Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 1988-01-19

ADV DE JAGER: Can we just ensure that he has the correct bundle in front of him?  Can someone just assist the witness?  Mr Brink?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: This is my name Sir.

MR STANDER: Thank you Mr Chairman, thank you Mr Brink.

ADV DE JAGER: Kan die tolke asseblief net die laaste antwoord tolk?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: This is my name Sir.

MR STANDER: Mr Oliphant, you were also - you decided to leave the country for Maseru, is that correct?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: That's correct.  I was the ANC organiser around Manahung and I was canvassing the students, those who were not schooling, so they can skip the country, that was my duty.

MR STANDER: Where did you go from there together with the rest of the group?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: We were wanted by the policemen around the township, we then decided to skip the country but we were arrested by the soldiers at the riverside at Ladybrand.  It was on the 6th of April 1986, on a Sunday round about 12 o'clock or rather between 12 and 12H30.  We were 19 in number.  All of us wanted to skip into Lesotho and the soldiers arrested us.

MR STANDER: After you were arrested, where were you taken?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: We were taken to the soldier's camps, the military camps in Ladybrand, all of us.  From Ladybrand we were taken to the Ladybrand special branch and they sent us to Fountain Police Station.

MR STANDER: What happened to you on your return to Bloemfontein at Fountain Street?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: They took us to Ram Kraal where it was the prison and we were refused.  We were in a big van and we were taken to Park Road Police Station and they still refused us.  We were then taken to Fountain.  We arrived to Fountain and the van was parked behind.
	The policemen were already awaiting us and they made a guard of honour for us.  We were running as we alighted from the van.  We were in the middle of the two lines made by the policemen and we were put in the kitchen at station.  Amongst us all I was the person who was called.  Swanepoel and Terreblanche were the people pointing me by name.

MR STANDER: Why were you specifically called by those two persons?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: Myself and Oupa were regarded as the leaders of this group.

MR STANDER: On that day, did you see Ngo and Motsamai there?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: They were together, all of them were there.  They were excited, even the white policemen were excited.

MR STANDER: What happened to you after you were called out of the kitchen?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: Myself and Oupa were taken out of the kitchen and I was taken to Captain du Plooy's office.  I do not know to which office was Oupa taken but I was taken to Captain du Plooy's office.  Before all this I was arrested at the shop and they wanted to know the whereabouts of comrade Steve Bogatcoe who was our commander here in Bloemfontein, he was operating underground.
	He was in hiding and he disappeared on the 29th of March.  It was at night when he came to me because he was hunted by the police and he didn't want to be seen.

CHAIRPERSON: You will remember what was said earlier about spelling names for the assistance of the interpreter.

MR STANDER: Thank you Sir, I will do that.
	The person you mentioned now was Steve Bogatcoe?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: I'm going to try to spell it, I will not say that this is the correct spelling: Bogatcoe.

MR STANDER: Tell me, Steve Bogatcoe - when you were arrested and you were taken out of the kitchen ...[end of Tape 1 A - No follow-on sound]
	...[No English translation]

ADV DE JAGER: Kan hy miskien vir ons net vertel - hy's toe gegeem na du Plooy se kantoor toe, en wat wou du Plooy van hom weet?

MR STANDER: Is ek reg as ek se dat Mnr du Plooy wou toe nou by u weet waar Steve Bogatcoe was?  U moet nou asseblief daarvan af begin en vir ons vertel wat het toe daarna gebeur.

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: [No English translation]

MR STANDER: Se vir my, Motsamai en Ngo, het hulle enigsins deel gehad in die aanranding of die - op?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: [No English translation]

MR STANDER: Hoe lank het hierdie aanranding voort geduur?

ADV DE JAGER: Kan ons nou net die opgeklaar kry.  Hy praat nou van 'n aanranding in the kombuis, ons was laas nou in du Plooy se kantoor.  Was die aanranding in the kombuis voor hy na du Plooy se kantoor toe is of wanneer was dit gewees?

MR STANDER: Mnr Voorsitter, ek sal dit by hom uitkry. Ek het hom verstaan om te se dat hy in die kantoor van du Plooy aangerand was en toe hy terug geneem is na die kombuis, toe hy gevra het om na die toilet toe gegaan het Motsamai en Ngo vir hom aangerand maar ek sal hierdie aangeleentheid met hom opklaar met u toestemming.
	Se vir my, die voorval wat plaasgevind het in Mnr du Plooy se kantoor, het dit eers plaasgevind en daarna is u na die kombuis?  Daar was u aangerand deur Motsamai en Ngo onder andere?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: When I was in du Plooy's office I asked to be taken to the toilet and I was taken downstairs to the toilet and that's where I met my assault, in the kitchen because I wanted a glass of water, that's when I was assaulted.  They said I was hiding the truth.  It was in the kitchen, it was not in du Toit's office. [English translation inaudible]

MR STANDER: After you were assaulted in the kitchen, were you taken back to du Toit's office?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: That's correct.

MR STANDER: Did any further assaults take place on you in du Toit's office?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: I was further assaulted.  They were not asking me, they were actually telling me the evidence that they heard from the other comrades.  They said I was responsible for many activities around the country and I disputed that information.

MR STANDER: How long did these assaults continue for?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: I was assaulted My Lord.  What I realised at Fountain, I would only meet [indistinct] when we were taken to our cells.  I was taken to Park Road and he was taken to Four Ways.  We could not even communicate with each other because we were in pains, both of us.

MR STANDER: What time was this when you were taken to the police cells?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: It was at night My Lord, at night.

MR STANDER: Did you have any injuries?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: Yes, I was injured behind my head because Swanepoel hit me with the butt of the gun and I fainted. They did not have mercy even when I was lying down, they continued with the assaults.

MR STANDER: Was there any blood on your face?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: I was bleeding through the ears and through the mouth.  Even to this day my teeth are loose, since then they have been loose.

MR STANDER: [English translation inaudible]

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: Not at all.   They said a terrorist cannot be seen by a doctor, not at all My Lord.

MR STANDER: What happened the next day?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: I was taken to ...[indistinct] square where there was a parade. I was thrown among many people, then [English translation inaudible]

MR STANDER: [English translation inaudible]

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: [English translation inaudible]

MR STANDER: [English translation inaudible]

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: [English translation inaudible]

MR STANDER: You say you were taken to Fuchsware building?  To do what there?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: Because I refused to being a member of the ANC.  They said ...[indistinct] where someone will point me as being a member who was used by the ANC and one of comrades identified me.  This is the person I was together with in the cell, he pointed me out.

MR STANDER: Tell me, were Motsamai and Ngo involved the whole time while you were assaulted and then removed?

SHADRACK TEKU OLIPHANT: When I was taken to Fuchsware they were not there.

MR STANDER: And on the second day, what happened then?