Human Rights Violation Hearings — Worcester — 1996-06-24

MR OPPERMAN: We have never actually spoken to one another, we just avoid one another.  I try and avoid this person because I would not mind hurting this police officer myself.

ADV POTGIETER: Did you make any claims?

MR OPPERMAN: Yes, I made contact with an attorney, but this attorneys never comes back to me with regard to a possible claim.

ADV POTGIETER: Were you ever charged for doing something wrong?

MR OPPERMAN: No, when I left the hospital, a police officer tried to get a statement from me, but then Gerry Johnson, my attorney, told me to not give any statements to the police.  And then Father Wheeler was told to take me away.  He took me away to Cape Town.  And then I stayed with family members of mine in Cape Town for a week until Gerry  came and saw me there.

ADV POTGIETER: Do you have any children?

MR OPPERMAN: Yes, I have four children.

ADV POTGIETER: Does your wife have work?

MR OPPERMAN: Yes, she works.

ADV POTGIETER: Are there any request you would like to direct to the Commission, Mr Opperman?  Is there any way in which you think that the Commission could particularly be of help to you?  Any particular way?

MR OPPERMAN: If I think about the future, if my other eye looses something.  How am I going to take care of my family.  Who will I be able to ask for help for my wife and children.

ADV POTGIETER: What do you think will happen if you no longer able to work?  If your eye looses it's ability,  your remaining eye, what would happen to you?

MR OPPERMAN: There is a lot one can say in this regard.  My children are used to receiving what they need, but if I eventually get in darkness, what will I be able to do for my children in the future.  These children will just see me as burden which will be unnecessary thing because of the work of someone else's hands.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you Mr Opperman.  I just want to hear if my colleague has any question.  Do you have any questions?

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: [indistinct] Chairperson - I just want to put things into perspective a bit.  But first I'd liked to say that it must be extremely difficult for you to suddenly loose sight or loose the use of one of your - of your eyes for nothing - which -for something which you do not understand.
And it seems that you were not the only one who suffered the consequences of senseless shooting  in Ashton.  During the month of May and June through to July 1990,  which  is the year when you lost the use of your eye, there were a series of events in Ashton.  One of them was a march by women, both from Ou Kamp, the Coloured township and from Zolani.  Do you know about that?

MR OPPERMAN: Nee.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: You do not know about that.  Do you know Mr Jakobus Daniels and Lukas Jantjies?

MR OPPERMAN: Nee.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: They were residents in Ou Kamp who also got injuries and they did not know what was happening, like yourself.  Do you know Mr Jan Gertse?

MR OPPERMAN: Jan Gertse?

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: Ja.

MR OPPERMAN: Nee.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: Do know Mr Karl Opperman?

MR OPPERMAN: Dis ek persoonlik self.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: Are you the Karl that is noted in our research notes.  Now ,can you tell us what happened to Mr Jan Gertse.

MR OPPERMAN: I was already in hospital and then on either the Sunday or the Monday morning, he arrived in the hospital.  I am not exactly sure what happened myself that he landed up in hospital.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: [indistinct] - but his condition now just in terms of his vision, what is his condition?

MR OPPERMAN: Jan Gertse and his wife and his children were burned out.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: [indistinct]  - a few days before you were shot or along during the same period that you were shot?

MR OPPERMAN: Is this about Jan Gertse death.  About  a year later Jan Gertse  was only burned up with his wife and children.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: [indistinct]  - there was a consumer boycott during May, that was launched in May, do you know about that?

MR OPPERMAN: No.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: We have information from our research department that during May there was a consumer boycott in Ashton which was joined by people from Ou Kamp and people from Zolani as well.  As result there was a lot of activity in Ashton and many conflicts between the police and the resident of Ou Kamp and Zolani.
I am just trying to understand why the police would be roaming about in the township and from what we have heard in our hearing since we started, there is - there are many stories from people who were shot under circumstances that they themselves could not explain, except to say that people - police were just shooting indiscriminately.  I am trying to place what happened to you in a context for us to understand the action of the police at the time.
You were shot by people for something that you knew nothing about but I would just like to explain to you that it seems from what we have heard from our research department that police were shooting around townships during that period and you were one of those people who were shot at, one of the victims of that senseless shooting that seems to have taken at the time, according to our research.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you Pumla.  Mr Opperman you can take off the ear pieces.  We have listened to your testimony.  As my colleague indicated to you, our office has looked into the matter and has done their investigation of the circumstances in Ashton in that time and the various different meaningless, senseless activities that happened at that time.  It is very disquieting to listen to your testimony.  
You were just walking down the road, you did nothing wrong, suddenly you shot, it was a totally senseless act.  You lost your eye, you experienced the anxiety of a father and a breadwinner, a man who is worried that you might loose the use of your other eye and that you will just be in the way of other people, that you will be useless to them and a burden to them.
We have many cases like this, that as my colleague pointed out to you, where we listened, specially people who lost their eyes, and where those people who were supposed to bring law and order, and those very people became a threat to the community.
We have heard about the anxieties that you have mentioned to us.  The Commission has limited abilities, and within those limited abilities and with the limited resources  we have, we will try and see how we can help people.  We thank you for the time you have spent to come and tell your story for us.  We thank your wife for supporting you here and we hope that you will not come into the situation that you fear.  That you will turn out to be useless to your family because of the senseless acts of others and we wish you the very best.  Thank you.