Human Rights Violation Hearings — Welkom — 1996-10-09

WITNESS:  This occurrence changed my life so drastically.  I feel  I have this deep hatred for a white person.  When I see a white person, especially at night I have these negative thoughts and even at work when I white person speaks to me I just look at him.  I totally distrust them because during the day they are people and in the evening they are killers.  Even when I'm driving a car and passing through Brandfort these thoughts come back to me so vividly as if it only happened yesterday.  I just don't know how to explain this.  Each time I think of this occurrence and I think of this attack ... (incomplete)

MRS GCABASHE: What happened to your car?

WITNESS:   It was my family's car.  This car was towed away from the scene because they had actually broken everything in the car and it was a write-off.  It couldn't be driven any more.

MRS GCABASHE: Now, when you say, ever since this incident took place and you have this problematic relationship with white people, did you ever try to get any treatment or some counselling with regard to that?

WITNESS:   No, I've never thought of getting any treatment because I feel that where they are, they are the ones who should be getting the treatment.  I think where they are they are the ones who are supposed to receive the treatment because I think they were the ones who are sick.

MRS GCABASHE: And is Dr Storm still in Theunissen?

WITNESS:   Yes, he is.

MRS GCABASHE: Did he ever give you any letters with regard to the treatment that you received?

WITNESS:   No, he just treated me but he never gave me any letters or documents.

MRS GCABASHE: Do you know his address?  If we want to contact him is it possible for you to show us or tell us where to  get him?

WITNESS:   Yes, we can get him easily.

MRS GCABASHE: Thanks very much Patrick.  As I said before that this occurrence was not an unusual thing.  This is what shows that we are coming from an era of doom but we do appreciate the fact that you were saved.  You survived the whole incident and we hope that even your friend will be able to undergo some treatment because he should be very disturbed.  We've got people in here who are designated to do that duty of helping you with regard to getting treatment.

WITNESS:   My mother is always telling me that I'm problematic and she always tells me about the car that I was driving on that day and this makes me not to be able to forget that particular incident.  At time I even feel that if I had money, I could just buy this car and give it to her.

MRS GCABASHE: The advice that I can give you is that yourself and your mother have been very traumatised by this incident so I want you to have the courage because it's not of her own doing that she's behaving in the manner that she's doing.  You both need help because you've been through so much trauma and you've been through so much hardship.  We do understand her situation as well as yours.  You should try to get some counselling or some psychiatric examination.  We can see that you are really traumatised and troubled by this tragedy.  We hope that you find it in your heart to get some help for yourself as well as your mother so that you live positively.  We thank you very much.  I will hand over to the Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Anybody want to say something.

PROF MAGWAZA: I have just one.
/CHAIRMAN

CHAIRPERSON: Professor Magwaza.

PROF MAGWAZA: I have just one question.  We're interested in knowing how you were injured and to what extent were you injured during the car accident.

WITNESS:  My arm was injured.  I received quite a number of stitches but the police that I reported to never even took me to the hospital where I could get immediate attention.  I don't know how I sustained my injuries, I just had a big cut on my arm.  And I was put in a plaster of Paris on my right arm and I was stitched on the left arm - several stitches.

PROF MAGWAZA: You injuries, have they affected the use of your arm?

WITNESS:   My arm does function but I'm having problems with the right arm because I think something happened because when I write my hands gets tired very quickly and I have to put the pen down, relax for quite  a few minutes then start writing once more.  I think I got injured in the joint.  The bone was dislocated.  That's the problem that I have.

PROF MAGWAZA: Okay, thank you very much, Patrick.  One thing I want to say is that I think you taught us one thing her today that you should not always think the witnesses are the sick people, that the perpetrators there, they're sick.  They also need to get some help.  I think that was a very important point which you made to us.  Thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON: Patrick, thank your for coming here to tell your story.  I want to assure you that you need a treatment just as our perpetrators.  I want to repeat that, you need the treatment just as your perpetrators.  I think the whole thing of the Truth Commission is that  the victim must be helped and then the perpetrator must be helped.  That's what I just want to say.  You need to tell yourself you also need a treatment just as you have rightly said that the perpetrators need the treatment because they need to be healed and retain that ubuntu which God had given them.  And also I hope by your telling this story it may start a healing process in you because the whole aim of the Truth Commission is that of healing.  I know that you are severely wounded physically and emotionally and otherwise.  That's why you are speaking about that and I hope that your telling the story has started a process of healing in you because these things were locked in your chest and you never had an opportunity of telling this story about them.  I hope since you started telling the story even this hate for the white people may be changed.  I think you hated the white people because of the context of which you found yourselves, how they treated you.  If you go to other areas you find that they hate the blacks who treated them badly.  I think they are related to own context.  It must be clear that even if these people were blacks you would still stay I hate these black people because of the treatment they gave me.  But I want to say that by telling this story we shall try by all means to recommend what we have said here to the government and also you need to get counselling because we were created as human beings not to hate by to love.  Once you start hating, it means that there's something wrong with you and we hope that the counselling which you may get, as my colleague Mrs Gcabashe has been saying that you need to get the counselling to help you  so that this kind of hurt and hate may be changed in something which is very positive so that the Truth Commission may fulfil its aim for what it was made to do.  Then we thank you very much for coming here to tell your very sad story and I would encourage you to encourage your Senama home to come forward and see the statement takers so that he can also have an opportunity to tell his story because that is the whole aim.  You've just mentioned him but he has not had a chance of himself coming forward to tell his own story, to pour out his own pain.  So would you please encourage him to come forward and also write his statement so that he can tell his own story.  Thank you very much.
/CHAIRMAN

CHAIRPERSON: Now, the next witness but one is Isiah Pule Nkate.  (Tape ends.  Subsequent tape commences mid-sentence without overlap) ... about the abduction and the torture of Comrades and also your assault and the stabbing and the burning of your car by those who did it.  But before you can stand up and tell this sad story, I want to ask you to stand and take an oath that all what you're going to say here is the truth and that you're going to tell it God being your helper.

ISIAH PULE NKATE: (Sworn states) (Through Interpreter)