Human Rights Violation Hearings — Heiderveld — 1996-04-24

MS LUBOWSKI: SWAPO you're out, you are filth, you are worst than the excrement of a snake, you piece of filth, you communist, away with you, kaffir boetie, you are going to die, you filth. You are no good, pig head, and child of a hoar.
 He had fewer and fewer cases to defend, he was a social outcast as if he had some kind of a contagious disease. He was openly cursed as a white kaffir and sometimes he rather enjoyed that. One evening when he came back from Khatature where he had gone to take food to poor black people just outside Windhoek he was shot at.
 He immediately went to the police and showed them the evidence, his window had been shot at, but the police just ignored him, they turned their backs on him.
 He was thrown into prison with 23 SWAPO members because he had also protested against the unjust laws, once again he gained first hand experience of the terrible conditions in prison, no toilet facilities, squat closets in the ground. And to wash there was only a hole over this water closet and there was a stream of water jetting out onto it and of course this was the kind of conditions where diseases flourished. Mielie pap three times a day, and this was brought to them in a wheelbarrow and they were served end of Tape 14, side B ... [indistinct] in solitary detention.
 The questions they put to him there they could of also put to him in his advocate's rooms, he was clothed only in a pair of underpants, he had one blanket and the Bible ironically enough. They wanted to break him because he was a threat to the National Party Government in South West Africa as well as abroad because he had become known in many countries as a fighter against apartheid.
 He was hated for his background, his academic achievements as well as his status. With an Afrikaner mother, a German father, both from respected families and backgrounds, that they could not abide. Namibia's independence was already afore comple Resolution 435 was a reality.
 SWAPO's white boy a huge threat. The disciples of Satan the beast. As from the 1st of September 1989 started planning his assassination in Johannesburg and in Pretoria. Thousands of rands which were taxpayers money was made available and this is the hardest thing of all to swallow that we paid to have our son killed.
 The instruction for the assassination was given to
Staal Burger
Chappie Marais
Ferdi Barnard
Kalla Botha
Slang van Zyl
Wouter Basson
Donald Acheson a professional hit man.
 After everything that I've now told you no normal person can believe that my son Anton Lubowski, could ever have become a spy for the National Party Government as national - as Magnus Malan alleged in Parliament.
 I am requesting the Commission to help us to take away the hindrances, so that our child's murders can be triad in a Court of Law. The assassination was planned here in South Africa by Afrikaners and was committed in Namibia when it was still under South African jurisdiction.
 I conclude by explaining why I wrote the book Anton Lubowski, paradox of a man, in English. The reason for that was that because Anton was so well known abroad I wanted to show the world how low the National Party had stooped with their illegal occupation in Namibia.
 He lived when a political crimes were a mask for the so-called Christian country and Government to commit their atrocities. The hatred which was almost tangible because you wanted to promote justice, evoke the feeling that his death led to the lancing of this boil.
 I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Truth Commission from the bottom of my heart that they have given us this privilege and I would like to thank the people of Cape Town - my pastor Dr Ben Kotze, who supported me for six years. All the many Afrikaans people who did not want to carry on living as before, it doesn't matter to which political party they belonged, thank you very much.

ADV POTGIETER: We thank you madam. You have in your possession for the assistance of the Commission a file with clippings and cuttings from the various newspaper reports in Namibia especially which all relate to Anton's case.

MS LUBOWSKI: Could you just repeat that please.

ADV POTGIETER: Yes, is it so that you have a file of newspaper clippings relating especially to the Namibian media and dealing with Anton's case, and you would like to hand that in to help the Commission, thank you we will get that from you later when you've given your testimony.
 May I just clarify one last aspect, the one document that you have in your possession where you read all the filthy language, now the other document which you have in your possession, could you just describe that what is it, the one with the holes in.

MS LUBOWSKI: They made a target of his face and shot the bullets literally shot the bullets through it to show him what was waiting for him and that in fact happened.

ADV POTGIETER: On the front of the document there is a silhouette of a face which looks like a target with a lot of holes in, are these bullet holes?

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: And in the bottom written in red Anton WD Lubowski and on the back is also some writing on the back?

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes, take a shot communist, South West Africa, lets SWAPO's - Anton - [indistinct] know that how you feel, just follow these steps, right down this address on an envelope Anton WD Lubowski, PO Box 3714, Windhoek, 9000 South West Africa, take the third one, filled up the remains of the target, slip them in an envelope and post it to WD Lubowski, we are sure he will enjoy receiving the target as much as you'll enjoy shooting at it. Incidentally you can also ask him why he now has the additional initials WD to his name.

ADV POTGIETER: So those are clearly instructions - should I repeat that, those are apparently instructions to people using this target to address it to this address and the PO Box number is Anton's postal address and then to post it back to him?

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes.

ADV POTGIETER: Is that the kind of thing that he would received.

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes and a lot more beside this is not the only one.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you very much Ms Lubowski is there anything you'd like to add to your testimony.

MS LUBOWSKI: No.

DR BORAINE: Thank you. Anybody who would like to put any questions Dumisa.

ADV NTSEBEZA: That was a very sad story, can I just ask without adding to the pain, whether Anton ever had the initials WD? Do you know what those initials stands for in popular balance?

MS LUBOWSKI: [No audible answer]

ADV NTSEBEZA: Now you have in fact asked the Commission to assist you. Was it not so that there was a request for the people you mentioned in your testimony to be extradited to Namibia to stand trial in this?

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes, they refused.

ADV NTSEBEZA: Who refused?

MS LUBOWSKI: They refused - three of the murders are still in Rhoodepoort, they refused because they said it's not necessary for them to go to Namibia, South Africa, they've got nothing to do with it, they wanted more time.

ADV NTSEBEZA: And was it not so that the family themselves approached the Minister of Justice in this country.

MS LUBOWSKI: Ja.

ADV NTSEBEZA: To facilitate the process of extraditing those people.

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes - yes we went to Minister Dullah Omar and he said he is waiting for Namibia to ask for him to extradite these people to no - and up to now Namibia has not - they postponed the State's case indefinitely, why we don't know.

ADV NTSEBEZA: And is it in those sort of areas that you would like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to use it's good officers to extradite this process.

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes - ja absolutely - absolutely because there is no reason on earth why they cannot be, why they cannot go to Namibia.

ADV NTSEBEZA: I know this can be of little consolation to you.

MS LUBOWSKI: Yes.