothing on the floor, against the wall - the walls and ceiling were blood spattered all - all over.  Bits of what I - I can only describe as hair or some sort and flesh were also strewn around and - and smeared or whatever onto the wall.
 And that - that ended a - I suppose an episode in our lives as a family which we will never forget.  But I want to end by saying that I agreed to testify here today not - not simply because the truth must be told.
  I also agreed because the impressions created by claims that young cadres like Anton and Ashley Kriel, Robbie Waterwitch, Coline Williams and many-many others, were communists or young people misguided by communists.  That myth should be exploded once and for all.  That I believe that  a brave soldier died in the service of his country.  I also believe that I owe it to the family who were not given the chance to say goodbye.
 I owe it to them to make - to make the attempts to make all efforts to get as close to the truth as we possibly can.  Because without that we can't start the healing.  But I also think that those responsible for that attack, need to come forward and account for their actions as well as those who gave the orders.  Without that, the healing can't begin either.  Thank you doctor.

DR BORAINE: I thank you very much Mr Snayer I - I know that the family obviously are very grateful and we as a Commission are always grateful when people who actually were at the scene and can tell what happened come before the Commission so that we get some - some glimpse of what was going on.  You told us this was in November 1989.

MR SNAYER: Yes.

DR BORAINE: It seems so - so wasteful when three months later there was a completely new beginning which Anton of course didn't see.  It was a night of terror not only for Anton and for the people who lived in the house in which he was in, but also for you and your family.  How - how are your children and how is your wife and are you - how do you - how are you coping?

MR SNAYER: My wife is a very strong woman and I think the experiences that I've had with her throughout that period and which she felt as a - personally since just months before that Robin, Robbie Waterwitch whose her nephew was also killed in a bomb blast, I think strengthened her and in a way almost prepared her to be able to absorb [intervention]

DR BORAINE: Your children?