Human Rights Violation Hearings — Cradock — 1997-02-12

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: (sworn states)

MR SANDI: Your name is Philip Bejile Bob?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes.

MR SANDI: You are going to tell us about Sophie Nunusie Maarman?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: That's correct.

MR SANDI: How are you related to her?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: She is my daughter.

MR SANDI: You say in 1986 she was shot.  Can you tell us briefly about her and what happened?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: It was on a Sunday in the morning.  I was talking to Nunusi telling her that she must wash my T-shirt because I was going to wear it as I was going to work.  She told me that there was no soap so I gave her R5 and I told her to go and buy some.  She went to do this and after she had gone a few minutes I saw the people toytoying down the road, they went up Queen Street and after a while I heard a big sound.  After that my neighbour Trompie who resides at Mhlala came to me and said that my daughter has been shot by Fiksie. I told Nothembile to go there and I would follow after.  I put on my shoes and followed her.
 When I was at the corner there was a taxi.

MR SANDI: Who is this Fixie that you are talking about, is he the one that the other witness referred to?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: He is the one that the other witness talked about,  was not around.  I'm talking about Foure, Fiksie Foure.  We took a taxi down to the hospital and when we were next to the councillor's house Fiksie stopped us and said, "I just want to look at this dog that I have shot".  The driver stopped, we kept quiet and my wife was still crying. Then we continued and went to the hospital. When we arrived there my daughter was certified dead.

MR SANDI: Do you mean that this child was shot while passing the toytoying people?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: I'm not sure because she took another direction, the shop was just across the railway line and the toytoying people  were on the other side.

MR SANDI: Who is Trompie Tini, the one who said he was there, he saw everything?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: He is the one who came to tell us that our daughter was shot by Fiksie.

MR SANDI: Where is Tini now?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: He is in Graaf Reinet, he stays there.

MR SANDI: Was Fiksie arrested after shooting this child?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: After two months we were called to the court of law, we went there at nine o'clock in the morning and were still sitting there until 4 o'clock in the afternoon but we were not called.  We used to see Fiksie and the others walking up and down wearing their black gowns.

MR SANDI: Do you mean at Graaf Reinet?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes at the court in Graaf Reinet, we were waiting outside.

MR SANDI: Who told you that you should go to the court?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Some policemen came to tell us the day before that at 9 o'clock we should go to the court.

MR SANDI: Did you ever consult with any legal representative?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: We didn't go to the legal representative of Graaf Reinet, we consulted a woman attorney from Port Elizabeth but after that she passed away.

MR SANDI: Do you still remember her name?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: I couldn't find the document so I cannot remember her name.

MR SANDI: But do you think we can still get those documents?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: I'm not sure because it's been quite a long time.

MR SANDI: Is that all that you'd like to tell us Mr Bob?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes that's all.

MR SANDI: Do you have a wish that you'd like to tell the Commission about.

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes I have because I'm telling the truth and I am sure of this.

MR SANDI: Do you have a request or a wish that you'd like to ask the Commission.

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes I would request that because I'm still maintaining her child, she is 16 years old.

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Is she at school?

MR SANDI: Yes when her mother passed away I took her to school.  She is in standard four now.

MR SANDI: Is that all or maybe I can just take you back to the chairperson?  Is there anything else that you would like to tell us?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: There is nothing else, there would never be anything that I would want to say, what else can I say?
Sir I want to say, the death of my child is fine, what I'm saying right now, it's fine, her death is something that was done deliberately.  I don't even know why that white man shot my child among the people.

MR SANDI: The request concerning this incident of the death of your child is to ask the Commission to help you in the loss of your child.

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes even now I made a plan.  My wife was still alive at the time.  When my wife was looking for help for this child it became clear that there was no birth certificate from the person that my wife had once visited, but I tried to see another white woman but she said that I must try an bring the birth certificate, but I couldn't get it.  Instead I made a photostat of a birth certificate and now I'm waiting for that certificate so that I can go back to that white woman.

MR SANDI: Thank you Mr Bob, I'll hand you over to the chairperson.  If there's something else that you have left out you can just tell us while they are asking questions.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Mr Phillip Bob, I have one question.  Your daughter is Sophie Nonusi Maarman?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes.

MEMBER OF PANEL: And you are Philip Bejile Bob?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: Yes that's correct.

MEMBER OF PANEL: Why do you have different surnames?

PHILLIP BEJILE BOB: I was not married to her mother at the time.  We got married after her death.

CHAIRPERSON: We thank you for your story, it is a very painful story, but the way that you are relating the story, even though it is painful, you make us to laugh so that we are forgetting that this is painful. In this hearing we usually listen to painful things, every day we listen to painful stories.  We are glad that we get people sometimes like you even if they are relating some painful stories we just laugh a little bit. There's no need to cry Sir, thank you you can take your seat, we are going to take note of your request.  If there's something else that we need from you like details, the investigators of the Truth Commission  will come to your place and gather some other information that would be necessary.  For now we say thank you.  Thank you Sir.