Human Rights Violation Hearings — Winelands — 1996-10-16

MR MCCLUNE: Yes, I was present at that meeting.  It was a placard demonstration.  Before I proceed to tell what happened that day I want to give a short overview of why the Wolseley Civic Organization asked for a permit for a peaceful legal placard demonstration.  And what I also wish to tell the Commission is to what happened exactly that day.
 Wolseley Civic Movement was established on the 27th of September to get the inhabitancy in the Municipal area and the people from the surrounding areas to protect them against oppression by the Police.  During that year for example in 1989 the Municipality of Wolseley  [indistinct] .  During 1990 the Municipality of Wolseley evicted people from their houses.  People who were unemployed and could not pay their rent any more.
 During that specific year in 1989 there was also a shooting incident in Wolseley.  People were shot at - people who were coming from the station, that happened on a Friday evening.  James September was shot in the leg with sharp ammunition and I thing Adv Denzil Potgieter handled that case if I remember correctly.  That was why that organization was established.  The members of this organization were also house owners but most of the members were people from sub-economic houses.  The Municipality through the years had a fund to maintain these houses and also forums for community facilitation especially for those people living in sub-economic houses.
 These people also then had a right to - have their houses repaired but they had to sit and wait for a long time and nothing happened.  The people from Wolseley felt that there was a need for a democratically chosen Municipal Council which was non-sexist and  non-racist.  In 1990 the management of the Civic Organization  had discussion with the previous board.  We were regarded as a Management Committee and we asked for a permit to hold a peaceful placard demonstration.  This application was approved and on the 10th of October there was a placard demonstration to the Municipal Offices.
 One of the grievances was about the Community Hall - the opening of the Community Hall.  And now the Town Council distributed a pamphlet in town, the two apartheid institutions namely the previous Town Council and the Management Committee went ahead to open this Community Hall.  Invitations were sent to various inhabitants of Wolseley and this cause unhappiness in the Community.
The management of Wolseley's Civic movement wanted to sit together and to negotiate with the Town Council to avoid this uncertainty in this community and to solve the problems.  
 On request of the members of the Civics and - all the other people and the management asked a permit for a peaceful placard demonstration.  We have the letter of approval we received on the Friday before this demonstration.  We received it from the local Magistrate.  The main purpose of this demonstration was to show the dissatisfaction of the people in a peaceful management - manner to the Town Council and other high ranking people and people we were going to invite.  
 According to this letter of approval this demonstration would have lasted 4 hours.  That means from 2 o'clock in the afternoon till 6 o'clock.  A colored rope was attached to the Western side of the Community Hall in such a way that the placard demonstration served no purpose at all.  There was also a thick rope attached to the pillars before the Community Hall.
At about 2 o'clock that afternoon when all these demonstrators arrived at the Town Hall the police have taken in their places in front of the Community Hall armed with guns.  Most of the people who had been invited were already in the Community Hall.
 During this demonstration many of the people invited who were sitting in the hall sometimes went - left the Community Hall stood next to policemen and sheered at the demonstrators.  One of them also said  Shoot them dead, I approached a Captain Hougaard who was in charge there in front of the Town Hall and asked him that the - some of the people who were invited were standing next to his policemen and were sheering at these demonstrators and asking to shoot them dead.
 This has a negative influence - this was a very negative approach from the police because they were aiming at the police with their weapons.  Captain Hougaard said that he was going to talk to the police but he never came so far.  This rope - during this demonstration this rope broke and the people asked if they could not stand behind the rope which was in front of the Town Hall.  I again approached Captain Hougaard and conveyed the people's request to him.  Captain Hougaard agreed and said that the people should remain behind the rope.  
 About 20 to 6 that afternoon the guests started leaving the hall.  The Town Clerk - Mr Burmister - and the previous Mayor - Mr Stemmet - were the first to leave the hall and they went to their Kombi.  The other guests also approached, Captain Hougaard said and at that stage he took up his megaphone - it was about 20 to 6 and he said he would give the demonstrators 5 minutes time to disperse and right after that - after he said that the previous Mayor said  Shoot them dead.  
After that  the police immediately started shooting.  I want to explain that in detail - I want to explain what Captain Hougaard had said and how - what Stemmet had said.  The police said I give 5 minutes time to disperse, the Mayor said shoot them dead and then the police started shooting.  
 People started running away, while they were running the police shot tear gas and also with buck shot.  I and some other people ran to a yard to get to a tap because our eyes were burning.  We went through a back street till we came to the - to the corner of Petunia and Church Street.  A group of people was standing there.  It was about 800 m from the Community Hall, at that stage 2 police vans arrived at the Community Hall.  
 And from there the people could shoot at the people in the Community.  We immediately telephoned our legal representative in Bellville, Mr Ralph Stuurman.  In the meanwhile the ambulance arrived to pick up some of the people who were injured.  After we had contacted our lawyer I got into my motorcar and went to Dr Nell's surgery.
 Having arrived there another ambulance arrived there with 14 other injured people.  I asked the ambulance drivers whether they had contacted Dr Nell but they were waiting a little while.  The - the injured people put the people on the lawn in front of Dr Nell's surgery.  About - after 30 to 40 minutes Dr Nell had not yet arrived there.  Then the ambulance people took these injured people to Eben Donges Hospital.  Then around 8 o'clock that evening our lawyer arrived and he asked us why were the police still shooting.  Why were they driving around in the streets in the community?  I said we didn't know, we've already asked them to withdraw because it was unnecessary to drive around in the streets and to shoot at us.  
 We went to the Charge Office where the lawyer asked that the police should withdraw because he saw that the police were still shooting.  They told us that the police would then withdraw but they kept on shooting.  They never stopped at that stage, we went back to our lawyer and round about 10 o'clock that evening the police only stopped shooting and no more Casspirs and police van were noticeable in the community.  
 The lawyer returned to Bellville and we went back to our houses.  Early the next morning people telephoned me that a certain person with the name - by the name of Edward Booysen was found in gutter.  The police took him to the Charge Office we immediately contacted our lawyer again - that Sunday afternoon he came back accompanied by 2 doctors from Groote Schuur Hospital and also a person who was a specialist in sharp ammunition.
 The Civic Movement had a meeting that afternoon where these specialist from Bellville and Cape Town and after that meeting we went to the Charge Office.  Our lawyer asked Sergeant Krigler who was the Station Commander at that stage to see the body.  He gave us permission to see this body and all - I and these specialist took various notes.  They took down notes of everything which they noticed on his body and this person - he was a specialist in sharp ammunition said that he was shot wit buck shot and also sharp ammunition.  We laid a charge and Edward Booysen and all the other injured were assisted by Stuurman and Advocate Tredoux from Cape Town.  
In 1993 there was  a court case round about October - November.  The 14 injured people gave evidence and I also gave evidence.  Edward Booysen's case was also brought to court, in the mean while they went to his niece and quietly they bribed her and the whole court case was finalized quietly.  Edward - they said that Edward Booysen did not have a mother.
Approximately 3 weeks afterwards the police - half past 5 that morning the police picked up these people and laid a charge of public violence, but later this - this charge was withdrawn.  This is all I would like to say.