Human Rights Violation Hearings — Port Shepstone — 1996-08-12

WITNESS:   I will say he was the person who never wanted to attend those camps, and like I have said earlier on that they were saying, "There's one who does not want to join us in the camp."

COMMISSIONER: At any stage if you feel that you do not feel secure because of your presence here you should contact one of us.  We will give you telephone numbers and cellular phone numbers so that you can contact us.  If you feel that anything that you have said here has placed you at risk then you should just contact the Truth Commission.  Do you hear?

WITNESS:   Yes, I will do.

COMMISSIONER: So just in conclusion we thank you very, very much for coming in, for having the courage to come and tell us that story.  It's a very sad story to have lost your father.  At that stage you must have been 14 or 15 years old - 13 or 14 years old, and it must have been a terrible shock for you to have lost the person who was providing for you, who was the breadwinner of your family.  As my colleague has said that we will make recommendations to the Government as to how people like you, families like you should be assisted, families who have lost their breadwinners.  We'll make recommendations to the Government as to what should happen.  And we extend our sympathies to you and to the - please extend our sympathies to the rest of your family, and we thank you again very much for coming in and telling us your story.  Thank you very much.

COMMISSIONER: We welcome you today, Mr Govender.  You have come to tell us your story, which relates to assaults and torture at the hands of the South African Police way back in 1980 according to your statement.  Before you tell that story I'd like to ask you to stand to take the oath please.

PETER GOVENDER: (Sworn, States)

KHOZA MGOJO: Good morning, Mr Govender.

WITNESS:   Good morning, Sir.

KHOZA MGOJO: I want to welcome you and your wife.

WITNESS:   Thank you.

KHOZA MGOJO: Mr Govender, you have such a lot to tell this gathering, but I would appeal you because of the time we have you'll have just to summarise some of your stories.  By the way, can you tell us about your family?  You have a wife, you have children, etcetera?

WITNESS:   Mr Commissioner, first of all I would like to place on record my sincere thanks and appreciation for allowing me to come before this Truth Commission to expound what has transpired to us over the many years.  My beloved wife is on the extreme left.  Her name is Cynthia Govender.  We are married for over 36 years.  We have no children, but other people's children are our children.

KHOZA MGOJO: Thank you, Sir.  What is your work by the way?  What is your profession?

WITNESS:   My beloved wife is a housewife by profession, and she stood with me in times of joy and in darkness.

KHOZA MGOJO: I mean your profession?

WITNESS:   My profession, Mr Commissioner, was a former building contractor, a social worker and a community leader for many, many years.  /By the

KHOZA MGOJO: By the grace of God I won the biggest election on the South Coast that is on record, and I fought in the liberation struggle all my life.

KHOZA MGOJO: What organisation did you belong to?

WITNESS:   Mr Commissioner, with respect, I was the public relations officer of the Marburg and Port Shepstone Ratepayers and Civic Association for many years.  I was the chairman, and thereafter I became the executive member of the Natal Indian Congress, which is a completely non-racial organisation.  I was executive member for over nine years.  I took active part in the Release Mandela Committee.  Over many years I was an affiliate to the United Democratic Front and all its affiliates, and as such I fought in the political and civic arena for many years.

KHOZA MGOJO: How did this affect your relationships with the regime of the time?

WITNESS:   I was an ardent opponent of racial discrimination, and I was a sure recipient to the South African Police, and also in conjunction with the members of the Security Branch, and all those people that supported autonomous areas for this area.  I was a sure target, and I was continuously harassed, which I will expound as we go along.

KHOZA MGOJO: Okay, then can you just tell us - you had so many experiences in 1980, can you just tell us what happened to you on Wednesday, the 7th of May 1980, and you go with your story?

WITNESS:   Mr Commissioner, I will try.  It's quite a comprehensive affidavit which I have given to the Supreme Court in 1980, when I took the members of the Security Branch, and Mr Richard Lester said that I should condense it, so can I - because of affliction of time can I kindly read the pertinent points from the affidavit? Okay, so long as you are going to choose those most important things, because you have heard that we don't have enough time.   ---   Thank you.  Thank you.  I made this application in the Supreme Court of South Africa in May 1980, and the respondents were - I was the applicant, Peter Govender.  The respondent was Sergeant Breedt, Sergeant Kerry, Lieutenant Paul Bunyan and the Commissioner of Police.  The application was heard on or about Friday, 30th of May 1980.  I asked the Supreme Court that the respondents be and hereby interdicted and restrained from assaulting, threatening or interfering, questioning in any manner other than that prescribed by law, subjected to any form of unlawful duress, employing any undue unlawful pressure on me.  I made the affidavit.  It was a launching affidavit.

KHOZA MGOJO: "I, the undersigned, Ramakrishna Govender, also known as Peter Govender, do hereby make oath and say

KHOZA MGOJO: 1.  I am the applicant in this matter and the facts deposed to in these affidavits are all within my own personal knowledge unless otherwise specifically stated.

KHOZA MGOJO: 2.  I am an adult male ...

KHOZA MGOJO: at that time,

KHOZA MGOJO: "... builder, and reside at 3669 Oscar Borchards Road, Marburg, Port Shepstone, an area with the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court."

KHOZA MGOJO: I shall leave page 2.  I get on.

KHOZA MGOJO: "On Wednesday ..."

KHOZA MGOJO: /(intervention)

KHOZA MGOJO: (intervention)

KHOZA MGOJO: Just give us your story.  I think we are interested on your story of torture.

WITNESS:   Okay.  On Wednesday the 7th May 1980 at approximately 2.30 am my wife and I were rudely awakened by continuous banging on our front door.  I peered through the window and saw the first, second and third respondent outside.  I recognised them as members of the Security Branch at Port Shepstone because I had been previously interrogated by them on approximately five to eight times.  None of them were dressed in uniform.  The first and second respondent has holsters, in fact they were armed, and the first respondent also carried a knobkerrie.  They continued banging persistently on the door until I opened it.  The second respondent then demanded that I should come up with them.  In fact he used vulgar words.  He says, "Come on, come on, move it up.  Don't waste time."  I insisted, however, that I be given an opportunity to dress and wash my face, which they grudgingly permitted, urging me to hurry up all the time.

KHOZA MGOJO: And in fact I had - they put me on the back of a bakkie on a cold winter's night and I was moved out.  I was taken to the special branch offices at the corner of Aiken and