Human Rights Violation Hearings — Klerksdorp — 1996-09-25

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Simon Rabesi Phiri.  Mr Tom Manthata will help him with his testimony.  Mr Phiri, can you hear me?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: The speaker's mike is not on.

CHAIRPERSON: Can I repeat it?  Mr Phiri, can you hear me?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: I can hear you.

CHAIRPERSON: You are comfortable and ready to tell your story.

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: I am ready.

CHAIRPERSON: You have brought somebody sitting at your right-hand, will you introduce him to us, please?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: This is my sister's child, Jack Motomo from Venstersdorp.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Motomo, welcome to you too.  Thank you for coming.  Now Mr Phiri, before you give your testimony, can you take the oath, please?  Will you stand?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: (Duly sworn, states).

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.  Now Mr Phiri, I hand you over to Mr Tom Manthata, who will guide you through your story.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Mr Phiri, we welcome you and your little brother. Now tell us, Mr Phiri, who are you, what do you do?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: I am Simon Phiri from Venstersdorp. I am married, I am 30 years old, I have two children. I have a tuck shop
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at home, and that is what I am doing.

THOMAS MANTHATA: What do you sell in your tuck shop?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: I am selling fruits and vegetables and chicken pieces.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Before you were running this shop, what were you doing?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: I was working at West Deep mine and worked on a contract and then we were retrenched and I went back home and I opened this small business.

THOMAS MANTHATA: What is your wife doing?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: She is not working, she is a sickly person.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Are your children at school?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Yes, they are schooling.  My father passed away, I think it is two years back.

THOMAS MANTHATA: When you talk of your father, are you referring to your brothers and sisters?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: No, I am referring to my father.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Now are you telling us that you are responsible for the whole family now?  Are you not married?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: I am married.

THOMAS MANTHATA: How many children do you have?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: I have two kids.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Can you please carry on and tell us about the assault on you by the AWB people?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: On the 10th of May 1991 I was from the place of work, heading for my home.  I had a car that time. I parked my car close to a house and I went to see my friends. I came back very late from my friends. I didn't want to wake up my family because I knew my father would be angry with me. I decided to sleep in the car.  I said well, very early in the morning I will wake up and prepare myself for the next day.
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At about four o'clock, as I was sleeping, I was nearly dreaming and I heard people speaking outside.  
 These people were speaking Afrikaans. As I was listening I could hear that these people were still standing where they were, and I thought maybe they were working at Ventersdorp High School. As I was listening to them, I heard Eugene Terre'blanche's voice.  He was giving them a command, and as to what should they do when they attack people.  After giving them those orders and commands, they came and I was just lying in the car, with eyes open, because I wanted to see what was going to happen.  
 They jumped into the yard and as I was listening they started attacking the house. I was in the car.  I couldn't then get out of the car.  After they attacked the house, they came out and they stood next to the car.  They smashed the back window.  The back window of the car and they came to the windscreen.  Because it was too hard, they hit it with a knobkierie twice and they were speaking and I could hear who they were.  Because the other one said Piet, this thing is too hard to crack, and Piet was giving him an answer and he said Koos, can you please stab the tyres.  As I was looking, Koos stabbed the - he punctured the tyres. I was so scared, I didn't know what was coming next.  I thought they would turn the car and burn it.  They just laughed and they jumped over the fence and they went into the veld shouting "AWB, AWB". 
 I got out of the car as soon as they were gone and I got into the house.  Everything was not in an ordinary order, and I wanted to see members of my family.  I couldn't see them, because they were under the furniture that was lying all over.  I saw drops of blood and I followed these
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drops of blood until I was in the street. I saw my mother lying and her head was injured, her whole body was also injured.  I picked her up.  I took her back into the house. My hands were full of her blood. 
 The police came at about six o'clock.  On their arrival I requested them to take them to the hospital.  They didn't help us.  They said we should come and report at about two o'clock so that they can take our statements.  
 The local ANC people came home and they called their Klerksdorp office and from Klerksdorp a car was brought to transport them to Klerksdorp Hospital.  We cleaned the house and we reorganised everything in the house and thereafter we went to the police station to give our statements.
 But before we could give the statements, the police were teasing us, telling us that we are the squatters and they cannot just go out of their way to help the squatters.  I went to David Sigotho who was a CID at Klerksdorp. He welcome me and I gave him my statement.  After those few days, it was on a Monday, I heard that the AWB men have been arrested. On Tuesday they were released on R50,00 bail.   After two weeks I went back to the police station. I wanted to know what was going to happen to the damage we suffered.  The police said to me they do not have any help of any kind and what we should do, we should get ourselves private attorneys.  That was when we gave our statement to the Truth Commission, because we are lost.  We don't know what to do and where to go.

THOMAS MANTHATA: I am listening to you, Mr Phiri.  What time was it when this thing happened?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: It was about four o'clock Saturday morning.

THOMAS MANTHATA: What time did you leave your friends?
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SIMON RABESI PHIRI: It was at about ten o'clock at night.

THOMAS MANTHATA: You are saying that you parked next to the house but in your statement you have written a shack.  Were you in a squatter area?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Yes, we were in a squatter camp.

THOMAS MANTHATA: You and the whole family?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Yes.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Where did you stay before you moved to the squatter camp?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: We were renting a municipal house.  There was a place called Detening(?).  We were given 14 days to be out of the premises, because my father was retrenched and we had to look for an alternative place.

THOMAS MANTHATA: Were you staying in that house because your father was working for that company?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Yes.

THOMAS MANTHATA: How many were you at home at that time?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Five girls. I am the only boy, we were six.

THOMAS MANTHATA: How many rooms were in the shack?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Are you referring to a shack, Sir?  It was a four-roomed shack.

THOMAS MANTHATA: You got out of the car and you went into the house and people were lying under - the furniture was on top of them.

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Yes, the furniture fell on them, actually.  Because everything was so disorganised in the house.

THOMAS MANTHATA: If you say the furniture fell on them, did you physically lift the furniture to lift them loose?

SIMON RABESI PHIRI: Yes, because after picking up my mother outside I went into the house and I helped those who were in trouble.  My father was already injured, and his leg was
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crippled.