Human Rights Violation Hearings — Johannesburg — 1996-05-02

PHILIP JABULANI LUKHELE: In 1985 when COSAS was formed at Kwa Thema. there were 10 of us and the person who made us come together was Congress Motsweni. We met and organised ourselves as COSAS and we tried to organise students from other schools and we organised students and as soon as they became organised they mobilised and started being harassed by police.  When the police harassed us we used to have funerals and started burying our people and one day we went to Duduza, it was on a Friday the 27th of June and I was called inside.  Congress Motsweni sent one girl to come and call me from inside.  I was with comrade Paul ...(indistinct).  They asked me if it is really Congress Motsweni looking for me, and the girl affirmed it. Paul went out with me and they saw Congress Motsweni outside and Motsweni said no, they must all go back as he wants to speak to me alone, there is something that he wants to speak to me about.
 When I went to Congress Motsweni there was a black Jetta and there were two men inside this black Jetta.  When I got inside this black jetta they asked me whether I was JB, because the other name that I was referred to as was JB.  They informed me that they have come from Lusaka and were sent by the ANC, they want to train us so that we can start hitting a targets. There was also another one who has got a spot on the side, one person called himself James, another one called himself Mike.  I spoke to them, they said they wanted three or four comrades that will work and be trained together.  I let them go away with Congress Motsweni and I went on a night vigil and while I was still on that the police came.  They started throwing tear gas and shot rubber bullets and we all started stampeding towards the door and we managed to get out and disperse.
 The following day I met Jabulani Mahlangu, Bofit Nonkwenda, Steven Modisane and I told them about this issue that I had with Congress.  There were other guys who said they came from exile and, and they said I mustn't play with them.  But I said I wasn't playing games with them, and they said we'll meet at Highlands on Monday at Kwa Thema.
 We met on Monday in the morning at Highland behind the shops.  These people said they would fetch us to train.  While we were still waiting there a white combi with curtains appeared and I heard people calling inside.  When I looked up I saw Congress Motsweni and other comrades from Duduza and Tsakane.  We got inside this combi with these comrades from Kwa Thema and we left but were not sure where we were going.  They took out a paper and said we must write our names down so that if anything happens to us they will be able to help us.  Indeed we did write our names and they took us to an old mine in Brakpan.  When we arrived at this mine in Brakpan they took out two hand grenades, they also showed us how to dissemble them and how one undoes the pin and also told us how you assemble it again and they put it together again.  They called me and Mr Lekatsa of Duduza, they said it will be us who are going to throw these hand grenades but I must be the first to start.  I took the first one, I threw it, we all lay down and it exploded.  Mr Lekatsa did the same, he threw the hand grenade and it exploded.  After that we got into the combi and we went back and they started offloading people from Thlakane, Duduza, they also offloaded us in Thlakane, but they said before they started with us we should hit targets the following day.  We asked where we will find them and they said we would find them we found them that day and we went our various ways to Kwa Thema, Duduza and Thlakane.
 On Tuesday they said they'll come back at seven.  On Tuesday by seven o'clock they didn't arrive, nor did they at eight, nine or ten o'clock, but they arrived at half past eleven explaining that they were held up at Deduza where they were looking for the Duduza comrades and so the Jafane comrade asked Jabulani Mahlangu Bofit Nonkwenwe to be on the other side and I would stay with Steven Modisane, so we agreed to that.  They were in a black jetta and there was also this girl who had called me, they were with this girl in this black jetta.  We shook hands and said go and work well, they got into the jetta and left together with Jabulani Mahlangu and Bofit Nonkwenwe, we walked and entered another place called Miniselcourt.  When we arrived at this place it was about ten to twelve.  At five to twelve we heard an explosion of a hand grenade at man power at the power station.
 When we heard this hand grenade exploding Steven Modisane said don't throw your hand grenades away, I will throw mine first so that when the police come you must throw it at them. He pulled the grenade, I saw something I never saw before in my life, I just saw different pieces  being flung out in the air.  Mine fell, I tried to pick it up because there were some stones that had come through to me, even now those houses are like that.  I don't know if I was hit by stones or anything, I just can't remember, I got injured, I picked up my hand grenade and ran away with it. There were lots of police around suddenly. I ran through to another place called Five Jackets, an old mine and hid myself inside the hole.  I stayed there and could hear the police looking for me.
 At about one I emerged out as I was in pain, I took the hand grenade and dug it into a hole, it was at United where they were still building houses and I buried my hand grenade there, and I tried to reach home.  When I arrived there my father asked me what had happened, I couldn't speak.  He took me to Dr Asvat in Roodepoort. I stayed there for about two days because I couldn't trust. Priscilla Jana took me to her offices where I stayed until I went to the township and saw my fellow colleague Paul.  There are those who wanted to kill me and those who wanted to protect me like Paul and said that they cannot kill this comrade, we are not sure if he is the one who sold them or not.  But I gave them my statement, and when they asked in Duduza and Thlakane they found the same statements and that's how I survived.
 Now the police and soldiers were looking for me.  One day I said I was going to sleep at home and that's when the police came.  When they arrived there they knocked and I hid up in the ceiling.  My father opened to them and they insisted that he produce me.  They were police from P E who used to work with Danota together with the internal police who were speaking Xhosa.  I could hear them saying that today he was going to give them what they want and they took him towards the fridge which they opened and put a gun inside his mouth and said he must reveal me.  So he pointed to me on the ceiling and they took me out. They asked me where my hand grenade was, and I said that I gave it to the lawyers. They exclaimed, your shit lawyers, we are also going to kill them!  There were about 12 to 15 cars outside and they took me into a combi with silver windows where there were also other comrades who had been arrested. They took us and the combi went inside a bush.  I had already been handcuffed, both legs and hands and at about five to four they took me out of the combi in the bush where they started building a fire and made me to lie down.  They put fires on top of me and another policeman drained petrol on top saying, let's kill this dog, we'll just say he ran away. Luckily there were two elderly people, I don't know where they came from, they were on bicycles and they asked what was happening.  The police took fright when they saw these elderly people and they pulled me out and shook me off.  They put me inside a van, not inside a combi now, and they took me to Danota where I was thoroughly thrashed. They said all the police stations were looking for me.
 At Kwa Thema Police Station each and every policeman wanted to know who this JB was.  That's where I was thoroughly beaten, they said I had burned their houses and I was beaten till my left ear started bleeding.  I was shocked on my private parts with electric shocks.  There were 24 charges against me including public violence, intimidation and damages to property.  I attended all these cases and was discharged on 23 of them.  The 24th one was the one that got me convicted.  I was in sentenced to four years jail for...... (end of tape 15)