Amnesty Hearings — Vanderbijlpark — 1999-05-12

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Four Koyokos and one small vehicle.

MR STRYDOM: Ja.  And all this you could see from your position where you were standing on the road, is that right, close to your house?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, it was quite conspicuous.

MR STRYDOM: And the vehicle that fired the flare that created the light was in the vicinity of Metal Box?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I am saying there were three vehicles.  I am saying this for the twelve time now.  There were three of these vehicles.  They got off this Koyoco and fired in the air and there was this flare in the sky and I saw these two vehicles that were moving in Umzimvubu Street.

MR STRYDOM: So what you're saying is that this flare created light also in the area over the bridge, because you saw the vehicles in the area of the footbridge?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: It was - there was light all over the place.

CHAIRPERSON: What Mr Strydom is asking you is whether the shot that was fired into the air, which flared up, is that the shot which provided you with the light to be able to see the two motor vehicles which were travelling along Umzimvubu?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Besides that there was light all the time, but the light became even more bright after this thing was fired in the air.

CHAIRPERSON: If it had not been for this light which came from this shot that was fired into the air, would you have been able to see those two motor vehicles which were travelling along Umzimvubu?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes.

MR STRYDOM: Now can you describe the colour of the two vehicles that travelled in Umzimvubu?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: You see yesterday I said that these Koyokos, the ones that you are talking about, are such that you cannot tell their type.  They have different colours very day, depending on what was preferred on that day.

MR STRYDOM: Now you already testified that you saw a group of people in the vicinity of the Koyokos close to, in Umzimvubu Street.  Now I want to know, did you see a crowd of people apart from the passengers of those vehicles, in the vicinity of the other three vehicles that were now standing in front of Metal Box?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: These people were walking on the open space.  There were many of them.  They were moving in the light that was provided by the Koyokos, so that they could see ditches and they could avoid them as they were moving along.
	The vehicles that were parked near Metal Box were just stationary there and after the group had walked past, the first two started moving on and the three followed from behind and they took the direction towards the hostel.

MR STRYDOM: So are you saying there were actually two groups, the one group of people that walked in the vicinity of Metal Box with, in front of those vehicles and the other group that were down in Umzimvubu Street and eventually crossed the footbridge?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I said there is no - I am saying only a few people took the direction towards the robots, the majority of the group took the direction towards the footpath.

MR STRYDOM: Let me ask you this way, the group that was walking in front of the vehicles that were stationary at Metal Box and which followed them later on, which why did they follow towards the hostel?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: It was only a few people who went along that road.  They were headed towards the factories and the Koyokos had always been stationary there.  After the had all passed, the Koyokos proceeded towards the robots.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Baloyi, do you know a police motor vehicle which is commonly referred to as a suitcase?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Those are ...(indistinct) vehicles.

CHAIRPERSON: Do you know them?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, I do.

MR STRYDOM: Do you know about the military vehicle, a smallish motor vehicle ...(intervention)

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I cannot specify all types of military vehicles, I'm not a soldier.

MR STRYDOM: That night did you see a vehicle, a small vehicle that's covered in glass so the people sitting inside can look outside?  They call the vehicle a microwave.

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I did not see that vehicle.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you say they call this car a microwave?

MR STRYDOM: Yes, that's correct, because it gets so hot inside.
	Am I right in saying that the majority of the attackers you saw moving out of the township moved towards the footbridge, only a few people or attackers followed the vehicles that were travelling from Metal Box towards the robots?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: They did not follow them.  I said they did not follow them, they preceded the vehicles and the vehicles followed.

MR STRYDOM: But only a few people took that route.

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: Yes, a few.  Maybe they had missed their way or something.

CHAIRPERSON: Were these people walking along Umzimvubu Road?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: They went along Bafokeng Street, most of them, but then they used different streets whilst they were in the township.  So it is possible that these were the people who had been lost.  We were watching them all the time.

MR STRYDOM: When did you get - or did you in fact get onto the garage of your house to get a better look or view?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: That is correct.

MR STRYDOM: When was that?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: When the Koyokos had left I went onto the rooftop of the garage to check if there were no other vehicles that had been around.

MR STRYDOM: Did you see any other vehicles?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I saw military vehicles travelling along Frikkie Meyer.  They were stationary at Frikkie Meyer.

MR STRYDOM: What kind of military vehicles, is that the Hippos or what?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: You've just spoken about them, suitcases.

MR LAX: Mr Strydom, could I just ask something here, just for a moment if you will?
	You said you got onto your garage when the Koyokos had left.  Left where, at what stage are you talking about?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: They were headed towards the hostel.

MR LAX: Yes, but where had they left from at that point?  That's what I'm trying to understand.

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: They have been leaving, or they left from Metal Box and the other two had left from Umzimvubu.

MR LAX: You see you've lost me now.  You told us that there were two at a tree near Metal Box, one joined them.  You then said the two at the footbridge then proceeded towards Metal Box, towards the robots and then there five.  Now what I'm trying to understand is, at which stage did you get onto the roof, was it - I'm just not sure and I'm not sure which vehicles left where at what point.  Do you understand my problem?

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: I said the two vehicles that had been travelling along Umzimvubu headed towards the robots and then the three that had been at Metal Box also left and then regrouped and proceeded towards the hostel.  That is when I went to the rooftop.

MR LAX: Thank you, that's very much clearer for me, thank you.

MR STRYDOM: Why did you say in your evidence-in-chief, and I've got a note here
"As I was standing on top of the garage, I saw a Koyoco parked under the tree in Amatola Street.  It drove off that street and went to the street near Metal Box factory and joined two other parked vehicles."
So what you said in chief is that you got onto the garage at a much earlier stage, when that one vehicle was still there at the tree at Amatola Street.

MACHIHLILE WILSON BALOYI: You are just questioning me on one thing, but that is not how it happened.  I told you clearly before, from yesterday, you are still questioning me on one issue.  It doesn't help that I should repeat ...(intervention)

CHAIRPERSON: And what would also be helpful is for you to answer the question.  If the answer is yes, you will say yes, if the answer is no, you say no.  It will not help us to get into an argument with counsel.  He is doing his job when he asks you the questions.