COMMISSIONER: Mr Mohajane, welcome and good afternoon to you.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Good afternoon, sir.
COMMISSIONER: I see you are accompanied by a lady. Could you please introduce her to us.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: This is my mother.
COMMISSIONER: I welcome her as well. Mr Mohajane, you are going to be telling us about what happened to you on the 8th September 1984. I will be helping you along but the time initially is yours. You can take your time to tell your story but before you do that could you please take the oath.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: (s.s.)
COMMISSIONER: Thank you Mr Mohajane. Can you please tell us what happened to you on the 8th September 1984.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: It was on a Sunday the 8th September 1984. It was about six o'clock in the evening. I was at my friend's place, we were talking to each other. As we were just talking a group came from the other direction running and he asked me do you have an idea why are they running. I said to him no and as they were running he said I want to go inside the house and then he went to the front side of the house. When I approached the corner I only heard a blow on the head and it was from a gun. I was shot. I fell and I was asking myself what is happening. And the whites were around me trampling on me, kicking me
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and they even sprayed their tear-gas on my face. They were trampling on me, they were kicking me. I don't have some of the teeth in my mouth. As I was lying on the ground they were continually tear-gassing me. I cannot see as I am talking to you now. I am blind. I have been to many doctors and they said to me you will never see until you die. After shooting me my mother came, Sidiso actually ran to my place to inform my parents that I had been shot and he explained that we were together with him talking and then he doesn't know why the police shot at us. When my mother arrived the police shot the tear-gas again. And every time - I wanted to ask what was happening because I was unconscious. Instead of taking me to the hospital they took me to Houtkop police station and they threw me on the floor and my mother arrived because she drove in a hippo. And she said to them I thought you were taking my son to the hospital. I don't know what happened but when I regained conscious I was at the hospital. And you know I was guarded by police just like a bandit. I couldn't speak anything, I couldn't say a word. Now the Sebokeng Hospital actually held me. They operated me on the head because a bullet, these big bullets you know one of them got into my head. In winter I battle a lot. I have a terrible headache in winter. And I cannot see. You know even if you want to visit friends you cannot walk on your own. I am doing nothing, I am just at home. I am not working. You know I try to get employment and every time I would be told how will I work. I am now dependent on the government fund and I go to doctors. Every time I don't feel well I go to the doctor and I have to pay. I have given up home. The person who did this to me I have forgiven him, I have really
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forgiven him. This is the kind of life that I am now leading. My mom is here with me and she is also sick. She witnessed the whole thing as I was in the hospital. That is at Sebokeng Hospital. And she was running up and down. We have been to doctors and she said with the grace of God you will be okay. And I said to her Mom I have accepted this, what will I do. I am like this and I will stay like this. You know at times if there is nobody to accompany me to whatever place I would like to go to I have to stay at home. That is the life that I am now used to. Now the day, the 8th September every year when it is about that time I feel very disturbed. I cannot work, I cannot do anything. I am used to this kind of life here in the Vaal Triangle because at the hospital they know me. Every time I go in they would say how do you do and I would say I am just fine. I am used to this kind of life. They shot me and I am used to this kind of life. But these people who did this to me I say to the Lord, Lord forgive them, they didn't know what they were doing. I am thankful that I am still alive like any other human being. You know when the weather is cloudy, as it is now, I get pains because the operation is not that well. I would take pain tablets but they wouldn't help and I would feel this head of mine carrying a lot of weight. You know I would spend the whole day sleeping and the people would say please wake up, you know take some few walks so that you can stretch your body. There are blind schools available but I couldn't go because of finance. Because they want their money cash. They don't think of bursaries, they don't think of any kind of assistance. I have tried many bursaries but to no avail. When I heard that the Commission was coming to our area, you know I have been
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asking myself when will the Commission come to the Vaal Triangle so that we can come and tell the truth. All that happened in the past has passed. I am thankful to the Lord that I am still alive. I am used to this kind of life. There was a course that I had to attend in Pretoria and they demanded R4 000, because of lack of finance I couldn't - I want to work, I want to live a normal life like any other human being. I don't want to sit at home doing nothing.
COMMISSIONER: Mr Mohajane, can I - do you want to say anything else?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Yes. My life is what worries me. I am pulling heavily. My life doesn't change at all. I am battling in life. I survive on pension and if it is over it is over. What will I do then?
COMMISSIONER: Mr Mohajane, thank you very much. If I may I would just like to ask a few questions. 1984 in a sense is another landmark in the history of the Vaal Triangle. You mentioned that the person who shot you was in a brown uniform. Can you tell us whether this was a police person or an army person?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: They were wearing soldiers camouflage.
COMMISSIONER: Can you please just tell, as painful and as difficult as it is, were you involved in any political organisation yourself at the time?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: At that time I wasn't clever enough to be involved in politics. I wasn't really clever enough.
COMMISSIONER: Again, if you can just - if we can go back to that time, what was the atmosphere in Sharpeville and Sebokeng, in the townships generally? Why was the army
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there in the first place?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: It was a violent era. It was a real violent era. Now they were patrolling the townships. It was the 1984 unrest.
COMMISSIONER: You say that when you were taken to the hospital there was a police guard with you all the time. Is that right?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: That is correct.
COMMISSIONER: Why was that? When you were not involved in any political structures, but yet you had a police guard.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: They were guarding - I don't know, maybe they thought that after recovering I would run away. I don't know the real reason for guarding me.
COMMISSIONER: Were you ever questioned and asked to make a statement by the police?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Yes. It was after I was discharged from the hospital when they requested me to come in to give them the statement. It was at Houtkop police station.
COMMISSIONER: Did anything happen after that? Were you informed about any developments?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: There was never any development. I went to the lawyers, Ayob and Company, to give them their statement.
COMMISSIONER: And again did Mr Ayob respond, did he ever report back to you to say what was going to happen in terms of your statement?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: I only gave him the statement and I have never had any feedback since the day I submitted my statement.
COMMISSIONER: Mr Mohajane, I just want to once more go back
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to that time in hospital and the police guard that you had. When the doctors came to visit you or the nurses came to visit you were you allowed any privacy or confidentiality with the doctors or did that happen in front of the police guard?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: The police guarded me three days and thereafter when they realised that I wasn't dying they left.
COMMISSIONER: I want to go back to those three days when the police guard was there, did the police excuse themselves or did the doctor ask the police to leave when they came to examine you?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: I was unconscious, I couldn't say anything but every time when the doctor came you know my eyes were closed because they used their boots to kick me and my face was swollen. I couldn't see anything. The pellets were also present in my body because they shot me right on the side of the heart I think.
COMMISSIONER: Thank you Mr Mohajane. I don't have any more questions. Perhaps my colleagues may have some questions. Thank you.
MISS JOY SEROKE: I want to ask you a question. When you were at the hospital did they give you medical records at St Johns and Sebokeng?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Yes, I have every relevant document. They are with the lawyers. All the files are with the lawyers. I am referring to Ayob and Company.
MISS JOY SEROKE: You say you wanted to go to Optima College for the blind and then you went on to Tibulogo for the blind, that is in Wittsieshoek, and you went to Soweto Workshop. Were you referring to Sharp?
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MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Yes.
MISS JOY SEROKE: What skills were you taught in these places?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: At Optimum I was taught to cook and to wash and to walk on my own. I do everything for myself, I wash, I cook. Everything I do for myself.
MISS JOY SEROKE: What skills did you get from Sharp?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: At Sharp we were doing handywork. You know as it is far from home I used to wake up at five and in winter it wasn't okay for me to wake up that early.
MISS JOY SEROKE: You say you didn't have funds to carry on. Now if it were possible what is it that you wanted to do actually?
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: I wanted to have skills as to how to use my hands. There is a division in Optima. They teach you to manufacture spices, atja and many things. I want to work. I want to work for myself. I am not used to staying, just doing nothing. I am still young I think.
MISS JOY SEROKE: I want to thank you very much. I don't have any question any more.
COMMISSIONER: We want to thank you very much, sir.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: I also thank you.
COMMISSIONER: The first thing we want to thank you for not giving up hope. You are prepared to go on. We are going to try to help you because you have an ambition. You are still young and you are handsome.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Yes. (Laughter).
COMMISSIONER: And maybe there are young ladies here and we must say to you, sir, you know people like Stevie Wonder.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Yes, I know them.
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COMMISSIONER: People like Ray Charles.
MR RAMORAKANE SIMON MOHAJANE: Yes, I know them.
COMMISSIONER: Those are blind people but they are very prosperous in life when it comes to the things they have tried to achieve. We want to say to you don't lose hope. Maybe with the help that we can request from our President to give to you you might be in a position to fulfil your dreams. Your dreams about carrying your life upon your shoulders. The second important point that we got from you and it touches us, it is the fact that you mentioned that even if you are in that kind of a situation you have indeed forgiven the people who did that to you. We hope that wherever they are listening maybe to the proceedings from their radio, if they see you on television uttering those words they will be touched in their hearts and maybe they will stand up and they will say we made a mistake. We are therefore sorry. We want to thank you. Thank you very much.
