Amnesty Hearings — East London — 1998-05-25

MR PRIOR: ...at a later stage.   Mr Chairman, may I also just place on record, it is now quarter to twelve, and I do apologise for the delay.   However, circumstances outside the evidence leader's control, witnesses who were on subpoena came late to court, there were transport problems from Umtata in the Nqobo area, I believe those have all been ironed out, witnesses are on their way, we can start now and it looks as if we'll be able to finish the evidence pertaining to the Meyer matter today, that's insofar as the evidence leader and the victims are concerned.
	The question of whether the PAC are going to make submission today, I leave over to be dealt with later on in the day.   
	I now propose to call Dr Magobela, who was the doctor who performed the post-mortem report, or the post-mortem examination on Done Meyers.

CHAIRPERSON: Shall we deal with the other matter first?

MR PRIOR: As the committee pleases, that is the Yellowwoods Hotel matter, the matter of Mr Mtembu.
	Mr Chairman, yes, it was proposed that evidence would be led from the ballistic expert, who would give evidence regarding the damage to the buildings and also to the nature of the cartridges found and the type of weapons used in that particular attack, and that matter was to be actually heard tomorrow.   However, Mr Mtembu indicated that he was unable to attend tomorrow for other commitments, and the proposal which was then adopted by all was that the expert, Mr - I think it's Captain Vic - I forget his surname, but anyway I was in contact with him, he will put up an affidavit explaining his evidence and with specific reference to the points of damage that he found on the building relating to the plan and to the photographs, and that document will then be given to the interested parties, particularly Mr Mtembu, for his comment and barring which it will then be presented to the committee on that basis, therefore doing away with the need of leading viva voce evidence.

CHAIRPERSON: In consequence of that, we have excused him from further attendance in September?

MR PRIOR: Yes, Mr Chairman, that is so.

CHAIRPERSON: Right, we turn now again to the applications of Zama Tuta and Nogawaya Kulman, but before proceeding with the evidence today, I would like to cause a correction to be made to the record at page 1075 where a remark by me reads
"The committee remains the same, with myself, Judge Wilson, as chairman, Advocate Gcabashe still acts and Mr Sandi."
	Quite clearly what I said was:-
"Advocate Gcabashe, Mr Evan Lax and Mr Sandi", and they have omitted Mr Lax's name as being a member of the committee.   Can I request that that be altered and to confirm that it is still the same committee, consisting of the four members' names sitting today?

MR PRIOR: Ask that Dr Magobela be sworn in?

DR MAGOBELA: (sworn states)

MR PRIOR: Doctor, do you prefer to give you evidence in English or in any other language?

DR MAGOBELA: I prefer to give my evidence in English.

MR PRIOR: Thank you.   Is it correct, Doctor, that you are a medical practitioner, qualified medical practitioner, and at present you are practising in the East London area and East London?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, it is correct.

MR PRIOR: And is it correct that during 1993, and in particular on the 31st of August of 1993, you were the - were you the district surgeon for the area of Umtata?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, it is correct that I was the district surgeon then, namely in the area of Umtata.

MR PRIOR: And is it correct that on the 31st of August 1993, at about 9:30 a.m., you conducted a post-mortem examination on the body of Done Meyers, a female, aged 21 years?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, it is correct.

MR PRIOR: And is it correct that you recorded your post-mortem findings on the official form, Health 1, Mr Chairman which has been already referred to as Exhibit D in these proceedings?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, it is correct.

MR PRIOR: And you have a copy of Exhibit D before you?

DR MAGOBELA: I have a copy in front of me, yes.

MR PRIOR: Do you confirm the findings recorded therein?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, I confirm the findings recorded therein.

MR PRIOR: And these findings, were they made contemporaneous with your examination, or soon thereafter?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, it is correct.

MR PRIOR: So you were recording the findings as you were doing your post-mortem?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, I would record my findings as I'm performing the post-mortem.

MR PRIOR: And you adhere to the findings as they appear in Exhibit D?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes.

MR PRIOR: Doctor, your chief post-mortem findings are set out in paragraph 4 of page 1, is that correct?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, it is correct.

MR PRIOR: What interests me and the committee, the cause of death was the gunshot wound to the head, is that right?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, it is correct that the... (intervention).

MR PRIOR: And in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 4, you indicated that there was a completely crushed skull?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, that is correct.

MR PRIOR: Are you able to give us an opinion as to how suddenly or how soon death would have ensued after sustaining such an injury to the head as you found on the body of Done Meyers?

DR MAGOBELA: Death would have occurred instantaneously.

MR PRIOR: The stab injuries that you found, were those, are you able to form an opinion or give us an opinion, I know it's a long time afterwards, but whether they were fatal in any respect or not?   If you look at page 2, paragraph 4, there were, I particularly am avoiding the laceration, but referring to the incised wounds, there was a one centimetre long incised wound on the interior part of the right side of the neck, there was a one centimetre incised wound on the right lateral part of the neck, there were multiple incised wounds on the thorax, and you depict those clearly on your diagram of the chest and abdomen.   Were those incised wounds life-threatening in any way?  Are you able to form an opinion on that?

DR MAGOBELA: I wouldn't say that they were life-threatening, I would say what was life-threatening is the head injury.

MR PRIOR: But would you agree that those injuries were to -that the incised injuries were to certainly vulnerable areas of the body, the neck and chest?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, I will say so.

MR PRIOR: Are you able to express an opinion as to what caused the incised injuries, in contra-distinction to the penetrating injuries, the penetrating wounds?

DR MAGOBELA: Well I would say the incised injuries were caused by a sharp object.

MR PRIOR: And the lacerations, you... (intervention).

DR MAGOBELA: Usually lacerations are usually blunt objects.

MR PRIOR: Which caused the skin to burst or break?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, which caused the breaking of the skin.

MR PRIOR: Doctor, I need to ask you this question and it's simply to assist, in my view, the misconception that there may have been some or any form of sexual misconduct, I noticed on the final page, page 4, the genitalia were examined and you noted there a comment "unremarkable"?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, that is so.

MR PRIOR: Were you satisfied that there was no indication of sexual assault or rape?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, I was satisfied that there was no indication of rape.

MR PRIOR: And the history that you were given, was that consistent with your finding that there was no sexual assault?

DR MAGOBELA: Yes, that is so.

MR PRIOR: Thank you, Mr Chairman, I have no further questions.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MR PRIOR

MR BOTHMA: Doctor, just to come back to the question of the gunshot, was it only one gunshot to the head itself?

DR MAGOBELA: Well it is difficult for me to say that there was only one gunshot to the head.   It is possible that there may have been more than one.

MR BOTHMA: But then it was all at the same sort of, same entry or around the same entry wound?

DR MAGOBELA: Same area, yes.