Special Hearings — Prison Hearings — 1997-07-21

DR BORAINE: I would like to invite Deborah Marakalala to come forward please.  Deborah Marakalala?  We'd like your cooperation please, will you please take your seats and could we have quiet.  Miss Marakalala?  Could I just remind you that there are interpreters present and translation services in Afrikaans, English, Tswana and Sotho or Xhosa and Zulu.  It is our understanding that most of the witnesses are going to speak in English but if there are those of you who have difficulty following that, please indicate to some of our staff so that they can make sure you've got headphones so that the translation can be made available to you..  Miss Marakalala we would like to welcome you very warmly.  Will you be speaking in English or in some other language?

UNKNOWN: I prefer to speak in Sotho so that I can express myself well.

DR BORAINE: Fine, you will be speaking in Sotho.  May I just say that we are delighted to see you and very grateful to you for being with us.  I would ask you to stand to take the oath please.

UNKNOWN: (sworn states)

DR BORAINE: Thank you very much, please be seated.  Mr Hugh Lewin will facilitate your evidence which you will give in Sotho so those of you who don't follow Sotho, please make sure you've got headphones so that you can hear the translation on Channel 3 sorry Channel 4.  Thank you very much.

MR LEWIN: Deborah I'd like to welcome you or Josephine or Mogadi whichever you'd prefer, we are very grateful to you for coming.  We are going to be talking about a different set of experiences in the next segment.  We heard this morning particularly about Robben Island but what we will now be hearing from you is specifically of women and in your own case, dealing with experiences in 1986 and in this area.  If I could just confirm, you are from Tembisa?

UNKNOWN: Yes I'm from Tembisa.

DR BORAINE: You work as an editor?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

DR BORAINE: What I would like you to do please is to take us through your experience both as you say in police cells and subsequently at Sun City Prison which is still functioning as a prison.  Just take us through that in your own time and your own words, thank you very much.

UNKNOWN: I thank you Chairperson.  I won't say much of when they arrested me.  I was arrested at church, I used to work for the church and I was the advice officer there.  What I may say is, upon my arrest it was as if they were going to arrest soldiers because they arrived in Hippos, Casspirs and "mellow yellow" cars which were police cars as they were known those days, they even searched the church premises for weapons.  Upon my arrest, before they could confirm I am Deborah the one they were looking for, the children of the minister for whom I worked were assaulted by the police in order to find out from them that I was indeed Deborah.
 After one of the policemen who knew me confirmed that I was Deborah the one they were looking for, I admitted to being Deborah.  I was then taken to Tembisa police station in the "mellow yellow" police vehicle and we were in a convoy.  On arrival at Tembisa police station I found that there were policemen in a guard of honour as if a Mayor or a high ranked police official was about to arrive at the police station.

MRS SEROKE: Do not wait for the interpretation, please continue as people can understand and follow the interpretation.