Amnesty Hearings — East London — 1999-04-26

CORNELIA GETRUDE PIENAAR: Yes I do.  Mr Chairman, thank you for the opportunity.  I'm a community health worker for the last 20 years in Ficksburg.  Since 1989 I was working as a professional nurse in the municipal clinics.  I really care for all people with no preference of colour of culture.  I established a clinic in a Coloured area because there was a big need.  I also rendered a service there myself.
	My late husband died the Wednesday before the attack.  He was doing light duty at the police station after a serious accident in 1990 where he got brain damage.  He was unconscious for two months and started to work only after 6 months.
	The house that was attacked was our private home.  The 
evening after the attack I was alone with my two daughters who were 5 years and 12 years.  People visited me that evening because it was the first night that all my family went away after the funeral.  They left about 10 o'clock and I went into the house.  Then I went and bathed and I put the two girls in my bed to sleep with me.  I just put the light off about half past 10, then suddenly I heard the dog barking a lot.  I wanted to phone the police but they were engaged at that stage.  But just then someone was running past my window and they broke the window at the children's room and they threw in a hand grenade.  The roof was really - it was a big story - the doors were out of the hinges and then they started to throw petrol bombs through the living room's window and they started shooting at the house.  
	We had no weapons in the house because my husband's service revolver was taken in or handed in and we had nothing else in the house.  We had weapons and my dad took it with, with the safe to Sasolburg where they stay.  
	So what we decided to do is because there was a lot of - it set a fire and we were choking in the smoke.  So we decided to go through the back door.  At the back door there was nobody, they were all in the front.  So then we went out of the back door and we went past the garages to the neighbours.  There we went over the fence and they kept on shooting on us there because they had a lot of bullets there at that place where we went over the fence.
	When we got to the neighbours it was absolute chaos there, they were running around and they had no weapons or anything and all that I want to say there are no houses around my house, the only one is - it's all empty areas, the only house was the one where we went over to and they really had no weapons there.  So we went in there and we were all lying in the passage.  
	Then the army came there, a young guy and he said they were working at the border post and we must please not shoot, we must just lie in the passage and just keep quiet.  So we did that.  
	After about a half an hour or I can't say exactly when, the police came and my children didn't want to stay there they were too scared so they took us to the other side of the town and that's all I know.  
	And I made a statement and I just want to confirm the contents of that statement.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mrs Pienaar.  Mr Mbandazayo, have you got any questions?

MR MBANDAZAYO: None Chairperson.
NO QUESTIONS BY MR MBANDAZAYO

CHAIRPERSON: Ms Patel have you got any questions?

MS PATEL: No thank you Honourable Chairperson.
NO QUESTIONS BY MS PATEL

CHAIRPERSON: Mrs Pienaar, thank you very much.  You're excused.
WITNESS EXCUSED

CHAIRPERSON: I assume that that concludes the evidence?
	Mr Mbandazyo, have you got any submissions?