Human Rights Violation Hearings — Pietersburg — 1996-07-18

CHAIRPERSON: While Mr Baloyi is coming forward I just want to welcome someone who is present at the hearing, Mr Rashaka Racahachanga who is a member of the provincial legislature for the Northern Province.  Mr Rashaka and I actually share a secret.  Maybe he'll tell you that many many years ago he was student at Tanya College in Johannesburg.  I think it was 1984, and that is the year when I started teaching and I had the pleasure of having Mr Rachachanga in my African History class.  But I'm not going to take any responsibility for him being a member of the provincial legislation.  So welcome Rashaka.

MR MALAN: Mr Baloyi welcome here with us, some of us have had the opportunity of meeting with you earlier.  Before we proceed will you please just take the oath.

EDDIE BALOYI: (sworn states)

THOMAS MANTHATA: Mr Baloyi you can continue and talk about what happened to you.

EDDIE BALOYI: I say that I think that I'm excited about what I'm going to say. So now, I don't know, sometime I was unconscious when these things happened but I will try to explain what I have seen.  But don't feel painful because they came to me while I was unconscious, they said I should say these things because at the time I was unconscious, so I could not understand.
 It was in March 1960.  I was a boy scout.  While I was a boy scout, I got promotion.  After the promotion I was told that I have to go and run the centre at Mafula as a scouts master.  I agreed.  I continued with my work as assistant scout master without any problem, it was okay.  One day pamphlets came to the families of people and they were put inside a post box.  I took one of them and looked at it and found that it was a Pan Aricanist Congress Pamphlet.  Myself, I was a member of the African National Youth congress, but I didn't attend meetings. I was busy with the program of scouting. 
 I heard that there's a meeting which was coming for residents and all of us were supposed to be there.  When we went to that meeting I found that Chief Luthule was addressing the people. We wanted the council to know that we wanted a council which would be under the name of the African National Congress, although this was not the name. Although I was not a member of the PAC then I followed the philosophy of Robert Bangelo Sipholo Sebukwe because I knew him as a lecturer of the University of the Witwatersrand.  He was capable in the scouts and was a good advisor too. I liked him for that.  I met him, he told me to go to Kotla Koli Lobalo who, who was working at the Union White at President Street No 1 or 2. I went to him, he said to me, "Mr Baloyi, you are with Stanley Khosi next to you, in other words, that is the one who is going to tell you what we want you for".  I went to Stanley Khosi and he told me that I won't be busy with scouting tomorrow, I'll be delivering pamphlets.  I asked what the pamphlets say and it he said they were going to form a new organisation called the Pan African Congress. They had arranged a stay-away on that day and would not go to work on Monday. All the people were not going to work.  It was like that.  I agreed.
 My work, being a scout was left behind because I was a new member.  What we were instructed to do was to put the pamphlets in the post boxes.  We made sure that there is a pamphlet of the Pan African Congress because it was a stay-away from work.  All the people, I believe, had radios in their houses, most of Soweto people had radios although some of them didn't have, they heard that they should not go to work.  
 On that day when we woke up in the morning, we were called.  When I looked outside I saw Potlkolbalo and he disappeared.  While I was still looking I saw Professor Bangulu Sosubukwe and he called all of us.  We were singing the national anthem Nkosi Sikelele Afrika and we sang it in English and in Sotho, more especially, people were surprised at what was happening.  Myself I didn't know what was going to happen when they said we should not go to work.  Then there was a meeting, it was going to be held where we were going to listen to what they want us to do, and we attended it.  Father Albert Lethuli was there addressing.  We were told that all of us should come there with our ID documents.  We did as we were told.  When we arrived there thy didn't want to listen, they wanted that ID document only.  They took it and put it in the fire. It was the end of the document until we saw that all of them were burning.  In that way it was appealing to my heart that when they burned my ID, what's happening, and I stood up and looked.
 I only saw smoke, I could not tell if it was tear gas smoke or the smoke from our ID'S, I can't just remember.  When I looked Professor himself was pushing a wheelbarrow full of identity documents.  He was taking them to the police station.  Other people were assisting him as well and the police were coming behind them.
 I have to say the Vaal Triangle and Soweto as a whole were nearly the same.  When I realised I was at the police station, they mishandled us, they did not treat us as living people, they would grip us and throw us into their lorries. I don't know how I came into their lorry, I really don't know.  When they asked us who we were we had already been told to tell them that we're the members of the PAC, and they said to us, aren't you the members of the ANC?  We said yes we are but at this present moment we are the members of the PAC.  They then realised that these people were coming together, they were uniting.  I don't know what happened then to our leader, where he was taken to.  When I only saw Stanley Khosi Potlakole Baloro Nimailola and the other members of the Pan Africanist Congress.  That is where we were then forced to be divided.  They wanted to interrogate each one of us separately to get the idea of whether we were the real members of that organisation or not. I don't know if they found out exactly what they wanted.
 And then they were told to leave the youth and get hold of their leaders and put them in jail.  They said if the youth is also involving themselves they will also catch them.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Can I stop you there Mr Baloyi? Our briefer, we were told that the statements would start from 1963, now can we jump over the events of 1960, the events that happened to you.

EDDIE BALOYI: The person who wrote that statement made a mistake.  I think Zolile made a mistake.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Yes I realise he made a mistake, well carry on then.

EDDIE BALOYI: We were given a chance because they said they want to investigate whether it's true that we were the members of the ANC but some of them had been taken away.  When I looked, I realised that they were also suspecting Mr Mandela.  He first got a five year warning, he was well known, because they met and they said these two organisations want to unite and they want to work together, and investigations were then carried out.
 I was also involved in the investigations, something befell me, I was arrested for fraud and forgery at Barklays Bank.  This case led to my detention and I was then sent to prison.  While I was in detention, the comrades would come and visit me and wanted to know why I was involved in such cases. I said to them, it's because we wanted money since we were instructed that we must skip the country and go to other countries for training. I realised that I didn't have any money in my pocket and therefore I had to get money.
 While we were in this case, something came to my mind.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Can you please help us.  You're now telling us about fraud and forgery and then we want to know, where did the government meet you and the things that they applied on you, the things that you have written in this statement? You are now telling us things that are not related to this event.