Amnesty Hearings — Vanderbijlpark — 1999-05-13

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: That is what I say.

MR STRYDOM: Was this a common thing, that police vehicles will drive around and if they find these people on guard, that they will tell them to go to bed and stop the guard?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: That night when we were on patrol that is when I heard of that.

MR STRYDOM: What kind of vehicle ...(intervention)

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: Koyoco.

MR STRYDOM: Now you already said:"Koyoco".

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: It was a Koyoco.

MR STRYDOM: What was the colour of the Koyoco?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: It was night time, I did not recognise the colour.

MR STRYDOM: How many occupants did this vehicle have, do you know?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: I did not see them.

MR STRYDOM: What did you see about this Koyoco, did it come to a standstill, did people get out, what did you see?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: They did not alight out of the vehicle, they shot the teargas.

MR STRYDOM: What was your position at the time that you saw the Koyoco?

CHAIRPERSON: You mean position in what, in society?

MR STRYDOM: No, in the township, his location, where was he standing or sitting.

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: Please explain status in society or you mean position in society or where was I standing.  Please explain very clearly for me.

MR STRYDOM: Yes.  Where were you in Boipatong when you saw the Koyoco?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: We were in Baralong Street.

MR STRYDOM: Were you close to any intersection or close to any house you can mention a number?  I just want to get the position.

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: At Thaba Baseu and Baralong intersection it was the second house which I entered in.

MR STRYDOM: That's now the position where you were, what was the position of the Koyoco when those words were said from the Koyoco?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: It was in Majola Street moving along Majola Street and coming into Thaba Baseu Street.

MR STRYDOM: You say that the vehicle turned into Thaba Baseu and started driving in the direction of Baralong?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: We were running away.  As it came we ran away and hid ourselves in the yards nearby, but it entered into Baralong Street.

MR STRYDOM: What I'm asking you is, did the vehicle turn into Thaba Baseu from Majola Street?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: It was not from Majola.  You said how far was it.

MR STRYDOM: No, all I want to know is in which street was this vehicle when those people shouted: "Hamba lala"?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: I said in Majola Street.  We were in Baralong.

MR STRYDOM: Yes.  So the houses were inbetween yourselves and this vehicle, because you're in one block down, one block further away towards the southern direction, is that correct?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: Will you please explain, I do not understand the question.

MR STRYDOM: Yes.  You said the vehicle was in Majola Street, you were in Baralong Street, so you were one street block down or towards the south from this vehicle, isn't it so?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Strydom, the applicant's may have a case different from the impression I'm getting from the evidence.  As I understand the evidence and the background to this attack, and this is what was put, which was the evidence of Mr Baloyi;  from time to time the police patrolled Boipatong, and this is what the residents apparently did not like and which is why they erected the barricades in and around the township.  Is that common cause or is that an issue?

MR STRYDOM: I would say that's common cause.

CHAIRPERSON: It is common cause, yes indeed.  Now is it an issue that on the day of the attack those patrols continued?

MR STRYDOM: The applicants can't really comment on that because they were not there.

CHAIRPERSON: I understand that.

MR STRYDOM: The police will be able to say that.  But I will accept that patrols continued during, if it was a normal patrol it probably carried on during that day.

CHAIRPERSON: Well it was a normal - well if the patrol was there the previous day, unless there was no reason to patrol on the - so you're saying it is common cause that the police would patrol the township, that's not an issue?

MR STRYDOM: That's not an issue.

CHAIRPERSON: Okay.  Right now ...(intervention)

MR STRYDOM: Chairperson, but as I see it, the reason why this witness is called is to make, to say that very shortly after these people were chased away, the attack started.  So the reason why this witness obviously was called is to make that nexus and that's the basis why I want to track this witness on, specifically time, as to establish when in relation to the attack, this incident took place.  And I would submit that is relevant.

CHAIRPERSON: No-one is suggesting it isn't.  I just wanted to make sure that I understand what the issues are.  I understand that you ...

MR STRYDOM: Thank you, Chairperson.
	Let's just take it from where I stopped.  The police - let me just establish that, you referred to a Hippo, is that correct?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: Koyoco.

MR STRYDOM: Yes, I will leave that to my learned friend.  When the people from the Koyoco shouted: "Hamba lala" you were a block away from the, is that correct, a street block?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: I want to explain to Strydom that this car was driving along Majola, it came along Thaba Baseu from Bapedi Street.  You have a street that goes down Thaba Baseu, it joins Bapedi and Thaba Baseu.

MR STRYDOM: And when you saw this vehicle you started running away, is that correct?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: Those were our lives.

MR STRYDOM: But why did you run away?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: They would shoot at us with teargas if they would find us in the streets.  We were running away for our lives.

MR STRYDOM: How did you know that they would shoot teargas, did they normally do that, that's the question.

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: They did shoot at us with teargas.

MR STRYDOM: Yes, on that occasion you say they fired teargas, but had they done that before?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: I'm referring to incidents of the 17th day of June 1992.

MR STRYDOM: That's exactly the question, Sir.  How did you know that they will fire teargas, why did you start running away?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: They sprayed teargas.

MR STRYDOM: Wasn't this just a normal police patrol of the kind that's been happening for a long time in Boipatong at that stage?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: Do you mean teargas, spraying or shooting of teargas?

MR STRYDOM: Yes.

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: I do not know on that score.

MR STRYDOM: Did you run away from police vehicles before, whilst patrolling?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: I never ran away from a police car before I started patrolling.

MR STRYDOM: You said that the people in your group didn't have any weapons, is that so?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: That is correct.

MR STRYDOM: Did you always patrol without weapons?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: That is so, and I would ask myself what would we do if attackers would come and us having no weapons.

MR STRYDOM: Why did you bother to patrol if you were unarmed?  What can you do if you're not armed?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: I did not know that the attackers would come armed.

CHAIRPERSON: You're telling us that you always ask your question, I mean what would we do if we are attacked because we are not armed?  Is that the question you ask yourself?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: That is correct.

CHAIRPERSON: What did you find?

THABO JOHANNES RAHANTLHANE: It was a question that remained like that.  Knowing that as a resident I would have to go out and patrol like other men.

CHAIRPERSON: Did you ever raise this, did you ever ask this question from your fellow patrollers, as to: "Hey, what if we are attacked here?"