Human Rights Violation Hearings — Mmabatho — 1996-07-08

ANDRIES KOTO: On the 27th of November at around eight, half past eight I met a safari which was run by the police.  When the police saw me they got out of the safari. It was Shimi MMABATHO HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
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Tladi and James.  When I tried to move forward, they said to me, hey tsotsi.  When I turned around they shot my in my arm and my arm was shaking.  And they also hit me on my stomach and I fell down.
 When I was still lying down this Inkatha van came around and they took me and kicked me.  While I was still unconscious and bleeding and crying they threw me into the van.  While I was still in the van they drove around up to a shop, where another gentleman came around by the name of Makobe who put a gun on my forehead and said I still can breath I am not yet dead.
 When he tried to press this gun another guy cried out and said, I know this person sir and then he hit me with the butt of the gun on my forehead.  And from there they took me to the police station.   
 At the police station they tried to put me in the mortuary at the police station.  While they tried to do that, I heard people screaming, one of them, they call him Zero, said they should send me to the hospital.
 From the hospital they send me to Kimberley.  At Kimberley I arrived in an unconscious state and I woke up in about ten to fourteen days.   I had all blood, water drips on my body and I spend some days at Kimberley.  
 After some weeks they asked me if I could walk and I couldn't, because I was shaky and they put me in a wheelchair with which they pushed me around and the following day they took me to Galashewe.
 Whilst I was in Galashewe, I think I stayed for about two to three days, and my pains were getting better by then and they sent me Disheshe and I had a plaster on my leg and the operation was still new and my body wasn't yet healed.
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 Whilst I was still at home a policeman came home by the name of Strydom and he was coming to take a statement from me.   When I told him to take my statement he said I was lying in my statement and he started punching me, kicking me and kicked me on my operation.  I was crying and screaming very hard.
 And he made me stay there for quite a while.  Whilst I was still staying he took me home and they said you were not going to make a statement anymore, you are going straight to court.
 And after a few days Mabila and Brand came to me and they said we should go and make a statement of what happened to me.
 They took me with them to write a statement.  While I was writing a statement they said my statement wasn't clear and they said I should give a clear statement, I shouldn't lie in my statement.
 And then I told them that this is the only statement I could give and then they took me home.   While I was still at home - I stayed for about two to three days at home - in 1986, that is, Brand came back to me together with Mabilo and they took me to the police station again, where I explained to them that you brought me sometimes to say I must a statement and you said I was lying in my statement.
  Strydom then assaulted me again and said that my operation was healed and that I would not be having any injuries anymore.  And I have lied in my statement.
 Whilst I was sitting together with them in the office I asked them to take me to Kimberley so that I could take off my plaster.  And they said they would see me after I come back from Kimberley.
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 While I was preparing to go away they said are there any policeman who are guarding you at Kimberley?  I said, yes.  I saw a policeman but I was not sure who he was guarding.  And then I went back to Kimberley to take off the plaster.
 On the following day I returned.  And then Brand visited me again.  Brand came to me and ask me about the statement I wrote.  And they said they have misplaced it.  And they asked me whether I was ready to write another statement.  I refused and he forced me to do that.
 I gave them the same statement as the last I have given to them.  And then he looked at it and said it wasn't quite clear.  And then he tore up the papers and made me give another statement.   And then he read it again and said again, it wasn't clear.  And then I wrote a third statement.  And then I wrote it the way he wanted me to write it.   And then he agreed to that statement.
 Whilst I was sitting there, he left me at about 3 o'clock.  I went home.  While I was at home I felt the pains from the kick I received from him on my operations.   And I 
asked to be send to a doctor, so that he could give me treatment.  And then I asked that from Brand and Brand said to me, I can't take you to the doctor and you can go home then.  I will take you after a few days to a doctor.  
 While I was still nursing my arm a few weeks passed by and then the police visited me again in the evening.  They were about four or five.  They were looking for a comrade at my place but they couldn't find him.  
 And them they took me into the Landrover and I drove around with them to the police station.  Whilst we were at the police station they took me again to the Ganesa Road to MMABATHO HEARING TRC/NORTH WEST
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Lang Boom where they handcuffed me and they put electric shocks on my private parts and on my behind.  Then they pressed the machine.  And they said if you are not telling the truth today you are going to die.   And I said to them, the only truth I told you was the one I told you last time.
 And then they pressed this machine on and when they did that I was also crying.  And then they switched the machines off later and I said I am guilty and I agreed to what they wanted me to say to them.
 At about 3 o'clock they took me back to the police station to a room which was very dark and they started teargassing me again, pouring me with hot water and they pulled a sack over my head and told me blow that sack.  By that time I was painful, my body was very painful from the kicks I received from them.
 At about 6 o'clock in the morning Captain Brand came
and I told him that I was in the hands of other policemen who took me from home and who assaulted me in the veld.  And then they handcuffed me and told me that my statement wasn't clear and then Brand said to me, go home, I'll take you in the afternoon.   I will come together with those policemen and put them on a parade so that you could identify them.
 And then we went to the parade and he asked me to identify the police who assaulted me in the evening, but none of them was present.  I thought they were reservists.  I then thought I am having a big problem and then I ran away to my uncle at Pudumo and stayed for three weeks.  
 Whilst I was still in Pudumo I send a message home asking if there were policemen looking for me.  And then they said no, they haven't come here since you left.  And then I came home back again.
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 Whilst I was still at home, after a few days Mabilo visited me together with Brand.  And they said to me, we are going to take another statement and we want to send it to court.
 I said, it is okay, if you want to take a statement I will give it to you and there were also two lawyers from the UDF who were white men.  It was in the evening at the police station.
 Whilst we were still there, whilst I was writing my statement Mabilo interpreted what I was saying, because I was speaking in Tswana and he was speaking in Afrikaans.  Whilst he was interpreting to them in Afrikaans another policeman, I think it was their friend - they were very drunk that evening - they entered the building and they insulted me before my father and I didn't say anything because I was afraid I would be assaulted again and then they left and I went home with my father.
 The following morning Brand and Mabilo came to me and they made me sign a document and told me that you will be going to court on a Saturday.
 I kept those papers and on the day that I had to go to court they never came around to fetch me up until now.