Human Rights Violation Hearings — Krugersdorp — 1996-11-13

DR K NAIK: Myself and Timor were teaching at Roodepoort Indian High School.  I was as senior science teacher there.  Ahmed Timor was a teacher who was in history and commercial subjects. On the morning of the 23rd, it was a Saturday morning, security policemen came to my home and knocked on my door. They said that look, I have got the keys of the school at my place, would I not take them to the school, because they wanted to seize the typewriter. I took them to the school and they then took the typewriter.
 I was returned back to my place of residence. On Saturdays I worked for a pharmacist, I used to go and help him.  The security police came at about 11 o'clock, took me to my place and searched my room and went through all my books and all the other possessions. 
 After that they took me to John Vorster Square and took me to, I think, it was the 10th floor and took me to a room where they made me wait for many hours. 
 Subsequently, of course, they asked me to make a statement, in the same way as Mrs Desai had said.  I was shocked, I thought I was a law-abiding citizen. I had not committed any crime and I was confident.  
 Once I had made my statement, some of the security policemen, I am not quite sure, I don't know their names at the moment, said that of course I was talking rubbish.  I was made to a stand in the room for almost, I think, till midnight and then they started questioning me. They were not satisfied with what I was saying and we had two, of course, burly policemen, who were assaulting me. I think it was like a see-saw.  The one punched me and I fell onto the other guy, and the other guy then of course punched me and then I
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- you know, it was a see-saw thing.  
 Subsequently, of course, what they had done, was to tie my hands with a rope.  They had slipped the tied hands in front of my knee, and slipped a broom-stick between my elbow and knee. I think they suspended me, I am not sure, between the two chairs, between two tables.  I was actually kept in that position for almost, I think, probably an hour, an hour and a half.  They said, you know, I have not satisfied them in terms of making a rational, logical statement regarding my involvement with Timor.  They said that I had actually supplied him with chemical. I had actually supplied him with something called hydro-chronin(?), which was an oxidising agent.  But that was for photography.  
 Once they had actually released my arms, cut the rope loose, my hands actually became completely limp and that was not usable. 
 I was then of course taken to the cell in the morning, Sunday morning, and I was actually left lying there for quite a time.
 I think it was the following day that they ook me into the lift and the person in charge of the case there was - who at the moment is referred to as General Johan Coetzee.  He with the chief, I think he said it was the district surgeon, Mr Kemp, sorry, Dr Kemp, saw me in the lift and they discussed some things in terms of the treatment.  After that I was actually given physio-therapy and electrical treatment to repair the damage that was done to my muscles.  That took almost a period of three and a half months. 
 Since I could not write, I couldn't even put on my pants, I couldn't even handle myself, I couldn't even, you know, wash myself. It was quite a torturous time.  This 
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was actually coupled with being kept in solitary confinement.  The only time that I got taken up to the 10th floor, was when they needed to question me.  Secondly, to give me the physio-therapy or the electrical treatment.
 The person that actually gave me treatment was somebody called Mr Kuhn, quite a pleasant gentleman, who used to be at the Paardekraal Hospital, and that's what I gathered.  However, the people that tortured me, unfortunately I didn't know their names. I mean, and when they had realised that this was quite a severe thing, they had removed these gentlemen - I am not sure whether I should call them gentlemen.  But the gentlemen were removed from the scene.   We had actually, I think fortnightly visits from the magistrate and I had actually related to the magistrate, in terms of my injuries. I mean, he could see this, because my hand was in plaster cast and there was a sling that was used for one of the hands, that was the right hand which was badly damaged.
 When I actually made that statement to the magistrate, of course in terms of laying a charge, he then actually sent some people and I had to actually make a statement.  But I was taken to the Newlands police station.  Presently it is called the Johan Coetzee police station and I made a statement regarding my injuries.
 When I was returned back to John Vorster Square, I think the rest of the other security police were not quite pleased that I had made a statement. They had said to me that, you know, you will be required to identify the police and there would be identification parades. 
 However, you know, appealing - when you are in solitary confinement, your mind also doesn't function.
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Psychologically I think, you know, you are actually at the bottom end.  You couldn't think. I debated within myself should I actually withdraw charges or not.  I used to look at the pigeons outside and have a communication with them and say look, should I withdraw the charges.  I think you know, when you are at that stage actually, I withdraw the charges.  I mean, there was nothing I could do.  Because when you are in solitary confinement, when you are in that state, I think, you know, you are going to be a winner. I mean that was actually unfortunately to be said. 
 Secondly, I had a lot of problems with my food, being a strict vegetarian.  When I had complained to the magistrate the station commander, I think it was Capt Wolfaardt who came to me and said listen, why do you complain. I said look, I am a vegetarian. He said, but you should have spoken to the police. I said but nobody seemed to be listening to me.  Of course, he was pretty abusive. He said you know, you are going to eat cheese until you actually vomit cheese, you know, excrete cheese. I mean, I could say it in Afrikaans, they said well, "jy sal kaas eet tot jy kak", and that kind of abuse, verbal abuse, mental torture, was the order of the day.
 Of course, what they had said to me, he said look, you are supposed to be a teacher and we believe you are intelligent, you are a good chemistry teacher and you supplied lots of things. I said look, I have not supplied. I mean, I know that you found a bottle of hydro-chonin, but that is an oxidising agent.  However, they wouldn't believe me.  
 They also said you know, we have rounded up the Indians, simply because the Indians are the back-bone, they 
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are actually trying to make the Africans politically aware, and the Indians actually needed to be taught a lesson.  They also said to me, they said "wat is jou persoonsnommer".  I could rattle my number off, and they said no, you are a Communist.  
 Thirdly, I had actually gone to the States on a United States/South African Leader Exchange Programme.  They said by the way, this particular agency that sent you, is Communist. I said look, I can prove things that I have actually brought polystyrene models, I am actually going to study. Of course, they wouldn't believe you.
 But their objective was to psychologically torture you and make you feel that you know, you are a non-entity, you are a piece of dirt.
 I mean, I had a lot of difficulties with food. I mean I sort of nearly starved.  They used to bring the food with meat. I would say look, I don't eat meat. They used to remove the meat, but of course you weren't able to eat the food because you know it had been mixed with meat.
 After of course, I think, four and a half months, I was told that I would be released, but I would be actually used as a State witness.  They also wanted an assurance from me that what happened to me I would actually sign an affidavit saying that I will not reveal the torture that they had actually inflicted upon me.  The helicopter treatment I should not even tell my wife and so forth.
 My late mother, of course, wasn't quite sure whether I was alive.  Whenever the clothing was sent back for washing, she used to smell and try to ascertain whether, you know, there was sweat on the clothes.  That was that.
 I was actually given my job back, but I wasn't quite 
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sure whether I was going to go back to teaching, because they said my friend, your days of going to teaching are now over, because you know, you are an instigator, you are actually trying to make pupils politically aware, and so I wasn't quite sure whether I was going to get my teaching job back.
 They said that look, if I went to the media, they would actually pull me in and they will give me the same treatment with my legs.  
 Now under those circumstances there was a fear instilled into you.  When I came out I was afraid to talk to people. But in the same breath the people that were there, didn't want to talk to me because they felt that look, this man has come out from the detention, he may be working for the security branch.  That was the worst kind of torture that I endured.
 When I came back to school, I think there were a lot of people that were actually put in by the security police there to watch the movements.  But they had told my colleagues on the staff that look, what's out for Naik, he is working for the security branch.
 They had also gone out into the community and done the same thing.  Now if that was the case, why should I be denied a passport? I mean, I have got documentary evidence which shows that I was denied a passport. I also had documentary evidence where I was denied promotion.  Now if I was working for them I would have actually been given a fat gravy-train type of job, but I wasn't.  Now that torture I had to endure for many years.  
 I have also actually had cuttings from that time that my uncle had kept, the newspaper cuttings, and I have four 
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scrapbooks of cuttings.  For me that is actually a valuable evidence of what exactly transpired.
 Now when I hear things regarding what actually De Kock had done, what Coetzee had done, should I not have had the fear of facing people? I even actually got abused by one of my neighbours, who said listen, you bloody fool,  you know, you are working for the security branch; they should have thrown you out rather than Timor. That is something that you couldn't endure.  That was the reason I felt that I had to come before the Truth Commission.
 Initially, in the same thing as Mrs Desai has said, I wasn't quite sure that I should, should I tell my story.  But deep down I had fear, I mean, you had known about various things. I know, despite democracy, you still felt that you know, you were not safe.  But I had to tell my story.
 I hope people will actually take cognisance of the fact that I had to pick up the pieces and it wasn't an easy thing.  I mean, my daughter was born three days before my detention. Of course, my family suffered. Nobody wanted to come near my family.  They feared that, of course, they would be implicated. I cannot blame me. I mean, that kind of fear was sort of injected by slow and sure methods that were used by the security branch.
 The the other thing is, when you had come out, of course, you were actually viewed with suspicion.  That didn't make your life easier either. However, I mean, what my appeal is, I mean, there is nothing that I can do to these people.  But generally, Johan Coetzee was the man in charge. He knew exactly what happened to Timor. He knew which people worked for him. There were teachers who were
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very friendly with Timor, were never detained. I also had that kind of suspicion. I am not blaming people to cast suspicion on me, but in the same way I have also cast suspicion on various people that had worked for the security branch. What was the difficulty there?  It is the false information that had actually made things different. One of the policemen said look, you are a science man; if we find a strand of your hair somewhere, you know that you have been implicated.
 So I think the people that had worked and God will forgive them, God will forgive Johan Coetzee, Vernon Kemp or whoever they are, but I think it is important that these people who worked with security branch, they have never actually been identified.  Who is Mr X?  So these are the things that actually bothered me.  
 Initially, of course, as I said, I wasn't quite keen on doing this.  I was approached by one of the Commissioners and said look, you know, would you be prepared. I said look, I will think about it.  After debating with myself, after consulting my friends, I thought I should actually make an input.
 I must emphatically say that late Ahmad Timor was definitely a pacifist. I mean, we were all pacifists. We were actually influenced by the philosophy of Gandhi, the philosophy of Martin Luther King. I mean, I wouldn't want to take anybody's life. I mean, I have been brought up like that. Neither Ahmed Timor, nor of course Mohammed Salim Essop, nor Mrs Desai, they were pacifist people. Why should they arrest people for making a pamphlet bomb, if we made a pamphlet bomb.  Why should they have killed him?  
 What they said to me is, listen, you know, you are not 
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telling us the truth, we want to hang you outside. That is 
exactly what they did to Timor.  Thank you.