Amnesty Hearings — Thohoyandou — 1999-06-28

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: Thank you.  Among the most atrocious methods they did not mention, beginning at Masisi, was a direct threat to my life.  On 25 November, Mr Ramaligela in the company of others like Nesamari and Managa, they interrogated me the whole day.  At the end of that interrogation, they provided me with stationery to write farewell to my bishop, my family and everybody and made it very clear that they wanted to kill me and throw my body in Mozambique.  I almost wrote but decided not to, the threats to torture me slowly until I die did come on 4 January but, some few methods they didn't mention, Managa, Ramaligela and Rambuda who's name was never mentioned by them here, Mr Rambuda, they did not mention literally banging my head against the wall.  It was terrible.  They did not tell you how they pulled my hair and my beard.  They did not tell you how they lifted me, threw me into the air to fall on the concrete floor.  They mentioned sticks but they forgot to mention chairs.  And it's a said chapter that they said there were light injuries.  Coming to 5 January, they ignored a few other critical things which were very important in that process.  Mr Managa should have admitted that he told me as I entered the torture chamber, that nobody enters this room and goes out alive unless he says and does what we want.  Both should have told you too that they used the death of my very close friend Isaac Mohape to send chills down my spine.

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry, Isaac?  If you could repeat the surname, Isaac?

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: Isaac Chipiwa Mohape who was tortured and died within two days of his detention.  To intimated me they boasted of how he screamed and what he said before he died.

MS MTANGA: Dr Farisani, the Mr Mohape you're referring to, was he arrested for the Sibasa police station bombing?

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: Yes, he was arrested in connection with the bombing and I was dean and deputy bishop of the Church then and, amongst the things they feared was that I would preach a dangerous sermon at his funeral which is true, I would have preached one of my most dangerous sermons.

CHAIRPERSON: Dr Farisani, approximately when did Mr Isaac Mohape die?

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: He was detained on 12, if I'm not mistaken, of October 1981.  And I heard of his death on the 14th of October while I was addressing graduation in Natal.  When I came back, I got messages indirectly that I should not go to comfort his family.  I went twice and on 18 November, 15 minutes after I came back from praying with his widow and with his bereaved mother, the Security Police came and picked me up.  Now, back to the methods of torture at Vembe, they failed to mention critic people who made my pain even worse.  The late sergeant Makgato who mocked and ridiculed me throughout the torture.  They failed to mention, amongst others, the name of Mr Matjena who ridiculed me tremendously throughout the process.  But what critic they forget, the name of Col Kruger who walked into the torture chamber, found me naked and handcuffed to the back, sitting in the water mixed with blood and, he looked at me and grinned and smile.  And he said to me 'Dean, I never thought I would see you under these circumstances in my life.'  And I'm surprised that they forget these critic names.

CHAIRPERSON: Who was Col Kruger?  What was his position?

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: He was a Col and a member of the Security Branch.

CHAIRPERSON: Of the Venda ...(intervention)

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: In Venda.  They forget this man played a very important role in this torture and detention.

SISI KHAMPEPE: Yes, may I find out what role he played specifically, this Col Kruger?

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: In my case, he's one of those who used to occasionally interrogate me even before I was detained.  And during the torture he came to mock me and he's one of those, I think if I'm not mistaken, who on 8 February 1982, together with - their names they forget conveniently, captain Bezuidenhout who tried to take me to the Magistrate Court and on that day I saw some of my colleagues around the Magistrate Court but, after that, Col Kruger decided I'm not going to go into that court and he took me to Mathatshe or Venda Central Prison.  He played a critical role in hospital because he together with Gerson Ramaburana, after I laid charges against the police, they came to intimidate me and force me to suspend the charges until further notice.  And made it very clear to me that unless I withdrew the charges, they would be forced to chose between me and their Security Police.  And the choice was obvious.  What's also critic is the conspiracy to deny the extent of injuries.  So summarise my own injuries, when I landed at Chilitsini Hospital on 7 January, your Worship, my head was this swollen and Gabriel Ramushwana saw it.  Ramaligela, Managa, Nesamari, they saw it.  My eyes were this swollen and red with blood.  Literally, your Worship, I was breathing through my ears, my mouth was swollen.  Your Worship, if I stood before you there, you can still see marks on my knees, there were deep wounds into which I could put the tips of my fingers.  And the Security Police must tell you what they did with my medical records ...(indistinct) in hospital where I spent all together 106 days.  The X-ray copies would tell you a story what happened to my ribs.  During that time, Mr ...(indistinct) would tell the papers that I was in hospital because I had a headache.  So, I'm not surprised at this minimising of the injuries that we went through.  The station commander, Mr Rambuda, who I saw is here.  He helped nurse my wounds when I was at Sibasa police station.  So, the intensity of the torture was such that my treatment did not only end at Chilitsini, your Worship.  In recuperation I went to the Western Cape, my wife remembers me collapsing at night and being rushed to Victoria Hospital.  I went to Groote Schuur Hospital as follow up to electric shock treatment.  At Venda Central Prison, when I collapsed, my colleagues are here like Chipiwa Mahumela who helped pressurise the police until I was returned to hospital.  Your Worship, I cannot exhaust this story.  Now, one thing they must still tell us, when I was rushed to Madimbo Military Hospital, it was after I received my clothes from home and I suspect some poisoning of those clothes because, it happened both at Masisi and at Venda Central Prison, and every time after I received clothes from home, and when I was transferred from Madimbo Military Hospital to Chilitsini Hospital again, I asked the police to take along all the medicines I got from the military ...(intervention)

MS MTANGA: Mr Farisani, if I may just interfere.  What had happened to your clothes?  What were you suspecting about your clothes?

CHINOANE SIMON FARISANI: I suspect because you see, when I would be wearing my clothes which I always had, these things didn't happen but, every time I received clothes from home, something would happen.

CHAIRPERSON: Like what?