Human Rights Violation Hearings — Sebokeng — 1996-08-05

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: I say it is a rumour, I didn't see them.  I only heard.  I was lying on my back but the people who were talking kept on saying people who were being discharged were taken into the police vans.  That was
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just a talk I heard.  I didn't see it with my own eyes.

DR RANDERA: So you yourself were not questioned afterwards?

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: Statements were taken because they asked us how we got injured and then we told them everything.

DR RANDERA: My last question, you have heard me say how this incident had a great impact on the history of our country.  Can you tell us how it changed your life.

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: Can you please repeat your question, sir.

DR RANDERA: I said earlier on when I introduced you that the Sharpeville incident had an enormous impact on what happened in our country and how the world looked upon our country. How did it change your life?

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: My life changed.  I led a miserable life.  You know my feelings changed altogether.  But I didn't know what kind of help would I give myself and I was satisfied, I said I have to be satisfied because it is something that happened to me, I am helpless, I can't do anything for myself.

DR RANDERA: Thank you very much, sir.

COMMISSIONER: Mr Ramahoase, we want to thank you.

PROF MEIRING: Father Ramahoase, I just want to ask one or two questions.  The first one is you said that you did receive some compensation afterwards.  How large was that?  How much money did you get afterwards?

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: The compensation that I got was R88.

PROF MEIRING: And afterwards were you able to - you told us that you were able to get some work afterwards but every time the people realised that you were involved in the
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shooting you lost your job.  But were you able through the years to carry on with work, to care for your family or was it difficult to care for your wife and children?

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: It was difficult, sir, to get employment.  I have already explained that it was up to the time when I got my pension.  Because I have never got any stable employment at all.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you.  And the last question, Father, is now today you have come to the Truth Commission.  What is in your heart, what do you think the Truth Commission can do for you being an old man sitting telling your story to us today?

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: I don't know what would I request from the Commission but the real matter is I want to thank the Commission for any kind of help that they can offer me.  I cannot dictate terms. I will never be dissatisfied with anything that I will get from the Commission, any kind of assistance.

PROF MEIRING: Thank you ever so much.

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: I also thank you.

COMMISSIONER: I already said that I want to thank you but I didn't realise that Mr Meiring had a few questions.  I want to say to you thank you very much for your presence.  The surprising thing is that you were not involved in politics and one other thing you were really keen to abide by the law, even if the law was harassing people.  Even in those conditions you deemed it fit to follow the law and then you were injured.  We have to remember at all times the nation that many people who suffered are people like you, they are people who didn't want to fight the government.  You were just an ordinary person trying to abide by the law
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and that is where you met your fate.  And after such a terrible experience if you are correct when you say they paid you R88.

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: Yes, that is correct, sir.  Yes, sir, that is R88.

COMMISSIONER: We know that the value of the rand at that time was still okay but R88 really.

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: Yes, it was R88.

COMMISSIONER: And that was not the end of your harassment because you didn't want to fight anybody.   You just wished to work.  But every time they discovered that you had been involved in the Sharpeville shooting they continually harassed you by chasing you away.  I hope that we who long for a new kind of South Africa will be aware of what we are hearing, that it was ordinary people, often apolitical people, at Sharpeville who were shot, who were injured, who were killed.  And given compensation that was contemptable.  And made to suffer even afterwards.  I hope that we who listen to this kind of thing will want to commit ourselves that we will never allow this kind of thing ever to happen again in our country.  To place such a value on human life must be something that we determine will never happen again.  We want to thank you sir.  We will try because you didn't give us any indication as to your specific needs but as a Commission we will try to see what kind of help will we offer you.  We want to thank you.

MR LEBITSA SOLOMON RAMOHOASE: I also thank you.