Human Rights Violation Hearings — Grahamstown — 1997-04-07

MS MAYA: What about your health, your state of health after all this?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: As the police assaulted me and beat me in the head, when I arrived in Uitenhage my ears could not hear clearly.  I went to the day clinic.  The Sisters asked me whether I was beaten in the head.  I told them, yes.  They asked me when.  I said in 1985.  They gave me an oil for my, to treat my ears and that oil helped me and I could hear clearly.

MS MAYA: What is your, how is your state of health now?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: I have no complaints.

MS MAYA: In your statement you were also accused of necklacing a girlfriend and you were detained for seven months in St Albans.  When was this?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: It was in 1987.  I was arrested in October 1986, on the 31st of October 1986.  When I left home to Uitenhage I met Comrades there under Metisis Toto.  There was a project here whereby houses were being renovated.  The Comrades gave me a position in that project.  As we were working there, there were ladies who had affairs with the municipal police.  They were taken by other Comrades.  I was not there at that time.  I just saw two police vans and a combi and two ladies came out of that van and they pointed
me.  The policemen came and they beat me and they assaulted me.  They took me to the police vans.  They asked Lungelwa whether I knew who Lungelwa was.  I was, I became scared because I had a sister by the name of Lungelwa.  I wondered what happened to Lungelwa, but it was not the Lungelwa I knew, because it was, this Lungelwa was one of the ladies who were necklaced.  They showed me a photograph of her and they asked me to identify the Comrades who were together with me when we were raping and necklacing these ladies.  I was then arrested for seven months.

MS MAYA: Did you know Lungelwa Ginigini before this incident?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: No, I did not know.

MS MAYA: Do you know why were you accused of necklacing her

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: No, I do not know.

MS MAYA: Is that all you wanted to say to this Commission?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: Yes, that is all.

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: Do you have a request to the Commission?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: My request is that it is very painful to me, because the Government is telling us, saying that we must forgive the perpetrators.  It is very difficult to forgive someone who was an enemy, who is still an enemy even today. We cannot forgive them because they are still our enemy.

MS MAYA: Two last questions.  The police you mentioned that they were together in your street, Fezekile Springbok and Mantewu, what happened to them?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: Fezekile is still there, but I do not know where Mantewu is.

MS MAYA: What is the relationship between Mantewu and, between yourself and Springbok?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: When he greets me I look on the other side.  I do
not look at him.

MS MAYA: The last question.  During the seven months you were in prison when you were accused of necklacing Lungelwa Ginigini, did you appear in a Court of Law?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: I was, I appeared in the Regional Court in Uitenhage.

MS MAYA: What happened there?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: The case, they told me that they will, my case will be heard in March and they postponed the case in May and the witnesses that pointed me did not appear in court. They did not come to testify.  The detectives that arrested me together with the Municipal Police did not appear in court.  I was just told that the case was dismissed.

MS MAYA: Thank you.  Do you have any other requests to add?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: One of my requests is that the perpetrators, the Government must bring them forward.  We cannot work together with the police.  We know that the police are protecting us, but we cannot work with the police who have blood in their hands.  We are still Comrades, they are still dirty, they are doing dirty jobs. My request is that the police must come forward and the Government must see what to do about the police.  I will be satisfied if they come forward, although I was not killed, but others were killed.

MS MAYA: Thank you, Mr Bota.  I will hand over to the Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Mr Sandi.

ADV SANDI: Thank you, Mr Chairman.  Mr Bota, when you say the police, you cannot co-operate with them, because they have dirty hands filled with blood, do you mean every policeman or certain policemen?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: Not all of them, because, for example, in Adelaide we were killed by black policemen.  No white policemen  killed people.  Certain black policemen killed our people. They would repeat this.

ADV SANDI: You say that those with dirty hands have to be brought forward, something must be done about them.  Can you please give an example of what can be done?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: If they cannot be sentenced, they must be dismissed from work.

ADV SANDI: In your statement you mentioned that you were accused of killing a white farmer.  What happened to that case?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: That case was dismissed because after the six days of detention they came to the community, they picked up young men who were not involved in anything.  They were assaulted and tortured.  Some of them lost their health and memory.

ADV SANDI: Was there a farmer who was killed at this time?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: Yes, there was a farmer who was killed at that time.

ADV SANDI: According to you knowledge why was this?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: I do not know, but the people, detectives from Murder and Robbery Squad, the reason why they accused me is that they said that we were using the slogan of Peter Mokaba.

ADV SANDI: The killing of white farmers in Adelaide, was it a usual thing or was it the first time such a thing happened?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: It was not a usual thing in Adelaide, but although it happened before and the people who did this were killed by the, they were not Comrades, they were criminals.  When  this happened in 1986, the police came to us as we were Comrades.

ADV SANDI: The last question.  Briefly, the relationship between the community and the white farmers, what was the relationship between these two?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: As I am always in the township, I do not know the relationship between the people staying in the farmer and the white farmers.  Most of the white farmers in Adelaide are soldiers.  They use to come to our houses and assault us.

ADV SANDI: People in Adelaide, in the township, what were they thinking, what were their views about the white farmers?

ZIMASILE JOSEPH BOTA: I cannot answer that question, Mr Chairperson.  People, community of Adelaide, will be able to answer that question.

ADV SANDI: Thank you, Mr Bota.  Thank you, Mr Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: It is clear that you are working with a mandate.  If you do not have a mandate you cannot speak.  I want to ask only one question to you.  You spoke strongly when you were asked here by the person who was asking you questions on behalf of the Commission, you said that the Government must do something about the killers.  You were not referring to us, you were referring to the Government. Yes, I am glad, because it seemed as if you were talking to us.  You were saying we are the Government.  We are not the, but I want to ask you one question concerning this matter.  If the perpetrators, the police are forgiven, are given amnesty, do you see any danger concerning people's lives in Adelaide?  I am not saying you must speak on behalf of the community of Adelaide, but I just want your view that if they are given amnesty, what do you think, after ten years,
the impact of this will be?