Human Rights Violation Hearings — Worcester — 1996-06-25

STATEMENT FROM WITNESS: I was sitting at home in my house at no 17 Majola Street her in Zolani when the police and NKATHA came into my house.  In the house were my friends Abe and Msimeleli who is the neighbour.  Also in the house was my wife Agnes and Mgcina, who was a young man then.  It was during December 1985 when we were sitting and enjoying ourselves with some beers on the table.  It was in the evening when two police vans stopped and parked in front of house facing each other.  Two policemen walked in, it was a Coloured and a white guy.
Although I forgot their names the Coloured boy/policeman, I know him and his family from  Bonnievale.  The white policeman, I knew him before he was a policeman, as a speed/traffic cop/officer in Montagu.  Both of them came as policemen from Montagu.  As they were walking inside the house there were people walking behind the two policemen.  
At the time there were people in Zolani that were state vigilantes, working hand in hand with the police.  Their role was to beat the people in the community who were against the police or the Government structures at that time.  These people were called or known as NKATHA who were only here to suppress the comrades/oumagabane in Zolani.
Apparently there were the people who were behind the policemen.  The only people I can remember from NKATHA since they came from my community were  Watu Matroos and Kokoloi.  Matroos are brothers from Zolani.  Then there's Phani Klaas and Lusizi Klaas who were relatives.  They were all inside my house during the beating.  I cannot remember the names of the others who were outside.  They were carrying knobkieries with big heads in their hands.
Lusizi told Mgecini to go away because he did not belong in the house.  Mgcini resisted but they forced him out of the house.  When Lusizi came back he came straight to me and grabbed me by the chest and I did the same thing to him.  Others came to help and overpowered me by beating me severely with he knobkieries on the head and on my arms and everywhere so as to knock me down.  The two policemen did nothing to stop this, they only watched and enjoyed themselves.  At the time I was loosing power and I think I was becoming unconscious because I could not remember anything afterwards.  But what I could remember is when they beat me on my back against my waist, that was when I thought I was paralysed.  
They actually beat me from inside the house and it moved out of the house on the stoep in front of the doorway.  Seemingly after they thought I was helpless and unconscious they left me there.  They further took my wife and Abe and put them into the police van.  I do not remember when they came back.  When I regained consciousness it was in the middle of the night and it was very quite outside.  There was no-one.  I thought I was paralysed because I could not make a move or stand up.
Fortunately a friend from around Msimelelo and a woman in the neighbourhood came to help me because there was no-one in the house.  Only the children were inside the house but they were already sleeping at the time of the beatings.  So they organised transport for me to go to the hospital in Montagu.  At that time I was bleeding from the head, my joints were loose and my back was painful.  At the hospital they stitched me on the head only and sent me back home.  I was critical in the sense that my bones were paining and giving me problems at that time.  Another problem I had was urinary in that my system was uncomfortable to an extent that my urine just came out at any moment.
I was helped by the MAG [Montagu, Ashton Gemeenskap] project by a person by the name of Dawie Bosch who was part of this project.  Their task was to help the victims at that time.  Dawie Bosch took me to Dr Beyers in Ashton who had his private surgery there.  Dr Beyers tried to examine me and give me some necessary injections.  He then referred me back to Montagu Hospital for X-rays.  I brought them [X-rays] back to him.  Through the X-rays Dr Beyers discovered that the bone at the back in my waist was damaged by the beatings.
However, I must mention that Dr Beyers was a very hard doctor, he was not co-operating voluntarily.  He had to be forced by Dawie Bosch and another guy whom I think was Mr Marc from MAG, in order to realise that my health situation was in a critical condition.  For instance although he discovered these things he never did anything practical.  He only gave me pain tablets.  Dr Beyers was not helpful and he only did this for a day or two.
After that I had to find doctors on my own.  Further than this Dawie Bosch of MAG took me to the police to report the case because the police did not take statements from victims of NKATHA/police.  So Dawie had to use his powers and influence to report the matter to the police station in Ashton.
I therefore gave my statement which I had already given to Dawie.  So this written statement was given to Hansen in order to read it, sign it and do something about it.  Hansen was like a head of the police station at Ashton.  The response I got was that my case had been dismissed and it was signed by the Station Commander WH de la Querre dated 1986/07/09.  In fact before I got this letter from Ashton Station Commander, I had already received a letter from Dawie Bosch that my statement was not considered.  After that there was a total silence about my case.  
At the time the situation had not changed in Zolani.  People were daily beaten by NKATHA and policemen from Ashton and Montagu.  In 1995 I gave another statement to the  Trauma Centre in Zolani.

<UNKNOWN>: Investigators interviewed this victim at his work address in Ashton.  He stated that he was at home in December 1985.  Two police vans allegedly stopped in front of his house two policeman came towards his house, followed by other people known as NKATHA. [Note this may refer to the vigilante group known as Amasolomzi or to the Municipal Police]
 He named the following people as being members of the Inkatha Group
Watu MatroosKokoloyi MatroosPhani KlaasLusizi Klaas These people entered his house, Lusizi grabbed the victim's chest and he and the other aforementioned people severely beat the victim with knobkieries.  The two white policemen did not respond.  He was left unconscious by these people.
 Investigators asked the victim if he knew why the police had come to his  house.  He stated that he was one of the only people in the  community who had a television and many people came to his house regularly to watch  TV.  He suspected that the police thought he may be having meetings at his house.
 Investigators attempted to retrieve relevant documents from the Ashton police station but found that  these documents had been destroyed.
Investigators attempted to retrieve medical records from the  Montagu Hospital but found that these records had also been destroyed.  Investigators will attempt to retrieve records from the Montagu Ashton Gemeenskap Diens but it is not certain whether any records will be found.

<UNKNOWN>: Mr Tutu Phillip Lengs was one of the people who filed an affidavit in January 1986 in a bid to  apply for a Court interdict to restrain Amasolomzi from assaulting Zolani residents.  In his affidavit, he related events of  assault by Amasolomzi that took place on him and his family between 7th and 21st December 1985.  In those incidents, Mr Lengs mentioned the following names of Amasolomzi and policemen as people who assaulted him and his family
Watu Willie MatroosWilliam Sizi KlaasStanford Kokoloi MatroosJan Solomons [a policeman]Laing [a policeman from Ashton police station]A tall white policeman from MontaguShort man PhaniMatsobi George JonasADV

POTGIETER: Thank you Pumla -  I just want to ascertain whether my colleague Ms Wildschut has got any questions that she wants to put to you Mr Lengs.
Glenda Wildschut.