Human Rights Violation Hearings — Zeerust — 1997-05-06

UNKNOWN: But the police did not tell what he did.  The police just said he's not here.  They said they were assaulting him because he's coming from Mandela's camp.  Shortly, I would say, that is my story.  Even myself, I went to ask Mr Moletsani that, what is my, what is the problem with my son because you've assaulted him and now you have arrested him ?  Mr Moletsani told him that he's naughty because he was raising his fist.  This is not Mandela's place.  We are at Lefurutsi.  I asked Mr Moletsani, why didn't he just reprimand him.   I asked  him  again,  did  he  say  anything ?  Mr  Moletsani  said
"nothing".  Then I asked him, why did you assault him?  Mr Moletsani said I assaulted him because he's naughty.  You've got to teach him how to behave.  
 As  I'm telling this story now he is mentally affected.  He's always in hospital and he's always living under  medication.  He has a wife and he has a child.  I am not able to support my child who has been assaulted by the Boputhatswana police.  I asked Mr Moletsani many questions.  Mr Moletsani told me that if the government said I should arrest the person, I do so.  I asked him again, what did he do ?  He just told me that he raised his fist and that has raised the whole problem.  I don't, I didn't know that Mandela was a problem to us, or to everybody.  
 I ask the government that this government, the previous government didn't do anything for us because after he has been arrested a certain Magistrate who was there at the time after he left the witness box,  when the Magistrate asked him, what did you do?  Snowball said, I didn't do anything, they just said I've raised my fist.  The Magistrate instructed him that he should not raised a fist.  You are guilty because you raised your fist.  What did you do?  After he left the witness box, he raised his fist again in court.  The Magistrate was very angry because he told him that, are you still raising your fist?  Then he told him that he's going to re-arrest him again.  Snowball's brother asked the Magistrate, how can you arrest him by just raising a fist ?  They were both arrested.  Then I pleaded with the Magistrate that he should not arrest them, he should release them.  The Magistrate co-operated, then after the court proceedings, he released them all.  
 During the prosecution, I forgot the name of the Magistrate he didn't allow my wife to give the statement because my wife was the one who was asking Mr Moletsani some questions.  The second witness, the co-accused was put in the witness box but they didn't take his testimony.  
 There was a certain boy again who was called by the police.  I asked the prosecutor some questions.  I asked that boy as whether, are you one of the accused or were you together with those people because do you agree that you're going to be the witness for, for Snowball ?  When they adjourned again, I asked that boy again, are you a state witness ?  This  boy told me again that Snowball requested him to give evidence for him in his favour but I told the boy that, you are lying because Snowball didn't ask you to come and witness for him.  I allowed him to be a State witness but at the same time I wanted him to tow the line as whether he is testifying for Snowball or against Snowball.  Then they just said, the case is dismissed, and they didn't allow other witnesses to testify during that court case.  That is how the case was dismissed.  
 I want the State to compensate my son and again to support  his children.  I don't need anything, I only need that the government should take care, should compensate Snowball and again to take care of his children.  Thank you. 
 I can tell many, many stories about the history, of our history because I'm one of the tribal council members.  I'm one of those that when the police came, when the Mangope came and his soldiers came, they were talking to me and what they said to us, if you ask, they just said, if the President, when the President spoke, he has spoken.  If he said we should arrest you, we should arrest you.  
 A certain Captain called Moloi came and again a certain man , if I don't remember, if  I remember his name, his name correctly,  his name is, Maraike.  He was the Chief of the Defence Force.  He used to come early in the morning, around half past eight.  We would usually see them man the roadblocks in our villages with small cars and big cars.  We used to request them that they should not man roadblocks.  We showed them  where  they usually put their roadblocks far from the village and the children, our 
youth in our village were very angry with the police at that time.  There is a certain man called Manyape whom we usually asked that the youth don't want you here in our area.  We will not be able to reprimand them if they want to do anything against the police.  The youth were able to chase them away.  The police, at that time, together with the soldiers were able to dismantle the tents there.  It was around nine o'clock.  
 During that same night they came with teargas.  All those soldiers encompassed our village and shot us with the teargas and others died and others were crippled.  You will hear among the witnesses to-day who are going to tell about the death of their children and of those children who were crippled.  It's not only my son that are crippled here.  Others who were shot on their private parts, they don't have private parts now.  When we asked they just said, they just told us that whoever is adamant and doesn't want to take the authority of Boputhatswana must leave but we denied to leave and we are still there  in our own land.  White people took our land whilst they found us being there.  They would come and camp  near our village where we were staying before.  They would chase us out of our own land because they would say the government has told us that we should chase you out.  When you tried to go to the government in Zeerust's offices, that is where we used to come, when you arrived there they would just say, our government has spoken in Pretoria that you should leave because your areas are black spots.  Our boundary area was at Mabutastad and in the west was next to the Botswana border.  We have a certain area called Zinogana which  was called Boputhatswana because it has been just created  just yesterday.

MS SEROKE: We just wanted to hear about what you have written in your statement  but now you're telling us about the land.  We  see now that, we're going to ask you about
what happened to Snowball and it seems you, you have given us the complete picture.  I would ask you to wait for questions now.  
 You said in your statement Snowball and together with the youth met and they were talking about Boskop project.  Can you explain about that project?  What was that project about ?

UNKNOWN: It was a project about agriculture.  Talking about livestock  and to sell eggs and to plough vegetables.  Even now  a plot which we are now going on with the project.  After that, we were not ale to continue there because we had many fights.

MS SEROKE: This project you are telling us about, was it part of the political activity?

UNKNOWN: No, it was a village project.  It has nothing to do with politics.  I don't know anything about politics.   And the police came and chased them out and assaulted them.

MS SEROKE: What was the cause that the police should do that ?

UNKNOWN: What  made them to do that is there was a struggle in our village because Mangope wanted us to be his people and to be amalgamated in Boputhatswana and we rejected that request and he came to build a power station in our village.

MS SEROKE: So you denied to be amalgamated in Boputhatswana.

UNKNOWN: Yes, we denied because we even went as far a Pretoria and Bloemfontein.

MS SEROKE: When you said Snowball raised his fist, was he, in which organization was he in?