Special Hearings — Children's Hearings — 1997-05-22

ANTHONY THOZAMILE NTONI: And as a result I found myself being involved in conflicts, because there were certain attitudes towards me.  Whatever was wrong I would be accused of, until what eventually happened and what led to my arrest and incarceration is while training there, we had started our training, part of our training was overcoming obstacles.  I was still very young and very fit so I had no problem with obstacle courses and I did my training and showed the others and then I stood watching the others and while standing there I would wonder a bit and I found a firearm, an AK47 which was lying there.  I, we were not allowed to carry firearms, we were carrying batons at the time.  So I saw a firearm lying in the grass and I realised that it might have been left mistakenly by an instructor and I picked it up out of curiosity and looked at it.  I remember the last having this gun in my hand looking at it and turning it round and then all the officers were around me, assaulting me and they grabbed this firearm and then I was taken to a medical point and I was injected and I was dumped at a guardhouse which was near the gate so that all vehicles that came into, this is the little hut which is at the entrance and while lying there, every time I tried to speak it felt like my tongue was swollen and I could not speak.  I could not even move my fingers, they were stiff and it was, I slept there from the morning until shortly after lunch without being able to move.
 Late at night about sunset a chief Afrika arrived at the security camp and spoke to these people and they put me behind in a landrover and I was taken to another place where food stocks were kept approximately seven kilometres from the camp.  I stayed there.  I must have been there for approximately a month, but I cannot tell you exactly how long it was, because most of the time I was assaulted, but I really cannot say how long I stayed there, because sometimes Afrika would come there and assault me at times as well and I would never know why I was being assaulted.  I was not thinking anything, all that was in my mind was these people, I do not know what these people are doing.  All I want to do is train and all I want to do is leave here and go back and train.  
 The person that kept bringing me my food would tell me, do not worry, you are going to go back to the camp and train and he would be friendly and we would do exercises, but when exercising he would go behind me and assault me and when I lost consciousness he would leave me alone.  What I do remember very well is Afrika took out a firearm which was his pistol which was at his waist and asked me, do you know this?  I said, no, but I know that it is a gun.  He took it and said to me, shoot.  I said to him, no, this place is enclosed, how can I shoot and I followed his instruction and then he took his firearm back and assaulted me and asked me whether I knew about any rapes and I said, who did I rape at the camps.  He made me sit down and he kicked my feet with boots until my skin came off.  When they came in there they would assault me so badly.  I remember the times when they would be there and every time I would come, I would lose consciousness and I would regain consciousness and find myself alone.  
 Then I was shifted to this house which was seven kilometres from the camp.  They came in a green Mercedes Benz truck and tied me under the back seats.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: Just excuse me for a minute please.  I was going to ask you, as you were about to tell me this part about the vehicle, the people's names that were present there, if you could please give us those names after todays meeting so that we can take note of them and notify them according to, in accordance with the Act where people have been implicated as perpetrators.

ANTHONY THOZAMILE NTONI: They then came in this truck and I was put in the back.  The truck left.  On the way I would loose consciousness quite often and there was a rope around my neck which would choke me from time to time and they would throw water over me for me to regain consciousness and then we would carry on and I think the first stop was at Luanda.  I was then put in a goods container.  I cannot remember for how long and from there we went to the ANC jail at Quatro.  I do not know when I arrived at Quatro.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: Do you know which year it was?