Human Rights Violation Hearings — Newcastle — 1996-09-12

WITNESS:   It was an arms cache, and despite the fact that I was co-operating with them they proceeded to assault me with my hands tied behind my back and my feet in irons.  I couldn't understand this because I was co-operating.  They loaded me back into the vehicle and took me back to Sandton Police Station.  They again - on the way they put the Balaclava back over my face, and all the way back they would shout and scream and swear at me.  They would tell me how they were going to kill me, they would tell me that they've killed many other prisoners like me, and that nobody would even miss me.  They told me that they could explain it so easily.  They would say I tried to escape.  But nothing came of it besides being punched a few times.  We got back to Sandton and again I was put into a chair and chained to the chair, where the questioning continued, and irrelevant of what answer I gave I was smacked every time.  I was punched every time, and my feet were chained and my hands were chained.  And I asked them to release my hands and they said, "You are a brave man," and they smacked and punched me again.  I had not had food that day, although I don't think I would have been able to eat.  They then took me to a cell and left me there for a while, I don't know how long, still in leg irons and in handcuffs.  Later that evening they came and fetched me from the cells and took me up to the Security Branch floor again.  Nobody spoke to me.  They took me into an empty office and there were three black policemen standing there.  They were told to me - or it was said to me that they were askaris from Vlakplaas.  They never spoke to me, they never greeted me, they showed no emotion, although I tried to - I greeted them, I tried to speak to them.  And when the white policemen had left the room these three black policemen started assaulting me with their fists.  They would knock me down numerous times, and it was hard to maintain my balance whilst my hands and feet were handcuffed.  I don't know how long this went on, I just remember one would hit me, I would fall, another one would pick me up.  A second one would hit me until I fell, and this would continue.  I was left on the floor.  I don't know if I was unconscious, or I fell asleep of tiredness there, and how long I was on that floor.  My face was bleeding, my body was hurting all over.  I was woken up by the Security Branch members, and they removed the handcuffs for the first time from my hands.  They told me that they cannot remove the leg irons because that is standard practice, and they took me to a small room where I could wash my face and my hands.  Then I was taken back to another office, where I was told to sit.  People started coming into the office, and yet nobody greeted me, nobody spoke to me.  I could hear in the passage that there was laughter, and one of the members said to me that if I behaved myself I might even be able to join them in the bar afterwards.  After a while these three askaris and the members of the Security Branch came into the office and they told me to remove my clothes.  I refused, and I was again smacked around and assaulted.  I took off my clothes and I stood there naked.

MR LAX: Who were these people that came into the room?  Do you know any of them?

WITNESS:   I don't know all of them.  There was a Major Johan Pretorius, there was a Chris Lombard, Sergeant Eugene Pitout, and then there was a man who was - he was a warrant-officer then, Nick Dieklifs(?).  He still laughed and he introduced himself as "die swart kat."

MR LAX: What happened thereafter?