Amnesty Hearings — Cape Town — 1998-03-30

ADV BOOYENS: Do you confirm the whole contents of your application?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct.

ADV BOOYENS: Is there anything else you wish to add?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: No Mr Chairperson.

ADV BOOYENS: Just a moment Mr Chairperson.   This is the evidence Mr Chairperson.

ADV BOOYENS: .

GEORGE BIZOS: Thank you Judge.  I want to take you back to the Saturday morning after Mr Biko's death, at the meeting presided over by Colonel Goosen when it was decided that all of you would commit perjury in order to protect the State.  Are you there?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: I am there.

GEORGE BIZOS: The fact that Mr Biko suffered a serious injury to his head by knocking his head against the wall, was that mentioned at this meeting where the perjury was planned?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: What I can remember is that we never mentioned any of this that Mr Biko had knocked his head against a wall, but at the OC it was mentioned that he knocked his head.

GEORGE BIZOS: Listen to the question please and don't anticipate the question and question thereafter.  At the meeting on that Saturday morning where the perjury was planned, did anyone mention to Colonel Goosen that Mr Biko had smashed his head against the wall?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: No.

GEORGE BIZOS: Why would that very simple explanation of the catastrophic position that the government and the country found themselves in, kept from Mr Goosen during that meeting at which the story was being fixed up?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: I don't know.

CHAIRPERSON: Why didn't you tell him?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: At that stage Mr Chairperson, I was lowest rank at that time, there were other persons - I don't know if Mr Snyman already mentioned this to him.  All that I know is that not one of the affidavits at the inquest, at the death inquest that was handed in, mentioned that his head was knocked against the wall.
	And nobody mentioned the mark above his left eyebrow.  That is how I remember nobody mentioned it, we just omitted to mention it.

CHAIRPERSON: I am not asking you to answer for anybody else.  My question is why did you not inform Mr Goosen that Mr Biko had knocked his head against the wall during the planning of this perjury?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: I did not.

CHAIRPERSON: Why not, is there any reason?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: There is no specific reason, I just did not.

GEORGE BIZOS: You are correct that no one of the numerous affidavits that were filed at the 1977 inquest, mentioned that Mr Biko had knocked his head against the wall.
	Do you agree that if in fact Mr Biko knocked his head against the wall, and if an innocent or less blameworthy explanation was being sought for the tragic results and the great embarrassment to the country, the self inflicted injury by Mr Biko against a wall, would have been if not a perfect explanation, most certainly one that would have gone a long way in letting the government and the Security Police off the hook?

ADV BOOYENS: Mr Chairman, I don't think my learned friend did it deliberately, I don't think it was the witness' evidence at any stage that Mr Biko's injury was self inflicted.

GEORGE BIZOS: I will change that, that the injury was as a result of his knocking his head against the wall.  It would have been a much better explanation than anything that the Security Police had to offer to explain the tragic results?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct Mr Chairperson, I don't know but Goosen read through our affidavits.

GEORGE BIZOS: Would you not agree that the most likely explanation that we would urge the Committee to accept is that the reason why nobody mentioned that he knocked his head against the wall, was because it did not happen, and the inciters to perjury and conspirators to perjury didn't have enough sense at that time, to make it up.

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: No, I deny this strongly.  What happened in truth, and what I am explaining now, is what happened there truthfully Mr Chairperson.

GEORGE BIZOS: Would you agree that - or rather let me put it this way, can you suggest to the Committee any other explanation for your failure and the failure of all your colleagues to mention anything about a knocking of the head against the wall at that meeting or in any affidavit, can you suggest any other explanation?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: If I think about it now, I can just draw the inference that we had to hide this in our initial affidavit.

CHAIRPERSON: You see Mr Niewoudt, then there was no mechanism like we have now.  At that time all police officers present or responsible for Mr Biko, you answer now that this is what Mr Goosen decided that you had to say, but I think the question, the objective of the question is what was your attitude, or what was your attitude supposed to be with regard to the death of Mr Biko, why did you yourself not take your future into your hands and say no, but this is what happened?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: I believed that I had the necessary protection from the government or from my Commanding Officers at that stage, I believed it.  That is why the affidavit was changed and that we did not have to go to court and be charged, that is how I felt.

GEORGE BIZOS: I will try for the last time on this point.  We were told that the reason for the purged version was in order not to embarrass the government.  How did hiding the fact that Mr Biko knocked his head on the wall, help the government?  Did it not in fact make its position worse because there was no reasonable explanation given out to the world as to how Mr Biko came to meet his death?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Again as I have said previously, it was put to me that we should not embarrass the Security Branch or the government or that the security legislature would be repealed.  We had to - that is how Mr Goosen decided, that is why we changed the date and it was not mentioned.

ADV DE JAGER: What the Advocate puts to you, here you had a nice explanation to the world, it could look like you did nothing, Biko knocked his head himself, you were not to blame for it, why at that stage, did you not use it as an excuse?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: I cannot tell you.  I hear what you say, but at that stage I did not think of it in that manner.  It is easy now when one thinks back, at that stage during the inquest, it was hammered upon that nobody mentioned the injury.
	I am still under the impression that it was possibly Goosen that covered this up.  I do not know what was his objective with this.

GEORGE BIZOS: Let's try another one.  You saw Dr Lang coming to see the smashed up Mr Biko, yes, is that the answer, you saw him?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Please repeat the question Mr Bizos?

GEORGE BIZOS: Did you see Dr Lang come to examine the smashed up Mr Biko on the morning of the 7th of September 1977?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Could you just explain Mr Bizos, with regard to smashed up?

GEORGE BIZOS: Injured, seriously injured.  He had become semi-unconscious, he was incoherent, he was incontinent, he was wetting his pants as a result of his injuries.  Did you see Dr Lang examining Mr Biko?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Yes, they visited him.

GEORGE BIZOS: In your presence?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: In my presence they were there as I said, and afterwards I left the room.

GEORGE BIZOS: Just listen to me for a moment please.  Don't say they were there, was Dr Lang there, was the injured Mr Biko there and you there?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: That is correct and Goosen.

GEORGE BIZOS: Right.  Did Dr Lang ask you and Goosen why did you call me, what has happened to this man?

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Lang did not speak to me.

GEORGE BIZOS: Did he speak to Goosen or did he ask Biko what had happened to him, you know like Doctors always do - if you call them in, they say what is the matter?  They ask.

GIDEON JOHANNES NIEWOUDT: Possibly he could have asked, I did not hear this.