AFFIDAVIT AMNAH TEABAME · 2012. 11. 1. · AFFIDAVIT I, the undersigned, AMNAH TEABAME do hereby...
Transcript of AFFIDAVIT AMNAH TEABAME · 2012. 11. 1. · AFFIDAVIT I, the undersigned, AMNAH TEABAME do hereby...
AFFIDAVITI, the undersigned,
AMNAH TEABAMEdo hereby state under oath : -
1. I am an adult, female, resident of Sharpville Township.
2. The facts herein contained are within my personal
knowledge and to my best belief are true and correct.
3. On or about the 8th December 1991, I attended a
birthday party at Sebokeng, Zone 3. I was accompanied
by four of my friends, namely, Bella, Monyana, Jabu and
Panini.
4. While waiting for a taxi next to the Zone 3 stop sign,
a Vanderbijlpark taxi arrived, which we boarded. When
the taxi reached Boipatong we alighted next to Lebohang
Secondary School.
5. Immediately after we had alighted, a group of men
carrying knobkieries and sharpened steel objects
confronted us. The group numbered approximately 10. I
recognised 3 people among them. They are Kgosi
Maphondo, Stokwana Tskosana and Ariel Sibio, who all
reside at Sharpville. The group began to attack and
assault us. I was hit on my waist with a knobkierie,
while my friends were draggad to a dark section next to the high school at Boipatong.
They forced us to accompany them by taxi and thereafter
marched us to Nana Shabangu's house at Boipatong.
They took us into the house and made us sit against the
wall of the front room. Thereafter, Nana Shabangu entered.
We were then robbed of our belongings, including
watches and money.
Bedding was brought in and all the young women were
then distributed amongst the men.
I was given to Stokwana. Stokwana then raped me.
Later on, in the course of the night. The young women
were swopped and again raped. This was not done to me.
At approximately 4 a.m., in the early hours of the next
morning, we were woken up. We asked to be released,
but Fusi instructed that we should wait for
r''
10.
11.
Nana. At approximately 9a. m Nana arrived with mielie
miel and meat. He gave these items to Phanili and
Bella to cook and instructed them to go to the
neighbour's house to cook the food.
Nana brought beer inside for the men to drink. He
wanted the young women to drink as well, but we refused to do so.
Among the captives was a 12 year old girl who was
weeping uncontrollably. She was again sexually abused
by Fusi that morning.
At about 13h00, on that morning, we were taken to a
Shebeen nearby Nana Shabangu's house. By 14h30 our
captors had become drunk. Bella and myself decided to
use their drunkenness as an opportunity to escape.
We waited for an opportunity and left together. We
went to my sister's house is Sharpville and then
returned to my home.
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12. The following day the police came to take statements
from us, but I declined to make a statement, as our
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captors had told us that they work with the police.
Because I fear retaliation from our captors, I am still
reluctant to lay a charge.
THUS DONE, SIGNED AND SWORN TO before me at JOHANNESBURG on this
the day of 1992, the Deponent having
affirmed that she knows and understands the contents of this
affidavit, has no objection to taking this oath and considers
this oath binding on his conscience.
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS
FULL NAMES :
ADDRESS :
IN THE GOLDSTONE COMMISSION OF INQUTRV
IN RE : BOIPATONG MASSACRE
A F F I D A V I T
I, the undersigned,
MESHACK THEOANE
do hereby make oath and state : -
1. I am an adult male resident in Slovo Park, Boipatong. The
facts contained herein are within my personal knowledge and are to the best of my belief true and correct. '
2. Until my dismissal on 22nd June 1992 I was employed as a
petrol attendant at Unipark Motors on the corner of Frikkie
Meyer Boulevard and Nobel Street, Vanderbijlpark.
3. On the night of 17th June 1992 I was at work at the garage.
My shift began at 21h00. The only other person working
there at the time was a security guard employed by a private security company.
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At about 21h30 the security guard drew my attention to a
large number of men moving through the trees on the other
side of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard. They were coming from the
direction of the Kwa—Madala Hostel. In all, there were 300 to 400 men.
These men crossed the Frikkie Meyer Boulevard in small
groups. They ran across in a crouching manner. One small
group would cross then, after a short pause, the next would cross and so on.
It appeared to me that the men were carrying objects but I
was unable to see what they were, as they crossed some
distance from the intersection where the garage is.
When they had crossed Frikkie Meyer Boulevard, the groups of
men moved towards the Boipatong township. At that stage,
there were two police vehicles known to me as hippos parked
at the soccer grounds next to the township. The men were
moving some distance from the hippos, but if the people
inside them had been keeping watch they would have seen them.
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8. I feared that these men might be going to attack people in
Boipatong. When I saw that there was no reaction from the
hippos, I pressed the alarm at the garage. This alarm is
connected directly to the Vanderbilpark police station.
9. About 10 to 15 minutes later two policemen arrived in a
yellow police van. They did not get out of the van. They
asked what the problem was at the garage, that had made me
press the alarm. I replied that there was nothing at the
garage, but that I had seen a lot of people coming from
Kwa-Madala and moving in at the location. We were speaking
in Afrikaans.
10. The exchange was extremely short. The policemen did not
enquire further but just turned to each other and then drove
off along Frikkie Meyer Boulevard.
11. After the police left, the security guard used his
walkie-talkie to call his firm. Very soon thereafter two
whites from the firm arrived. The security guard reported
to them and they spoke into the radio in their vehicle.
12. Some minutes later, two policemen came in a white car. At
that stage, there were cracking and breaking sounds and some
gunshot sounds coming from the direction of Boipatong
township. The policemen instructed the security people to
take me and the guard to Baldwin Steel, some distance up
Frikkie Meyer Boulevard.
13. We were taken to Baldwin Steel. About 20 minutes later I
saw ambulances going to Boipatong. We walked back to the
garage and stayed there. From there I saw a number of
police and army vehicles going into Boipatong as well as
ambulances going in and out.
D E P O N E N T
THUS DONE, SIGNED AND SWORN to before me at JOHANNESBURG on this
the 21st day of JULY 1992. Deponent having affirmed that he
knows and understands the contents of this affidavit. He has no
objections to taking this oath and considers this oath binding on his conscience.
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS
IN THE GPLDSTQNE COMMISSION OF INQUIRYJM mIm
IN RE : BOIPATONG MASSACRE
A F F I D A V I T
I, the undersigned,
MESHACK THEOANE
do hereby make oath and state : -
1. I am an adult male resident in Slovo Park, Boipatong. The facts contained herein are within my personal knowledge and are to the best of my belief true and correct.
2. Until my dismissal on 22nd June 1992 1 was employed as a petrol attendant at Unipark Motors on the corner of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and Nobel Street, Vanderbijlpark.
3. On the night of 17th June 1992 I was at work at the garage. My shift began at 21h00. The only other person working there at the time was a security guard employed by a private security company.
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*♦. At about 21h30 the security guard drew my attention to a large number of men moving through the trees on the other side of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard. They were coming from the direction of the Kwa-Madala Hostel. In all, there were 300 to ^00 men.
5. These men crossed the Frikkie Meyer Boulevard in small groups. They ran across in a crouching manner. One small group would cross then, after a short pause, the next would cross and so on.
6. It appeared to me that the men were carrying objects but I was unable to see what they were, as they crossed some distance from the intersection where the garage is.
7. When they had crossed Frikkie Meyer Boulevard, the groups of men moved towards the Boipatong township. At that stage, there were two police vehicles known to me as hippos parked at the soccer grounds next to the township. The men were moving some distance from the hippos, but if the people inside them had been keeping watch they would have seen them.
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8. I feared that these men might be going to attack people in Boipatong. When I saw that there was no reaction from the hippos? I pressed the alarm at the garage. This alarm is connected directly to the Vanderbilpark police station.
9. About 10 to 15 minutes later two policemen arrived in a yellow police van. They did not get out of the van. They asked what the problem was at the garage, that had made me press the alarm. I replied that there was nothing at the garage, but that I had seen a lot of people coming from Kwa-liada 1 a and moving in at the location. We were speaking in Afrikaans.
10. The exchange was extremely short. The policemen did not enguire further but just turned to each other and then drove off along Frikkie Meyer Boulevard.
11. After the police left, the security guard used his walkie-talkie to call his firm. Very soon thereafter two whites from the firm arrived. The security guard reported to them and they spoke into the radio in their vehicle.
IE. Some minutes later, two policemen came in a white car. At that stage, there were cracking and breaking sounds and some gunshot sounds coming from the direction of Boipatong township. The policemen instructed the security people to take me and the guard to Baldwin Steel, some distance up Frikkie Meyer Boulevard.
13. We were taken to Baldwin Steel. About 20 minutes later Isaw ambulances going to Boipatong. We walked back to the
t*jj /1-0^—garage and stayed there. From there I saw a number and army vehicles going into Boipatong as well as ambulances going in and out.
D E P O N E N T
THUS DONE, SIGNED AND SWORN to before me at onthis the day of 1992. Deponent having affirmed that heknows and understands the contents of this affidavit. He has no objections to taking this oath and considers this oath binding on his conscience.
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS
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AD SUNDRY FEASIBILITY STUDIES
19. It is in the nature of feasibility studies that
they, too, are produced in the form of hard
copies. In the view of the witness, re-inputting
of data and re-programming of a functional
feasibility study (such as is the norm in the
industry) off such hard copy might reasonably take
in the vicinity of 3-4 hours.
AD RECONSTRUCTION OF RATES AND PRICE DATA BASE
20. On the information presently available to the
witness, no opinion can be expressed in respect of
this claim at this stage.
AD ASSISTANCE TO TYPISTS AND BOOKKEEPERS
21. On the information presently available to the
witness, no opinion can be expressed in respect of
this claim at this stage.
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11 -
over ten months before the theft. In the opinion
of the witness, there would in such circumstances
be no utility in reinstating such estimates on
computer.
16. In the event that it be shown that for some reason
such reinstatement was necessary, reinstatement
could have been effected off hard copy and in the
opinion of the witness would not have taken more
than 4 hours. Such task could reasonably have been
carried out by a technician.
AD PROJECT A 13 6 B
17. In this project, the theft occurred in the month
of the completion of the contract. This
necessarily implies that:-
17.1 earlier certificates for the months preceding
the theft must have existed as hard copies;
17.2 in such circumstances, it is the view of the
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- 10 -
with the stated approach of the Plaintiff, and is
inherently unlikely if not impossible. In the
event that only the last certificate was
reproduced, only approximately six hours would have
been necessary for the task.
AD PROJECT A 132 B
14. Performance of the contract undertaken in terms of
this project terminated approximately seven months
before the theft. It is the opinion of the
witness that in such circumstances there would have
been no need to reinstate any certificates or a
final account.
AD PROJECT A 13 5 M
15. Estimates are commissioned for the purpose of
enabling a client to form an initial view of the
costs of a contemplated project. To this end,
they are produced in the form of hard copies. In
the present instance, estimates were presented
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contract period was extended to include the
construction of a sub-station, for completion in
August 1989. In the opinion of the witness,
valuations would have been produced at that time in
any event and no reinstatement of data would have
been necessitated by the theft or at all. As at
the date of the theft a final account in respect of
the sub station could not yet have been prepared.
AD PROJECT A 112 B
12. In the opinion of the witness, the time claim in
respect of this project is prima facie not
unreasonable. Such could reasonably been carried
out by a technician.
AD PROJECT A 119 B
13. In the opinion of the witness, the time claimed in
respect of this project would not be unreasonable
if all the interim valuation certificates had been
reproduced. However, this condition is in conflict
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matter of the reinstatement of certificates as has
been set out in respect of the aforegoing project.
9. As previously stated, cost reports are also issued
on a regular basis during the course of the
contract and similar considerations as in respect
of certificates would again be applicable.
10. In these circumstances and in the event that
necessity for such reinstatement is demonstrated,
it is the view of the witness that a total of some
12 - 16 hours would be a reasonable allocation.
AD PROJECT A 111 B
11. In this relatively minor project, the principal
contract terminated approximately one year before
the theft and, in the opinion of the witness,
there should have been no need to reinstate a final
account in respect of that contract because such
hard copy should have existed at the time. The
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if this is indeed the practice of the
Plaintiff then it would take no account of the
delays in the furnishing of the indices of
escalation by the Bureau of Economic Research
in Stellenbosch which should have been used in
these calculations);
7.5 in this event, reinstatement would always be
founded on the last issued (printed)
certificate;
7.6 in the event that it be shown that it was
necessary for retrospective calculations to be
performed in respect of, for instance,
escalation, then it is the view of the
witness that a period of 8 hours is reasonable
allocation for such reinstatement.
AD PROJECT A 107 M
8. The theft occurred some two months before the final
completion of the extended contract period. It
follows that the same considerations pertain to the
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AD PROJECT A 102 B
7. In this project, the theft occurred approximately
one month before the termination of the contract.
This necessarily implies that:-
7.1 interim certificates produced and issued in
respect of contract progress for the preceding
months must have existed as hard copy;
7.2 since certificates are issued in respect of
actual progress made at given times, such
certificates could not be re-created other
than from hard copy data;
7.3 in such circumstances, there would normally
be no need to reinstate any such certificates
on computer;
7.4 the Plaintiff states its practice (as set out
in a letter from Rooth & Wessels dated 2 March
1992) to be that only the last valuation
certificate was stored in a computer, since
each certificate superseded the previous one (
STATEMENT QF MEBHACK THEOAKE
I. I am a 30 year old man residing at 31 Slovo Park. Until 22 June 1992 I was employed as a petrol attendant at Unipark
Motors on the corner of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and Nobel
St, Vanderbijlpark. On 22 June 1992 I was dismissed by my
employer, Jan van Zijl.
II. I have given a previous statement to two women from Peace
Action, although I cannot remember whether they wrote down
my statement. I have not spoken to any journalists about
the events of the night of 17 June 1992, nor have I spoken
to the police about these events.
III. On the night of 17 June 1992, I arrived at work at 9pm, the
usual starting time for my shift. I was the only petrol
attendant working that night. The only other person at the
garage was a security guard employed by CRIME PREVENTION (??
witness is not sure) security company, who are responsible
for security at the garage. I do not know this man's name
as 17 June was the first night that he had worked at the
garage. His security company has a policy of rotating
security guards at the garage on a regular basis.
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IV. At approximately 9:20 I was sitting, chatting to the
security guard near the south edge of the garage when I saw
or f±sse police vehicles (I think they were hippos)
drive past the garage on Nobel St. I watched these vehicles
drive along Nobel St. Approximately opposite gate 4 of
Metal Box, the vehicles turned into the township.
V. At that point I saw that on the northern edge of Boipatong,
there was a group of youths, apparently guarding the
entrance to the township. The youths were approximately 2 00
metres away from where I was standing at the garage. I could
not see whether or not they were armed. The police vehicles
drove directly towards the youths and the youths ran away"YcruJh'i c*- .Rk, . Uahb Jr\ a-v 1
into the township. rvAt otca (J I
VI. Two hippos entered the township at Bafokeng Street. I did
not see what happened to the other hippos. Approximately 5
or ten minutes later I saw the two hippos that had entered
the township emerge from the township with an SADF vehicle<jv<r Scws^t s-y a o x ^ 5 i ; f M
(I think it was a buffel). The three vehicles then drove
back towards my garage along Nobel St. The SADF vehicle
drove past the garage and turned right into Frikkie Meyer
Boulevard in the direction of Sebokeng, but the two hippos
drove onto the veld off Nobel St before they reached the
garage and parked in the veld outside the north west corner
of Boipatong.
- 3 -
VII. A short while later, I was still sitting chatting to the
security guard at the southern edge of the garage when we
saw a group of men emerge from the veld that leads to
KwaMadala hostel on the Western side of Frikkie Meyer}CD ' LKrD boulevard. From the corner of Nobel St and Frikkie Meyer
^ boulevard there is a row of trees growing on the western
side of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard. The men emerged from the
other side of this row of trees, approximately 100 metres
from the intersection. The men were wearing white slw^fes.
They crossed over Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and moved through
the veld in the direction of the township. There is a dongaO ejr\\&n.<A • —
tod ^ '*'n the ve^ at point. Some of the men walked through
the don<?a ' but others used the bridge over the donga. Whileall this was taking place, the two hippos were still parked
^ in the veld north east of the township. . 'TW£a_4c w inh? SVOliAJ
VIII When I saw these men apparently from Kwa Madala hostel,
moving in the direction of the township, I immediately
feared that they were going to launch an attack on the
residents of Boipatong. So I rang the alarm at the
petrol station which is connected directly to the SAP.
I did not approach the policemen in the two hippos,
because they had been even closer to the men coming
from Kwa Madala than I was and they had done nothing to
prevent them entering the township. So I was
suspicious of these policemen.
* * ^ * * ^ ^ w T w ' ^ l*ru j ^ H -e cciA (t a l ( W **-f >
- 4 -
IX. When I returned from ringing the alarm, I saw that there was
another group of men in white shirts crossing Frikkie Meyer
boulevard at the same point where the previous group had
crossed. (This part of the statement was not altogether
clear - the witness says that the attackers did not come
over in one group but in a number of smaller groups - he
used the word "regiments" - one after another).
Htr*J lima in* ^ -pr*™ b Carre - 10/lS m'>v»J-<oXI. Soon thereafter, two white policemen arrived at the petrol
, a station in a van. They asked me why I had rung the alarm.£ i?[v' *■I told them that a large number of attackers were moving in
\ A{ the direction of the township from Kwa Madala hostel. The
- policemen seemed uninterested in this information and asked
me if anything had happened at the garage. I said that
nothing had. At that point a group of attackers was still
visible in the veld on the eastern side of Frikkie Meyer
Boulevard and I pointed them out to the policemen. The
policemen looked at each other and then drove back in the
direction of Vanderbijlpark without saying anything more tome. 9 ^*nv-*
XII. The security guard and I were concerned that the policemen
would not do anything about the attackers, so the security
guard radioed his employers. Soon two white security men
arrived at the garage. The white security men spoke into
their radios, but I did not hear what they said. After a
few minutes, two white policemen arrived in an unmarked car
and spoke with the white security men.
XIII The security men said that the police had instructed them
that the garage was not safe and that they should take us to
Baldwins Steel factory (Approximately 4 00m north on Frikkie
Meyer Boulevard). The security men then dropped us at Baldwins.
XIV. After approximately 20 minutes several ambulances passed us
at Baldwins. I walked back down Frikkie Meyer Boulevard to
the garage. From the garage, over the next hour or so, I saw
many ambulances going in and out of the township. Later I
saw some army and police vehicles come into the township.
XV. I stayed at the garage until my shift ended at 6.00 am on
the 18th. When I handed the money over to Van Zijl shortly
after 6.00 he asked me what had happened during the night and I told him.
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XVI. I did not come to work on Thursday 18th June or Friday 19th
June because there was a general stayaway in protest at the
massacre. When I returned to work on Monday 22 June, Van
Zijl told me that I was fired. He said that I should not
have done what I did on Wednesday night and that the police
were angry with me and would shoot me if they found me.
STATEMENT OF MESHACK THEOANE
2 .
I. I am a 30 year old man residing at 31 Slovo Park. Until 22 June 1992 I was employed as a petrol attendant at Unipark Motors on the corner of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and Nobel St, Vanderbijlpark. On 22 June 1992 I was dismissed by my employer, Jan van Zijl.
T rt i a vn-* * t■£ *»4- » « m4>_i.T -_ • - _____ **- ---- ^— « p i . c » i . u u o o u a t c m c n b ~ u O l W u w O i u c i i n u m --------- r e a u b
Action, although I cannot remember whether they wrote down my statement. I have not spoken to any journalists about the events of the night of 17 June 1992, nor have I spoken to the police about these events.
III. On the night of 17 June 1992, I arrived at work at 9pm, the usual starting time for my shift. I was the only petrol attendant working that night. The only other person at the garage was a security guard employed by CRIME PREVENTION (?? witness is not sure) security company, who are responsible for security at the garage. I do not know this man's name as 17 June was the first night that he had worked at the garage. His security company has a policy of rotating security guards at the garage on a regular basis.
IV. At approximately 9:20 I was sitting, chatting to the security guard near the south edge of the garage when I saw four or five police vehicles (I think they were hippos) drive past the garage on Nobel St. I watched these vehicles drive along Nobel St. Approximately opposite gate 4 of Metal Box, the vehicles turned into the township.
V. At that point I saw that on the northern edge of Eoipatong, there was a group of youths, apparently guarding the entrance to the township. The youths were approximately 200 metres away from where I was standing at the garage. I could not see whether or not they were armed. The police vehicles
drove directly towards the youths and the youths ran away into the township.
VI. Two hippos entered the township at Bafokeng Street. I did not see what happened to the other hippos. Approximately 5 or ten minutes later I saw the two hippos that had entered the township emerge from the township with an SADF vehicle (I think it was a buffel). The three vehicles then drove back towards my garage along Nobel St. The SADF vehicle drove past the garage and turned right into Frikkie Meyer Boulevard in the direction of Sebokeng, but the two hippos drove onto the veld off Nobel St before they reached the garage and parked in the veld outside the north west corner of Boipatong.
VII. A short while later, I was still sitting chatting to the security guard at the southern edge of the garage when we saw a group of men emerge from the veld that leads to KwaMadala hostel on the Western side of Frikkie Meyer boulevard. From the corner of Nobel St and Frikkie Meyer boulevard there is a row of trees growing on the western side of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard. The men emerged from the other side of this row of trees, approximately 100 metres from the intersection. The men were wearing white shirts. They crossed over Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and moved through the veld in the direction of the township. There is a donga in the veld at this point. Some of the men walked through the donga, but others used the bridge over the donga. While all this was taking place, the two hippos were still parked in the veld north east of the township.
VIII When I saw these men apparently from Kwa Madala hostel, moving in the direction of the township, I immediately feared that they were going to launch an attack on the residents of Boipatong. So I rang the alarm at the petrol station which is connected directly to the SAP.I did not approach the policemen in the two hippos, because they had been even closer to the men coming from Kwa Madala than I was and they had done nothing to prevent them entering the township. so I was suspicious of these policemen.
IX. When I returned from ringing the alarm, I saw that there was another group of men in white shirts crossing Frikkie Meyer
'boulevard at the same point where the previous group had crossed. (This part of the statement was not altogether clear - the witness says that the attackers did not come over in one group but in a number of smaller groups - he used the word ••regiments” - one after another) .
XI. Soon thereafter, two white policemen arrived at the petrol station in a van. They asked me why I had rung the alarm.I told them that a large number of attackers were moving in the direction of the township from Kwa Madala hostel. The policemen seemed uninterested in this information and asked me if anything had happened at the garage. I said that nothing had. At that point a group of attackers was still visible in the veld on the eastern side of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and I pointed them out to the policemen. The policemen looked at each other and then drove back in the direction of Vandsrbijlpark without saying anything more to me.
XII. The security guard and I were concerned that the policemen would not do anything about the attackers, so the security guard radioed his employers. Soon two white security men arrived at the garage. The white security men spoke into their radios, but I did not hear what they said. After a few minutes, two white policemen arrived in an unmarked car and spoke with the white security men.
XIII The security men said that the police had instructed them that the garage was not safe and that they should take us to Baldwins Steel factory (Approximately 400m north on Frikkie Meyer Boulevard) . The security men then dropped us at Baldwins.
XIV. After approximately 20 minutes several ambulances passed us at Baldwins. I walked back down Frikkie Meyer Boulevard to the garage. From the garage, over the next hour or so, I saw many ambulances going in and out of the township. Later I saw some army and police vehicles come into the township.
XV. I stayed at the garage until my shift ended at 6.00 am on the 18th. When I handed the money over to Van Zijl shortly after 6.00 he asked me what had happened during the night ard I told him.
I M THE GQLDSTONE COMMTbsiqn of inotttpv
IN RE t BOIPATONG MASSAGRK
a f f i d a v i t
I, the undersigned,
MESHACK THEOANE
do hereby make oath and state : -
1. I am an adult male resident in Slovo Park, Boipatong. The facts contained herein are within my personal knowledge and are to the best of my belief true and correct.
2. Until my dismissal on 22nd June 1992 I was employed as a petrol attendant at Unipark Motors on the corner of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and Nobel Street, Vanderbijlpark.
3. On the night of 17th June 1992 I was at work at the garage. My shift began at 21h00. The only other person working there at the time was a security guard employed by a private security company.
4. At about 21h30 the security guard drew my attention to alarge number of men moving through the trees on the other ’side of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard. They were coming from thedirection of the Kwa-Madala Hostel. In all, there were 300 to 400 men.
5. These men crossed the Frikkie Meyer Boulevard in smallgroups. They ran across in a crouching manner. One smallgroup would cross then, after a short pause, the next would cross and so on.
6. it appeared to me that the men were carrying objects but I was unable to see what they were, as they crossed some distance from the intersection where the garage is.
7. When they had crossed Frikkie Meyer Boulevard, the groups ofmen moved towards the Boipatong township. At that stage,there were two police vehicles known to me as hippos parkedat the soccer grounds next to the township. The men weremoving some distance from the hippos, but if the peopleinside them had been keeping watch they would have seen them.
I feared that these men might be going to attack people inBoipatong. When I saw that there was no reaction from thehippos, I pressed the alarm at the garage. This alarm is connected directly to the Vanderbilpark police station.
About 10 to 15 minutes later two policemen arrived in a yellow police van. They did not get out of the van. They asked what the problem was at the garage, that had made me press the alarm. I replied that there was nothing at the garage, but that I had seen a lot of people coming from Kwa-Madala and moving in at the location. We were speaking in Afrikaans.
The exchange was extremely short. The policemen did not enguire further but just turned to each other and then drove off along Frikkie Meyer Boulevard.
After the police left, the security guard used his walkie-talkie to call his firm. Very soon thereafter two whites from the firm arrived. The security guard reported to them and they spoke into the radio in their vehicle.
12. Some minutes later, two policemen came in a white car. At that stage, there were cracking and breaking sounds and some gunshot sounds coming from the direction of Boipatong township. The policemen instructed the security people to take me and the guard to Baldwin Steel, some distance up Frikkie Meyer Boulevard.
13. We were taken to Baldwin Steel. About 20 minutes later I saw ambulances going to Boipatong. We walked back to the garage and stayed there. From there I saw a number of police and army vehicles going into Boipatong as well as ambulances going in and out.
D E P O N E N T
THUS DONE, SIGNED AND SWORN to before me at JOHANNESBURG on this the 21st day of JULY 1992. Deponent having affirmed that he knows and understands the contents of this affidavit. He has no objections to taking this oath and considers this oath binding on his conscience.
COMMISSIONER OF OATHS
STATEMENT OF MESHACK THEOANE
2 .
I. I am a 30 year old man residing at 31 Slovo Park. Until 22 June 1992 I was employed as a petrol attendant at Unipark Motors on the corner of Frikkie Meyer Boulevard and Nobel St, Vanderbijlpark. On 22 June 1992 I was dismissed by my employer, Jan van Zijl.
II. I have given a previous statement to two women from Peace Action, although I cannot remember whether they wrote down my statement. I have not spoken to any journalists about the events of the night of 17 June 1992, nor have I spoken to the police about these events.
III. On the night of 17 June 1992, I arrived at work at 9pm, the usual starting time for my shift. I was the only petrol attendant working that night. The only other person at the garage was a security guard employed by CRIME PREVENTION (?? witness is not sure) security company, who are responsible for security at the garage. I do not know this man's name as 17 June was the first night that he had worked at the garage. His security company has a policy of rotating security guards at the garage on a regular basis.
IV. At approximately 9:20 I was sitting, chatting to the security guard near the south edge of the garage when I saw four or five police vehicles (I think they were hippos) drive past the garage on Nobel St. I watched these vehicles drive along Nobel St. Approximately opposite gate 4 of Metal Box, the vehicles turned into the township.
V. At that point I saw that on the northern edge of Boipatong, there was a group of youths, apparently guarding the entrance to the township. The youths were approximately 200 metres away from where I was standing at the garage. I could not see whether or not they were armed. The police vehicles
Collection Number: AK2672 Goldstone Commission BOIPATONG ENQUIRY Records 1990-1999 PUBLISHER: Publisher:- Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand Location:- Johannesburg ©2012
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