Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 2011-01-21

WHITE MOHAPE: What is happening is that during my stay at Bayswater Police Station, Lieutenant Horn came with Mr Erasmus and on that day he came with a note, you know, it was a typed-written, you know, half-page note that was written in Afrikaans and then he said to me, that was Mr Erasmus, he said to me, no, no, White, we are here for you, because you do not want to co-operate with us, do not worry, we are trying to get you out of the prison, police station, we will still consult you outside, we will do everything that you work for us.  I said to him, no, I will still not do that even if you release me now.
	They said, no, no, write down, sign this piece of paper.  I said to them what is written in this piece of paper and then Horn said to me, no, it says that you will be released.  I said, no, you see I want to read this thing, do me a favour, get me a Black policeman who can come and read this thing for me and translate it, so that I understand what is written in this piece of paper, because you are aware that I can read Afrikaans, but I cannot make, you know, a mead out of it and then they said, no, oh do not worry man, it just says we are going to release you, we even, we are still talking to our, to Coetzee, what is it, Brigadier Coetzee or whatever position is Coetzee.  
	We are talking to him even if, you know,  you do not want to co-operate with us right now, but we will ensure that you are out.  So, of course, I said to them, no, you can do what ever you like, I am not going to, I am not going to co-operate with you and then on the last day of my release, Erasmus came with Horn again on the morning of the day I was going to be released.  They said to me, you know, even if you have refused to co-operate with us, we are releasing you and when we go out we are going to ensure that we meet you.  Then I said, okay, it is up to you, I mean, whatever you decide it is up to you and then on that day they left.  
	On that day I was taken out of my cell.  It was at about past six to seven in the evening and when I got out of the cell I was called into the charge office and then I was given everything that was taken from me when I was detained.  I had money, about R160,00, that I was suppose to have paid a hall for a meeting and then, but the process of ensuring that I get everything and people sign, you know, I sign wherever I am suppose to sign, it took from I think to seven until half past ten at night, because I was told to sit there.
	Then when I was, you know, when I waited there, I was told I think at about half past ten or to 11 o' clock, but no you can go out, you can go and, of course, it was at night.  Now, what I knew and what I expected is that when you are detained and at a time of your release you will be, you know, either taken home, you know, because they, like is what happened when I was detained at Grootvlei, you know, they took me from Grootvlei to security branch offices and then they took me home.  So, I expected that procedure to happen, but on that day, it, I do not know how it happened, maybe it happened another way round. I was told to move out of the prison, that police station, I went out and when I was just in the vicinity outside the police station, a Bakkie stopped next to me and when that Bakkie stopped one Black guy came out of the Bakkie and said to me,are you White Mohape.  I said, no, I am.  He said, yes, we are here to pick you up, we are security branch, we are taking you home.  I said, well, it is okay, because I thought, you know, that is the normal procedure.
	I got into the Bakkie and then they drove, then along the way they were asking me, there were two of them, they were asking me, because I was sitting in the middle.  They were asking me are you, is Cosas, you know, affiliated to UDF?  I said yes. Is Cosas ANC? I said no, you know, we are dealing with student activities here and you, when they were going towards the township I expected them to take the turn off to your right, you know, entering Botshobelo, but instead of entering Botshobelo, the guy who was sitting in my left and, you know, he grab me at the back of my head and push me underneath the dashboard and ... (intervention).

MR STANDER: Excuse me.

WHITE MOHAPE: All right.

MR STANDER: Did you know any, either of those two people who picked you up?

WHITE MOHAPE: At that time I did not know who were these people, because when they came to me and said they are taking me home and introduced themselves as security branch members, I took into, you know, that confidence that, yes, they are doing their job, I must just accept what they are saying and I did not know them.

MR STANDER: I just want to make sure.  Do you hear, can you hear what has been happening here?

WHITE MOHAPE: Myself?

MR STANDER: I am talking to you, Sir.

WHITE MOHAPE: Ja, no, because I was changing this thing, you know, it just broke off, but I ... (intervention).

MR STANDER: When they grabbed you by the neck?

WHITE MOHAPE: Come again.  Maybe there is something to correct?

MR STANDER: The person on the left hand-side, when they grabbed you by the neck, what happened then?

WHITE MOHAPE: Yes, like, you know, he, like, he put his hand at, like here, you know, by the head or neck, but pushed me underneath the dashboard and then immediately the driver was holding a gun, you know, he was beating me with the back of his gun, you know and ... (intervention).

MR STANDER: Where did he hit you?

WHITE MOHAPE: I was beaten all over the body because, you know, I was laying like this and this other one was holding a hammer, you know, and that thing proceeded until towards the (...indistinct) Road where at one point, you know, they stopped and then when they stopped there they took plus or minus 20 to 30 minutes beating me up there and they were joined by other people, because at that stage, you know, what happened, I want to explain this thing so that it becomes more clearer to anyone who will, might ask questions later.
	At a time when, you know, I got into the Bakkie these chaps were wearing balaclavas, but at that time those balaclavas were not yet put, you know, over the face.  They were just, you know, you can, you could see maybe it is a hat or something, you know, but when that thing started of beating me in the car, you know, and not turning and going to (...indistinct) Road direction, I think at that time they had already, they had put their balaclavas, you know, into their faces and then when I was beaten there, they took some time and they were joined by others, you know, because they moved from the car, beating me inside the car, and they undressed me.  They said I must take off all my clothes, of which I did, and they said to me I must even give them that R160,00 that I had and then, you know, I had to take it out and give it to them.

MR STANDER: Just a minute, could you see what was happening around you?

WHITE MOHAPE: When?

MR STANDER: At the stage where the assault was taking place after the vehicle stopped?

WHITE MOHAPE: No, I could not see what was happening behind me, because when I started sitting in the car, being beaten up, and I am taken out of the car and I have still beaten up and other people joined, you know, I will not, I could not even say who is who, you know, who is this person who is doing that, who is that who is doing what, but, you know, it was a group of people who were beating me, you know.

MR STANDER: What was used to hit you with?

WHITE MOHAPE: They used the hammer.  There was this thing, the tyre lever, you call it whatever the (...indistinct) or whatever it is, you know, but it was weapons that were used. They were using fist, they were kicking me.

MR STANDER: Could you identify any of the people there who assaulted you in this way?