Human Rights Violation Hearings — Uitenhage — 1996-08-27

CHAIRPERSON: We would like to call upon Mr Kumvusele William Jackson.  Thank you Mr Jackson for your presence, you are going to be led by Ms Maya.

KUMVUSELE WILLIAM JACKSON: (sworn states)

UNKNOWN: Thank you, Mr Chairman.  How are you, Mr Jackson?

MR JACKSON: I am fine thank you.

UNKNOWN: Now you say you had left home, intending to get to a funeral but on the way, there was a shooting, and you realised that you had been shot when you could not move your leg and you lost your shoe, what actually happened to you?

MR JACKSON: I tried to run away at the time of the shooting and I could see people behind me falling in great numbers.  I tried to run, but I just couldn't.  Then I decided to check on my body and my foot, and I could feel that there was something wrong with my foot.  My knee was twisted and some bones were exposed so I could not walk, then I decided to lie down and I pulled my body and I lay on my back and there was a helicopter where people were taking photographs and then I saw one policeman I knew and I asked him, Mr Hlati why are you shooting us.  Then he said, Oh, you are
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still talking, and there were another two policemen which I think came from the Zulu Land, and then I lay down on my back and then they asked, where had we been going, and they said no, we were telling lies, our intention was to go and kill the Boers in town.

UNKNOWN: Now who removed you from that place?

MR JACKSON: It was the ambulance, the drivers of the ambulance and they put us into the ambulance and drove us to hospital.

UNKNOWN: How long were you there?

MR JACKSON: I was there for 4 months.

UNKNOWN: How do you feel now?  How is your leg?

MR JACKSON: No, it is not better because I feel, I sometimes have some pain on the hip and I just can't function properly.  Even my leg sometimes have got some lumps.

UNKNOWN: Does this still happen?

MR JACKSON: Yes, even now there is a hole here in my leg.

UNKNOWN: Is there any treatment you are getting from a doctor or from a hospital?

MR JACKSON: Yes, I do go to the provincial hospital to go and get some treatment.  Whenever I feel pain, they just give pain tablets to me.

UNKNOWN: Were you working at the time that you got injured?

MR JACKSON: Yes.

UNKNOWN: Did you then go back to work?

MR JACKSON: No, I couldn't go back in 1985.  I then started working again in 1991.

UNKNOWN: I think this injury must have affected your health and your life, and how has it affected you?

MS JACKSON: Yes, I would say it is working me in my mind
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such that I always feel bad when I can't do certain things that I used to do, and my younger brother who was there too was shot dead.

UNKNOWN: How did he die?

MR JACKSON: I was in hospital, then I got information that he also died because they had shot him on the head.

UNKNOWN: Do you perhaps have any requests?

MR JACKSON: Yes, I have a request to forward to this commission.  When he got injured, my brother was given R500 from the lawyers.

UNKNOWN: When people were called to the Jubilee Hotel, did you get any amount?

MR JACKSON: Yes, I did.

UNKNOWN: Now, what is the request that you have?

MR JACKSON: I am asking that this Truth Commission should investigate about the money that was given to us, the money that was given out by the government, because I learnt the government gave out R3 million and there 38 of us who had to share this amount.  My brother was only given R500 because they were saying that my brother was not working, my brother was not at school.

UNKNOWN: Do you know the names of these lawyers?

MR JACKSON: Yes, I do.  He is Elton.

UNKNOWN: Is that all you have to say?

MR JACKSON: Yes, that is my request.  Thank you

UNKNOWN: Thank you Mr Jackson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mr Jackson and Ms Maya.