Human Rights Violation Hearings — Krugersdorp — 1996-11-11

CHAIRPERSON: While Mrs Dodo is coming to the table can I just make a few other announcements.  Please, if you have cell phones can you switch them off.  We also have statement takers at the back of the hall.  So if anybody wishes to make a statement today or over the next three days, our statement takers will be available.  Joyce you will take the oath.

MS SEROKE: The oath.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, I will just let you welcome her alright.

MS SEROKE: Good morning Mrs Dodo.  We welcome you.  Who are you with?

MRS DODO: I am with my son.

MS SEROKE: We also welcome you Mr Dodo.  Mam, will you please get up so that you can take your oath before you give your statement.

MRS DODO: (Duly sworn in, states).

MS SEROKE: Thank you mam.

CHAIRPERSON: Welcome.  Are you comfortable.

MRS DODO: Yes, I am comfortable, Sir.

CHAIRPERSON: Is this your son Bennet?

MRS DODO: No, it is not Bennet, Sir.  Bennet is my youngest.  This is my elder son.  It is not Bennet.

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Dodo, you have come to tell us a story that involves not only your husband, but three of your
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children.  I want you to take your time in telling that story, but before you do that perhaps you can just tell us something about yourself.  How old are you?  How many children do you have?  Are you working?

MRS DODO: I am not working.  I am 65 years of age.  I am 55 years of age, I have eight children.  That number includes those who are deceased as well.

CHAIRPERSON: We are going to 1990.  Again in Khutsong and I want you to tell us what happened.

MRS DODO: It was the 15th of June 1990.  The police entered our house looking for my husband.  They asked who Pitcherman is and I said it is my son.  There was a lot of them.  There were Caspers outside my house.  They all alighted from the Casper and they beat my child up and they left him lying on the lawn.  It was at about five.  We helped him up.  At about seven the Casper came again.  Two police alighted from the Casper.  They threw teargas around.  We ran away.  The police threw something from the Casper and there was an explosion and our house was burnt down.  They went back to the Casper and drove off.  My next-door neighbour jumped over the fence to help my husband.  He dragged my husband outside.  The house was on fire.  After they dragged him out he took a hosepipe and splashed over the house.
 Everytime the Casper comes we run away.  The police that set my house alight denied all even though I saw that he is the one who set my house on fire.  By the time we managed to put the fire out, my house was already badly damaged.  It was the 15th of June.  My husband got really ill.  We tried to take him to the doctor in town.  We were there the whole day.  This was the 15th.  The doctors there had no time for someone who had been beaten by the police.  KRUGERSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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This doctor use to come to the township.  We took him to him.  He said that two of my husbands ribs were very, very damaged.  They were actually crushed.  That is why he would not be able to walk.  He had to go for treatment each day.  My husband has been ill from then.  Now even his mind, his brain does not function well.  He is slightly demented.      Bennet got home at about midnight.  The police took him around midnight.  Then they took him to Welverdien.  I asked what he had done.  They said I must shut up because I do not know anything.  He later told us that he was in Welverdien.  They were torturing him asking where the guns that were brought by a van were.  He then said he does not know anything about the guns.  They said that it is Heinie's van that brought the guns.  He said that he was tortured, electrocuted.  He says he fell down and when he arose a policeman, white policeman came and he took the belt that was around my waist, put it around my neck and hung me.  He said he then fell and he slept.
  When he got up in the morning he was asked yet again where the guns were.  He said he had never seen them.  They insisted that these guns were at the house.  They said that the whole Dodo family were going to tell the truth.  This was in Welverdien.  They took a bucket and a cloth.  Then he was told to clean the van.  The van was full of blood.  He had to wash the blood off the van.  He said his back was aching at the time.  After that he was told to go home.  He said he went home and then on the main road a van picked him up to take him to Potchefstroom.  When he got home he was limping and his back was bent, his backbone was crooked.  The police came yet again.  The Casper was packed with police.  
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Norman does not stay at home.  He comes now and again.  They called him and requested his ID.  They then said you are a member of the Dodo family.  He said yes.  They then said they want guns.  He said he does not know anything about guns.  They beat him up.  They beat him up, threw him into the house.  I told them that this child does not stay here.  He does not stay here.  Then they beat him up even more.  This was another day altogether.  They left him behind lying helpless.  I asked have they injured you badly.  He said I will heal.  I said that he must go to the doctor.  He said he will not go.  The doctors here do not care about the people.  They did not take care of my father.  
 On the 9th of October, this is the day he did not go to work.  The 10th of October was a public holiday.  This is when he just fell and died.  I called the police.  The police did not come on that day.  It was a Friday.  The police would come to my house everyday, but when I called them they did not come.  They came on the Friday asking where the deceased was.  I kept quiet.  They asked yet again where is the one who is deceased.  Eventually I said he is at the mortuary.  They then said he is not the one that we wanted to kill.  They said that they wanted Pitcherman.  They said even he I would find at the mortuary.  This is around the 10th or the 11th. 
 On the 17th they shot him.  I was still trying to get over the first death.  I was still mourning.  On the day that they shot him I knew, I felt that they are shooting Tamsange.  I said the police had just left.  They said I would find Tamsange at the mortuary and I heard the sound.  I heard the bullet sound and they were shooting Tamsange close by. I did not see anyone shooting Tamsange.  I saw him KRUGERSDORP HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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in court.  I did not know them.  I just heard the sounds.  I have no first hand witness to say that so and so shot him.   These children stayed both dead.  We requested that Pitcherman comes to the funeral.  They then said that he first needs to be operated on.  It was a week before he was released.  Our lawyer went to the police station to request this.  We buried both his children on the 27th of August.  The father was ill at the time.  After that funeral my husband was demented.
 The court case took a week.  Photographs were taken of the house that was burnt down.  The Attorney asked how can you shoot someone that you have arrested.  They responded saying that it is the Law that instructs us to kill him.  We have killed him.  This was over a week.  The court case, nothing came of the court case.  They said we would meet in Johannesburg and they would tell us the truth.  It has been five years since then and nothing has happened.

CHAIRPERSON: Mama Dodo, is there anything else you want to add to your story?