Human Rights Violation Hearings — Port Elizabeth — UNKNOWN

WITNESS: It was Oosthuizen who intercepted me at the airport.  He was the one who took me to the police station at Kwazakhele.  Did told me what happened.  She said there was a party at Dora.  When they left it was after midnight.  When they approached Nguna Street, because they wanted to go to Konika Street 27, young men approached them from the school.  
They said, "Where are you from?"  We said, "We are from a party."  They asked, "Who is this?"  I said, "She is my girl friend."  They asked Titi, "Who is this?"  Titi said, "He is my boy friend."  They said, "Where are you going to?"  We said, "We are going home."  The deceased was only shot because he was asked to make love to Titi in the middle of the street, at Konika Street, but he refused.  They said it in Afrikaans.  He simply refused.  They started to beat him up.  They had beaten him with the but of the riffle.  He used to be more heftier than what I am.  His right firma broke and according to the statement it was said that he fell.  He had three bullet holes in him.  We tried to arrange for the funeral but we were harassed.  Since the day I arrived in Port Elizabeth until the day of the funeral, they would just come in anytime, even if we were having prayers they would come and teargas us.  On the day of the funeral where people left everything at their homes to come and attend the funeral it was turned into chaos.  People were shot at, people were beaten up, people were teargassed.  The helicopter was just above us.  It was so low we could even touch it.  We had many problems because of all those things.  Number one, my father was an ill man.  His health deteriorated.  The second thing is, the boere wanted to show us at that time that they were the ones in power and they were going to rule us the way they wanted to.  
Before we buried my brother people from the police arrived saying that they are looking for the clothes that he had worn the day he was shot.  I told my father about these clothes.  They were going to come back looking for these clothes.  I told my father, no, we must not give them these clothes.  They are going to try and make stories around these clothes.  When these police came my father tried to deny knowing these clothes but unfortunately he could not stand it anymore.  He had to take the clothes and hand it to the police.  They returned the clothes a day before the inquest.  During the inquest it was said there was a leader of the group who was going to Masangwana Street.  This leader was going to burn Masangwana.  It was going to burn Molife School and they were told what this leader was wearing at the time.  The people who did all that at the time, I know they are still in the police force.
Rev

N XUNDU: Where is this one who was with him at the time?

WITNESS: Titi is now in East London.  She said she could not come.  Her name is Liziwe but her nick-name is Titi.
Rev

N XUNDU: During the inquest, did you have lawyers?

WITNESS: We had instructed Solomon and Jackson and the Advocate was Dr Cooper who was from Cape Town.  The family doctor was a friend to Dr Cooper who was in South Africa at that time, but when he left he was represented by...
Rev

N XUNDU: Was it another lawyer?

WITNESS: He was represented by a State doctor.  When Dr Cooper's friend left there was another one who was found who was...  I cannot remember his name.
Rev

N XUNDU: By the way, Mr Heshu, when did this happen?

WITNESS: It happened in December 1978.  That is when he was shot.
Rev

N XUNDU: What was happening?  What were the events prior to this incident?

WITNESS: At time Port Elizabeth was in flames.
Rev

N XUNDU: What are you trying to say by that?

WITNESS: There was chaos at that time.  There was unrest in Port Elizabeth.  There would be necklacing and burning of houses.  It was just that period of unrest in Port Elizabeth.  Just before I went to Cape Town things had already subsided in Port Elizabeth.  Places like Rent Offices and other government offices at that time were guarded by the police.
Rev

N XUNDU: Before I let you go, you had a request from the Truth Commission.

WITNESS: This is where I will end my report, sir.
Rev

N XUNDU: Thank you.

WITNESS: Thank you.
(?) Mr Heshu, where is Liziwe?

WITNESS: She is at Rhodes University.
(?) How is she doing?

WITNESS: I spoke to Lizi on Friday last week.  She said to me one of the reasons why she does not want to come here is she cannot forget what happened.  She is still seeing psychiatrists.  Mind you we were talking over the phone.  We were not looking at each others faces.

CHAIRPERSON: This Oosthuizen, do you know what rank he held at the time?

WITNESS: From what I heard he was the Head of Kwazakhele.

CHAIRPERSON: You do not know whether he was a captain or a lieutenant?  But was he a Head of Kwazakhele?

WITNESS: Yes, he was a Head of Kwazakhele.
(?) Mr Heshu, what I said to Mr Apleni applies to your brother.  We have lost many lives in South Africa.  We have lost many young men and women.  Perhaps we shall never know what could have been in terms of talents and contributions of our people.   Again I repeat what the Arch Bishop would usually say, "We are a wounded nation."  
I know it is not easy for you to come and describe what happened to your brother, but we are thankful that you have and ask that you and your family heal and go forward and be proud that your brother paid the ultimate price for South Africa's freedom.  Thank you very much.

WITNESS: IS EXCUSED

CHAIRPERSON: We call for Mike Louw to take the stand.  Let us allow a few minutes for people who want to leave.  Could you please lock the doors.  You are Mike Louw?

WITNESS: That is right, yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Welcome and thank you for your patience.  I understand that yours is going to be a very short testimony.  You are here really to hand over information which is very vital for the work of this Commission and we thank you for that. 
Mr MICHAEL LOUW D.S.S.

WITNESS: I will not take up much time.  I think it has been a very long day.  Thank you for letting us slip in at the end here.  I am the editor of the East Cape News Agencies called ECNA which is an alternative independent news agency which started up doing the periods that is being described here.  I was a State of Emergency detainee and many of the people who were in ECNA suffered from quite severe harassment, detention and the likes.  Many of them are in the room today.  Some of them are in fact working for the Commission.  They are ex-journalists of ECNA and they are assisting.  We thought to ourselves having...

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, could you switch off the microphone please?  I would like to make an announcement.  
We have been co-operating the whole day together.  I know now it is a little late.  I would ask you, if the witness is giving his statement I do not want anyone going up and down.  If the witness is through with his statement then people will be allowed to go out, but while the witness is still sitting at the table, let us give him a chance.  Thank you very much.