Human Rights Violation Hearings — Beaufort West — 1996-08-13

MS SEROKE: Mr Fatyela when did you  [indistinct]  your hearing problem.  Was it before you were arrested or after you were arrested?

MR FATYELA: This is just recent - in this recent years after I was arrested.

MS SEROKE: Do you think that it's a result of the beating or is it totally unrelated?

MR FATYELA: What I think is, it was a result of the beating because I was beaten by a boxer, Alfred, and he did not just give me one beating - he beat me several times.  I went as far as Std 6.

MS SEROKE: [indistinct] arrested?

MR FATYELA: We're released and then I went to school to continue with my education but I decided to stop.  There was no High School there.

MS SEROKE: But you're still interested in continuing your education?

MR FATYELA: Yes - no, I think I have a problem though I am interested but I have a problem now.

MS SEROKE: Tell us about your problem or is it personal - private?  I'm trying to pursue it your interested in getting some kind of training so that at leased you can improve your chances of getting a job.  Is the problem very private, you don't want to reveal it here?

MR FATYELA: If I were to - it is a secret if I were to talk to you in camera I would tell you about it.

MS SEROKE: And you say Alfred is still in your community?

MR FATYELA: Yes, he's still there.

MS SEROKE: Have you  [indistinct]

MR FATYELA: We had a club in the past years which was called the Masakani Boxing Club and he was the coach together with someone from DA.  Then when this boxing cart dissolved I never saw him nor talked to him.  I don't even see him, I think he lives in town, there is just a different place where he lives because he left the location.

MS SEROKE: What makes you think that he might come after you, after finding out that you've testified to the Commission?

MR FATYELA: There - I don't think that he could  do anything, but that was just a question I had - it's only that I spoke about it.

MS SEROKE: You would like to meat with Alfred and talk about this, would you?

MR FATYELA: This is easy - it would be easy for us to meet but it would take time because they're still doing many things there in the location.  Even these weeks it would be very difficult for us to come together and talk.

MS SEROKE: Are there any tensions in the township because of the presence of these people who were harassing you and everybody else?

MR FATYELA: What do you mean - you mean these ...[intervention]

MS SEROKE: [indistinct] arrest people and - people like Alfred.

MR FATYELA: No there's no conflict amongst these incidence.  We're just staying the usual way because it used to be politics that caused this conflict.  Where you would bring out the truth and they would - didn't accept it and then they would decide to destroy you and not to listen to you.

MS SEROKE: Richard - some people who had testified before you, like Ms Nonight they made mention of some conflict that makes you unhappy where you live.  They were saying the policemen are responsible for it - was Alfred amongst those policemen who caused this conflict?

MR FATYELA: I would say when they went into this location first, Alfred was amongst them - he was driving in one of the vans.  He was with Captain and from the Police Station and other policemen.

MS SEROKE: Now because this incident is recent, now is it the reason why you don't have hope that there is no difference from what it used to be.  Could you please repeat your answer. Now because of this conflict which was mentioned by people earlier on which has led to that shooting of this child.  You feel that this is the cause why you don't have hope that Alfred and others may have changed from they're intentions that they had long ago.

MR FATYELA: I would say it would be very difficult to meat them and be united once more because they come to our locations, small as it is, and once they see you or they see a drunk person they arrest that person and then how would you be charting with such people.  If they see you walking up and about they make a display of people.

MS SEROKE: Is Jonk still there?

MR FATYELA: No.

MS SEROKE: You made mention of a clinic that was burnt,  why was it burnt?

MR FATYELA: I really don't know who burnt it, I don't even know the reason why it was burnt.  It was only the door that was slightly burnt, it's not the whole building that was burnt.

MS SEROKE: You mentioned many policemen, Alfred, Thabo and Ruiters and Blom and one female witness said that in addition to this policemen who were used, there used to be some reserves who came from the farms.  Have you ever seen such reserves during these incidents that you had, that is that time?

MR FATYELA: Yes, that is the - true, I could give this as an example  when my father died on - on - in the location there were De Vries, who is the  owner of Oasis - he was one of the reserves - and one lawyer from our residential area and many others who were from the farms.  These people who had just been taken to come and help in our - in the beating of us.  And those were supposed to be doing the main job, were hiding behind these people.

MS SEROKE: And these reserves were beating?

MR FATYELA: Yes, they were beating us.

MS SEROKE: Thank you.

MARY BURTON: Mr Fatyela you have given us a picture of a very hard time in the middle 1980's and we see that there's still a great deal of conflict and suffering in our area.  Thank you for helping to understand some of that.  You have made a very modest request and I hope that it will be possible for you to acquire a skill and find employment.  Thank you very much for coming today.

MR FATYELA: I also thank you.