Human Rights Violation Hearings — Bisho — 1996-11-18

MR POTGIETER: Yes no problem Mr Vantyu.  Thank you very much for these photographs we've got that, and you are free to....

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: I will be just two minutes.

MR POTGIETER: Okay.
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BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: As the Commissioners might have seen this is the skipper jacket that I was wearing on that particular day.
 On the day of the march, 7 September 1992 we left the regional office of the ANC in East London for King Williamstown.  There was a road block of the SAP on the road to King Williamstown.  When we reached Victoria grounds in King Williamstown I learned from the marshals that there were roadblocks on the other roads to King Williamstown as well.  At this point I would like to inform the Commission that I was involved in the training of those marshals in crowd control, as the person who was responsible for security in the region.  I taught them how to conduct searches for arms and all those things, which most of the time when they were executing their duties I used to help them with.
 The leadership held a meeting at the offices of the Border Council of Churches after which the march proceeded to Bisho.  During this march I was not assigned to bodyguard anybody in particular but assisted the marshals with crowd control, hence I was always at the head of the march.  I must point out that the stated objective of the march was that we are going to march into Bisho, and I wanted to make sure that I was always at the front of the march because I knew most of the marshals because of the position I held at the office.  Along the route of the march there was a heavy deployment by both the SAP and SADF.  They also deployed, that is the SA security forces in the ravine bordering King Williamstown.  Comrades will remember if you go on the route to King Williamstown on the left there is a ravine that goes down there with bushes and there were soldiers 
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deployed there.  Their deployment was different from the previous march that we held to Bisho.  
 When we reached the Ciskei border we discovered that the route to Bisho, that is the tarred road was closed with razor wire.  At this stage some negotiations took place between members of the national Peace Committee and some of the leadership.  In the meantime deputy minister Ronnie Kasrils and other comrades went to the stadium.  I saw them walking along the fence of the stadium.  On their return they reported that there was a gap in the fence which we could use as an access route to Bisho.
 Just behind the razor fence there were Ciskei police personnel, that is on the tarred road.  I could see CDF members along the fence of the Parliament next to the building of the Fort Hare university branch and on the road leading from the other side of the Bisho stadium.  It was decided that Ronnie Kasrils and other leaders would lead a group that should go towards the stadium and then change course and go through the gap in the fence.  I went with this group.  We went towards the stadium, that is we entered the perimeter fence of the stadium and we went inside and suddenly changed course to the gap in the fence.  I was running on the right flank of the group, that is if the Commissioners can remember the geographical setting in Bisho.  The right-hand side I refer to would be the one towards the tarred road, towards Fort Hare branch, I was at the extreme of that group, always running with the front people.
 When we were about 50 to 60 metres beyond the fence I suddenly heard gunfire.  I tripped in a ditch but didn't fall and as I turned to my left to look for Ronnie I felt 
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something terrible happening on my right flank, that is here.  In actual fact at that stage I thought I was hit by a rubber bullet or something. ...(tape ends)  ....but could get no answer.  I called on Ronnie and told him that I was hurt.  I tried to crawl to him and his bodyguard Toto, but couldn't move my right leg.  Toto and Ronnie crawled to me and I showed Toto how to use my radio but still nobody answered.  Ronnie said I should hold on until the shooting stops.  When the shooting stopped I was carried by four people including Ronnie and Comrade Smuts Monyama.  They put me under the entrance to the Bisho stadium, which was nearest to us, that is there are those tunnels that covered the entrance.  As I could notice and later ascertain from other comrades I was the only person hit on the front group.  Some injured people were brought from the stadium to the same entrance.  
 I would like to emphasise this point.  As we ran through the gap in the fence the only soldiers that I could see were the soldiers that were deployed along the dirt road on the other side of the stadium, and in my experience if those soldiers had shot at us, if it was that column of soldiers that shot at us they would have hit us from the front and they would have hit most people in that column.  Hence it is my belief that most of the people that were shot at in Bisho were shot by people who were either shooting from the Parliamentary side or the Fort Hare University side.   And I also believe that I was shot by those people. 
 I will ask the Commission that I would like to demonstrate the inlet and outlet wound at this stage Mr Chairman.

MR POTGIETER: Is that also the relevance of the clothing
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that you put on?

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: Ja.

MR POTGIETER: Alright I will just place that on record.  When Mr Vantyu took the stand after giving an introductory section of his testimony he asked permission to change his clothing, the top part of his clothing.  He was dressed in a black top or black jacket when he came on the stand and he had with him in a shopping bag the clothing that he says he wore on the actual day of the incident which is a, looks like a beige to me from where I am sitting, a beige windbreaker and a beige skipper, sweater.  And Mr Vantyu now wants to demonstrate the entrance and the exit wounds that he sustained on the particular day.  Would you please go ahead.

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: I don't know how you are going to see or should I come down there?

MR POTGIETER: It's okay we can see there, it's alright.

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: The inlet wound is right on the spine if you look at - can you see the black dot here?

MR POTGIETER: Yes there's a ...(intervention)

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: Right on the spine.

MR POTGIETER: Right in the middle of your back there's a small stain that you have pointed out which indicates the entrance wound?

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: Ja.

MR POTGIETER: Right next to your spine?

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: Ja.

MR POTGIETER: Right.

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: The outlet wound is right on the flank, this is the outlet wound.

MR POTGIETER: Right on the right-hand side of the body
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there's a large - can you just lift it up again please, there's a larger brownish stain and what appears to be a cut, wound that has healed on the side, the right hand side of the body.

BUSHY PETROS VANTYU: With this I would like to demonstrate the fact that when we were running through the veld the Fort Hare University branch was on our right, almost at the back, and as the shooting started I turned towards my left to go towards Ronnie, and my analysis is that I was shot by a person from this angle.  If you look at the clothes, though the inlet wound looks very tiny it's not directly on the spine if you look at it, the small dot here, it's a bit on the side.

MR POTGIETER: Yes right next to the spine.