Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietermaritzburg — 1996-11-20

BENSON VULINDLELA NSIMBI: suspecting that why did we accept and accommodate these people in the churches.  But by God's grace we don't know how it happened that the church was not divided into two, having one group saying, "We will go to church, to our church, because we are Inkatha," and the other group saying, "As UDF we will go to our own church."  I say this because in our church the church was predominantly Inkatha than UDF.  One other thing that people had in mind at the time was the Apostle Church was working hand in hand with UDF.  I don't even know what was wrong in that even if it was so.  Truly speaking I did encourage people to take one side instead of being neutral, because there are many people who died who did not even know what was happening, because those who died knowing what was happening at least they died satisfactory.  But it is pathetic to know that many people who died are people who died not knowing whether they were going or coming, no direction at all.  I do like in closing to highlight on this, that after the refugees in the attacks that took place on Tuesday there are people who were killed in KwaMnyandu on Thursday.  One was shot and died just towards our church building.  That boy did lie there since Thursday up to Sunday morning.  One of you Commissioners up front there went with him, were trying to locate the corpse, dead bodies of the people around the area.  We found out that Sunday morning there were bodies that were already beginning to spoil and getting rotten lying there.  We tried to ask the police to come fetch all the corpses and dead bodies lying around the neighbourhood.  I do believe that people who were resident in the places they had left now, and those who  witnessed how people were killed brutally, that I believe

BENSON VULINDLELA NSIMBI: that even today they don't wish to go back to their places.  One other thing that adds to this.  One of the chiefs who's now late, who said he will plough in KwaMnyandu sugar cane.  Even today when you pass by that place you see trees more than houses, because people were so scared, they were traumatised about that, that they don't wish to go back to those places.  I do believe that even when this is all said and done now, and in the past, it will take a long time for sure that those people's minds and their souls get back to a normal state of a normal person.  There are people who will say - who were hiding in those churches, when you say to them, "Hey, there is Ntombela," they will run and almost want to get out through windows.  When you say, "There is Nsikiza," they will look for a door so they can run away as fast as their feet can carry them.  Some others I do believe that even at night they do have those dreams, scary dreams, nightmares that make them shout at night, and cry.  I think the healing of those people who were exposed to that will take time.  Now we are happy that you in front here are putting so much effort that all the things which took place should come out into open, that the healing should start and proceed.  I am one of those who will take time to be fine, and this is why I said, "Please clean the chair before I sit," and do forgive me for that.  It is because of the things I had seen, and also my upbringing has a lot to do with this.  I think it will be my grandchildren who will see the Canaan land.  I just think I will die here, here in this wilderness.

BENSON VULINDLELA NSIMBI: Reverend Nsimbi, I want to thank you very, very much  /for your

BENSON VULINDLELA NSIMBI: for your evidence.  Had it not been for the hard,

BENSON VULINDLELA NSIMBI: dedicated work of people like yourself, and the many others from the churches, from the Pietermaritzburg Crisis Co-ordinating Committee, doctors and others, the terrible suffering of those people who were victims during that week would have been even more unbearable.  It should not have been the responsibility of churches and NGOs to care for these people, it should have been the responsibility of the Government, but as we heard yesterday the Government said that it would only provide monetary relief if it was equally distributed amongst both sides, and as a result of that not one cent of the ... (incomplete - end of Side B, Tape 2) ... the churches, Crisis Committee and others, and we want to thank you, and those others who are here today, for their hard work and their dedication, and to thank you for your submission today.  Thank you very much indeed.

BENSON VULINDLELA NSIMBI: /DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER

DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER: (Sworn, States)

DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER:  Inspector Meyer, we understand that you have been instructed by the police to give the official SAP version of this event which became known as the Seven Day War, is that correct?

WITNESS:   That's correct, Mr Chairman.  I am actually Director Meyer, not inspector.

DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER:  Sorry, I apologise.  Director Meyer, sorry.  Can you then prepare to read from your statement which I understand that you have prepared, and you have made copies available to the Commission.

WITNESS:   That is correct, Mr Chairman.  I would like to ask - after the submission I would like to change to Afrikaans.  I am reading the submission in English because the whole documents were prepared in English.

DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER:  Please settle down.  Please proceed.

DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER: "Submissions by the South African Police Service regarding the incidence of public violence in Edendale and surrounding areas during March 25 to April 1990, also referred to as the Seven Day War.

DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER: "Introduction.  This report endeavours to set forth this Department's ..."

DANIEL JOHANNES MEYER: (intervention)

INTERPRETER: The interpreter is struggling to hear the witness.

INTERPRETER:  Could you speak a bit louder and sit a bit closer to the microphone please?

INTERPRETER: "This report endeavours to set forth this Department's version of the events as accurately as possible in the absence of several official records relating to the

INTERPRETER: /"period

INTERPRETER: "period in question.  Unavailable records which were kept by the former Riot Unit Eight, Pietermaritzburg, are SAP15s, section sergeants' reports, which contains the details of all members as deployed in their sections during the period, and SAP280 radio incident report forms, on which all incidents reported to Riot Unit's operational room were recorded.  Departmental prescriptions for the destruction of the ephemeral records relating to these forms is a period of one year, and the present commander of Public Order Policing Unit No 8, Superintendent O'Connell, states that these records were in fact destroyed in terms of the relevant instructions.  The other official records are the pocket books of individual members, and eight occurrence books relating to that period, and the crime registers, and these were removed by Mr Cockett of your investigation unit on 96.10.25.  Notwithstanding a request that the documents in question be returned to enable us to scrutinise same they have not been returned.  This office report is thus based on the recollection of individual members involved and the accuracy thereof can thus not be guaranteed.  The following members were consulted:  Director McDuling, Director Meyer, Senior Superintendent Upton, Superintendent van den Heever, Superintendent O'Connell, Captain Brookes, Captain van Huysteen.

INTERPRETER: /"Director

INTERPRETER: "Director Meyer was the officer from Unit Eight most directly involved in dealing with the matter on an ongoing basis, and has therefore also been assigned to present the official account of the matter to the Commission.