MR LEWIN: Alegria we would like to welcome you. It is good to meet again. Very pleased that you have been able to come.
Before asking Tom Manthata to lead your evidence could I please ask you to stand and take the oath?
MS NYOKA: (sworn states)
MR MANTHATA: With whom are you?
MS NYOKA: Can you repeat please Sir?
MR MANTHATA: Yes. I was saying, good morning. Please relax. And I further wanted to know with whom are you?
MS NYOKA: My name is Alegria Nyoka from Daveyton and I am the sister of the late Caiphus Nyoka who was killed in 1987. With me here, next to me is my mother, Saroma Nyoka and next to her is one of our family friend, Monica Wright who were very sympathetic to our family after the occurrence. And in this row I have got two uncles who are here to support us. They are brothers to my father and they are two sisters again, who are younger sisters to Caiphus Nyoka.
MR MANTHATA: And you are the eldest child in the family?
MS NYOKA: Yes.
MR MANTHATA: Thank you. And presently, what are you doing Alegria?
MS NYOKA: Presently I am working as a Community Health
Nurse at Daveyton Clinic, but I am under the greater Benoni Council.
MR MANTHATA: Would you give us roughly an estimate number of the family members, that is directly affected by the past political conflicts?
MS NYOKA: Can you repeat your question please?
MR MANTHATA: Can you roughly give us the number of the family, you know of the Nyoka family, directly affected by this political conflict of the apartheid era?
MS NYOKA: The immediate family that was affected by this death, is my mother, myself, I have got a brother who is presently overseas, and my two sisters, who are teaching, and there is the last born brother, Titus, who unfortunately is not here. And then my two daughters as well.
MR MANTHATA: And if I get it right, that entire family was politically conscious and politically active.
MS NYOKA: I would say so.
MR MANTHATA: Alegria I see we have quite a thick statement from the family but we would have loved that you give us a precise picture of how, you know, the brother was killed, you know, the involvement of the police, perhaps even the courts if ever they were used. Could that please be all.
MS NYOKA: I would start by saying that we as a family, we are grateful to the TRC for selecting our case for today's hearing. At least this is a chance for us as a family to relate our story to the whole world.
My late father would have loved to be at this place today, saying whatever I am going to say, but unfortunately got intervened by calling him into the Other
World, saving him further emotional trauma. But I know and I believe that wherever his spirit is today, he will be very happy because from where he left off, we continued the struggle to search for the truth behind the killing of my brother.
First I will give you the background situation before this incidence happened. My brother, Caiphus Nyoka was an activist. He was a student activist. He was a Cosas member from 1984 until it was banned. At the time of his tragic death he was East Rand coordinator, East Rand Transco coordinator, which stands for Transvaal Student Congress. And he was also President of SRC, that is Student Representative Council at Mabuya High School.
Although he was totally opposed to the apartheid policies which he used to challenge publicly, using all venues at his disposal, violence was never his style. His involvement in educational and local politics resulted in him being hated by those in authority, namely the black local authority, Councillors, the Police Security Forces, but on the contrary he was liked and respected by the community and the students as he was seen as a person who stood for the truth.
He was detained several times for offenses which he had not committed, but was acquitted in all as well as for the State of Emergency. He was tortured severely whilst detained in 1985 July and Mr Aza Kachila can testify to this because he was the legal representative then.
And on this statement I made an additional statement again including the name of one of those who tortured him as Van Eck.
We as a family were victimised as well. Our family
was harassed by police, daily. Our home was attacked in 1985 by the then Mayor of Daveyton, Mr Tom Boya. He even physically attacked me and my father, Mr Moses Nyoka.
Once a tear gas canister was shot into our house, the 17th of May 1986. We have evidence here of that canister that was fired into our house.
Police raids in our house was now part of our daily living. Probably this was done to deter my brother from his beliefs, but unfortunately he was a very determined young man, very talented, courageous and altruistic.
Equality is what he stood for and equality is what his life was sacrificed for.
Particulars of Caiphus Nyoka. Caiphus was born on the 9th of February 1964. He died on the 24th of August 1987. Nature of his death was not natural. He was shot 12 times by three Security Policemen.
This had happened at No 999, Limba Street, Daveyton, which was his home. Occupation of the deceased: he was a student doing standard ten at Mabuya High School. Organisations in which he was involved: in 1984 he was a Cosas member, and then at the time of this death he was Coordinator for Transco East Rand.
People responsible for his death: they were white Security Police, specifically the Supervisor, Maj L van den Berg and Sgt AH Engelbrecht, Sgt J Marais and Sgt Stander. There were also SAP policemen as well as the black Municipal Police.
Details of how my father read, I am going to read the statement that was written by my father, almost nine years ago. At about half past two on the 24th of August 1987 in the morning I heard a noise outside. I peeped through my
bedroom window and I saw a lot of policemen, both South African Police in uniform and plain clothes as well as the Municipal Police. Some police stood guard at the front of the street and many others rushed to the back of the house. It was a terrifying spectacle and I was very frightened at their movements. I cannot say what the exact number of the policemen was but they were very many. They were both black and white policemen and they were armed with firearms.
I tried to go outside to see what was happening, but I was stopped at the kitchen door. A white policeman said to me, wat soek julle? And he was very aggressive. I was afraid and I went back into the house. I was watching the police movements through my bedroom window, which faces the street.
After a while three white policeman armed with rifles entered the main house. One pushed me back with his rifle and did not say anything to me. He went from room to room as if in search for something.
The policemen did not take anything from the rooms and I do not know what they were looking for.
After the search, the police went out. At this stage there was still a heavy contingent of policemen in the yard and in the street.
I remained in the kitchen and a short while later a white policeman entered the house and asked, who could identify the three boys outside. My daughter, Motashi, said she could and she went outside. I accompanied her and Motashi identified the three boys.
The three boys were lying on their sides on the ground between the back wall of the main building and the out
building. Caiphus was not amongst this group.
There was a lot of policemen moving around and after the identification we were ordered back into the main house.
Later a white policeman came into the kitchen and asked why I was keeping terrorists and he said I would get into trouble one day. I replied that I did not do what he was accusing me of and that Caiphus was my son.
At about ten past four in the morning I noticed a white van arrived. The police were still present at this stage. I recognised the van as a hearse, as I had seen this vehicle on several occasions before.
It stopped in the street in front of my house and four Municipal policemen removed a tray from the hearse and took it to the back of the house. A while later they came back with a body in the tray. I immediately recog-nised the body as that of my son by the hairstyle he wore.
He was dressed only in his underpants when I saw him on the tray.
The body was placed in the hearse which then drove away. I did not go outside because I was very frightened of the police.
The police had all left shortly after.
MR MANTHATA: Alegria do not force yourself, if the emotions sort of choke you. Just relax.
MS NYOKA: The police had all left shortly after the body was taken away. The last vehicle to leave was a white Ford Sierra with two white policemen.
Before the arrival of the hearse the three youths who were identified by my daughter away in a white combi.
At day break members of my family and I went outside
into Caiphus's room. I saw the door of Caiphus's room was kicked in and burnt. The beds, mattresses and blankets in disarray. The blanket on Caiphus's bed was covered in blood and the room was in a terrible state.
I realised then that Caiphus was shot and my suspicions that the body that was put into the hearse was that of Caiphus.
Up to this stage neither I nor members of my family were informed of the killing of my son. We were not also told of the reasons or circumstances surrounding this shooting. I did not hear any shooting or crying while the police were in my house. I certainly did not hear Caiphus scream or shout.
At about seven o'clock that morning I sent my daughter, Alegria, to enquire from the police at Daveyton about Caiphus, because we had at this stage still not heard from the police as to what happened or why they were at my home.
I was later informed by Alegria that she was referred to Maj Van den Berg at the Benoni Police Station at Harper Avenue by the Daveyton Police.
On Wednesday the 26th of August 1987 I was fetched by three black Security policemen to see Maj Van den Berg at the Benoni Police Station. At this stage I was not officially notified of Caiphus's death and neither did I see his body again until the 3rd of September 1987 at the funeral parlour of BOS Funeral Undertakers.
Maj Van den Berg had told me that he regretted that Caiphus was killed by units which dealt with terrorism.
This is roughly the details of how my brother died.
The funeral was very difficult to be arranged.
Restriction order were served.
The prime witnesses to the killing, those three boys, who were with him in that room, were Mr Elsen Monyakeni, now in Soweto and Exodus Guguletu Nyakane, living in Wattville and Mr Excellent Mtembu, living in Soweto. All three witnessed that the police that entered that room asked who Caiphus was and my brother identified himself. He never resisted. Then the three policemen ordered the three boys to go out without clothes, except their underpants.
They also stated that they were later taken from our home by a white combi to Daveyton Police Station where one plain clothed police wearing a balaclava wrote the following on the chip board: 999 Limba Street, Caiphus Nyoka executed, six shots means of death.
I must bring to the attention of the Commission here that my father saw the combi referred to here on the 28th of September 1988, that its registrations were HSC762T Nissan E20 and it was driven by a Constable working for the Daveyton City Council and he positively identified the driver as a Mr Mcabe.
Inquest hearing took place in 1988, October. The place where this inquest was held was Benoni Magisterial Court and the Magistrate of the inquest was Mr JP Myburgh, the family legal representatives were Attorney Mr Soma and Advocate Mr AJ Graft.
The findings of the inquest were very disappointing. The Magistrate was very vague and certain in ..... To us it appeared that he was pressurised by the Ministry of Law and Order. We know that Minister's Vlok's office was consulted by him before he could pass the verdict on July
1989. This is proven by his summary as quoted by Sowetan
newspaper July 14, 1989 that though the policemen acted wrongfully, they acted reasonable under the circumstances prevailing at the time. The policemen who were going to arrest Nyoka had been warned that he had hand grenades and other explosives and he was a very dangerous man and he was likely to resist arrest.
The autopsy was done by both the state and a private pathologist. The private pathologist was representing the family. The family private pathologist was Dr Len Ansti, I have got copies to that effect. The autopsy findings, according to the pathologist Caiphus was shot 12 times. He had 12 bullet wounds and a controversy surrounding this finding and the police evidence is that the police claimed that they shot him 9 times.
Dr L Ansti had serious reservations about this. He stated that the only time one could justify that controversy was if one assumes that Caiphus was shot shielding himself with his hands against his attackers, which means therefore that the three bullets that penetrated his palms also penetrated his chest.
But this version also created a serious doubt on the statement given by the police that they shot Caiphus because he stretched his arm sideways to grasp a shiny object, which later they said, was a knife.
The inquest failed to clarify this contradiction. The impact of the incidence to the Nyoka family. The incidence really crushed my family. The invisible pain we suffered cannot be described. My parents were physically and emotionally traumatised. They both developed hypertension and the worst is that my father's health deteriorated quickly and on the 22nd of October 1992 he died of kidney cancer. This was the worst blow for the family as a whole.
My younger brother, Titus, and my two children, Philippa and Amelia were also seriously affected. Their performance at school declined. Titus was so badly affected that he dropped out. You find that people close to you dissociate themselves from you after the incident as a result, as individual members of the family we have the problem of trusting people now. We even have policemen.
Personally the idea of community policing is something I believe it could not be successful as long as policemen trained under the old regime standards and values are not suspended, especially those with criminal records.
A commission of enquiry should be established to investigate police who were involved in covert activities before community policing is implemented.
What we want the Truth Commission to do for us, we believe my brother's death was a conspiracy. The inquest failed to establish that because it was covering up the police action. So the TRC could help us if it could reveal this.
The TRC should also establish the fact that the Police Force during the eighties were involved in covert activities. Total onslaught was their goal to eliminate all those who were determined to fight against apartheid.
As in our case when they had completed their mission as commanded they wrote on the chop board: Caiphus Nyoka executed .... (Tape ends)
The contradiction with regards to the number of shots fired: Caiphus had twelve bullet wounds, police claimed to have shot him nine times. The question is, who shot the three bullets?
My mother Saroma was seriously affected physically and emotionally about what happened. She lost the two most important people in her life, a son and a husband. My younger brother, Titus, who was also seriously affected by the death of Caiphus is now a problem as well.
We would like the Commission to find a way of assisting my mother financially or otherwise as a form of reparation. Justice should take its course on the perpetrators.
Those who really regret what they did should come personally to reconcile with the family.
We also want the Commission to recommend to the present Government that recognition of those who died for our freedom is very important. Monuments in memory of those who died for this freedom should be built in their respective communities.
This is the end of my presentation.
Thank you.
MR MANTHATA: Alegria we thank you and we thank the family. It is very clear how the family suffered and personally I will ask one or two questions, before handing over to the Chairperson.
Under the leadership of Caiphus, were there ever acts of violence, perpetrated by Cosas in the township?
MS NYOKA: What I would say, to my knowledge, during his leadership nothing happened.
MR MANTHATA: Even the Councillors did not feel
threatened or they were not threatened by any particular action, or rather the strength and the influence of his leadership?
MS NYOKA: What I would say is this, in fact Caiphus was never a leader as a Cosas member. He was just a member. So there was a fear because Cosas was of the view then that black local authority was used as a tool to oppress the black communities.
So, it was something which we as blacks were not supposed to support, because it was something imposed on us by the white Government. Then again it fought educational issues, like those of age limit, if you remember, because when there was this threat that if a child of a certain age, doing a lower standard that child should not be allowed at school. So that was an issue that Cosas did not want. They said everybody has the right to attend school, to be given that right irrespective of their age.
And there were issues against such as those of corporal punishment. Those were educational issued that Cosas were involved in.
So, I think the local Councillors then were threatened by those views of Cosas.
MR MANTHATA: Before this tragic death Caiphus had never been dragged before the court accused of either terrorism, either you know, incitement and this and the other?
MS NYOKA: When in my statement, I have mentioned that in 1985 we were physically attacked, me and my father and the whole family, but we were, my father and myself were physically attacked by the ex-Mayor, Mr Tom Boy. And one of the reasons that he attacked us was that his car was
stoned in a hall where there was a community meeting and he believed that one of those who stoned that car, was my brother.
So, he came to home, he came to our home, looking for Caiphus and he attacked us as a family. After that we presented that case, we sort of went to the police station to make a case of that incident, but instead of our case being taken that we were attacked and there was malicious damage to property, our house was stoned by him as well, our case was not taken instead, they were saying that we must bring Caiphus.
So he was arrested in 1985 and the charge there was public violence and arson, but in both cases he was acquitted in the sense that he was not there. It appeared that the person in question, the person I am talking about, had a grudge on him, because what happened was that, in that meeting the meeting was rowdy and all in all, lights were switched off, everybody took different direction and the question was, how did you see this boy, because there were three of them accused of it? This one, who threw a stone at your car, because there were many other boys there. So how did you know in particular?
They could not, because even if they were responsible for the damage all the people who were there were responsible.
So, another instance was that of public violence. The police arrested Caiphus in a house and they said the charge was public violence and the question was, how can you arrest a person in a house and charge a person for public violence, because if a person is arrested for public violence you are arrested on the scene, where you are causing that public
violence, so eventually the police agreed that they were given these names by certain people. So they said, who are those people?
Councillor Mtiba was called to witness and Councillor Lange who is now dead and the ex-Mayor Mr Tom Boya.
So these are the accounts that I can remember.
MR MANTHATA: From the letter, written by dad, it seems he was very strong at that time. What was dad doing at that time?
MS NYOKA: Can you repeat your question?
MR MANTHATA: I say from the letter written by your father, it seems that he was very strong at the time. What was he doing?
MS NYOKA: You mean may father was strong and then what was he doing at that time? You mean my father?
MR MANTHATA: Yes your father.
MS NYOKA: At the time of Caiphus death?
MR MANTHATA: At the time of Caiphus death like he managed to get out and be shown those three students, if ever they were and so on.
MS NYOKA: In fact I must confess to this Commission that deep down in my heart I always believe that if Caiphus was not killed the way he was killed, probably my father would be alive.
At the time of Caiphus death my father was still a very active man, very strong and he was a very good father. He was working for the then Daveyton Town Council, as a Clerk at Daveyton Hostel. So that was what he was doing.
MR MANTHATA: Was all this ever taken to the court, to
the police, that is, was the death of Caiphus ever contested in court?
MS NYOKA: No. What happened is that after the ruling at the inquest we did not see, or we did not have the direction now as to where to go, because the people that killed him were people of authority and now it was the very justice was protective of those people. So it was just a wasteful effort at the end, because I think what was presented at that inquest, it was final that the Magistrate of that inquest court, did not see that case valuable to continue.
MR MANTHATA: Did the three students who were in Caiphus's room that night ever give an account of how the police entered the house and started shooting?
MS NYOKA: You mean the three boys that were with him?
MR MANTHATA: Yes.
MS NYOKA: What they related, I mentioned a little bit here, is that the police went straight to his room, hence all of us we could not go there. He was killed whilst all of us were in our respective bedrooms, but when all are able to go there, because when they came in they did not do as usual where they normally knock at the main house and then obviously the principal person who were at that time, was my father, is normally asked to say, no Mister so and so, we are looking for so and so. So he is the person who will take him to the room.
But on that particular day what they did, is they just went straight to his room. And what they did is they just banged that door. They were banging the door and shouting, maak oop, maak oop.
So when they entered in that room, there are two twin
beds inside that room. So two boys were occupying the
other bed and Caiphus with another boy were occupying the other bed.
So, they did not switch on the lights, that is what they were telling us. So, they just blinded them with the torches which they were holding and they said, who is Caiphus, wie is Caiphus? in Afrikaans and then he said, I am Caiphus. And they said, julle drie, uit.
MR MANTHATA: I was under he impression that the three students or the three youths were sleeping in the same room with Caiphus.
MS NYOKA: No. In fact, to clarify that these there boys were neither friends to Caiphus. These three boys were from the neighbour who were attending a funeral at our neighbour, a Mr Zita, whose wife was buried the previous day. I will say that because the wife was buried on the 23rd of August and then on the 24th, which according to us it was still night, because we have slept 23 for 24, so it was still night, so that morning our house was raided.
So, these three boys had asked accommodation to sleep at our place.
MR MANTHATA: Thank you Alegria. I have no further questions. I will hand over to the Chairperson.
MR LEWIN: Thanks Tom. Fazel?
DR RANDERA: Can you just clarify for me, were you in the house the night Caiphus was shot because in your father's statement your name only comes out at about seven o'clock in the morning.
MS NYOKA: Yes.
DR RANDERA: You were in the house?
MS NYOKA: Yes.
DR RANDERA: Now you mentioned that 12 shots were fired.
MS NYOKA: Yes.
DR RANDERA: None of you have heard these shots. Is that right?
MS NYOKA: We did not hear them.
DR RANDERA: Did that come out in the inquest in terms of...
MS NYOKA: It came out that we believe that the guns the police used were either muffled because it is funny that even my brother, the one who is overseas now, who was sleeping next to that room, did not hear those shots.
DR RANDERA: The three young men you say, were not friends of Caiphus's.
MS NYOKA: Yes.
DR RANDERA: They were just sleeping there the night.
Did they say the police had balaclava's on or ...
MS NYOKA: What they mentioned, I did not think I would speak so much on their behalf, where I am not certain. The balaclava is what the police had wrote on the board. They said he was wearing plain clothes and he had a balaclava on his head, so they wrote on the board, so they could not identify who was that police.
DR RANDERA: One of the clippings that you have so kindly given to us talks about two young men who were charged and the article says they were both close friends of Nyoka. They were charged with possession of six land mines, eight Russian hand grenades, eight hand grenades, detonators, five detonators and six armoured shells.
Now was this found subsequently, the police say it was found in Caiphus's room, is there a connection at all between this clipping you have given us and those three
young men who were arrested in Caiphus's room?
MS NYOKA: According to that information you are reading it is the justification the police used, was that the reason they came to our house, they had a lead from two boys they arrested earlier on who were Daniel Sussein and Moses Mahlangu. So those boys were found in possession of hand grenades and when they were asked they said they were given those hand grenades by Caiphus, of which now it was funny that when they came to raid the house they did not give him the chance of showing them where the other hand grenades were. Instead when they came to our house they just eliminated him, before he could even say where he got those hand grenades.
So, us, we do not accept that version of the story. We see it again as a plot. Hence we are saying, as we have indicated, we think there is a conspiracy.
DR RANDERA: Two last questions. I know you have spoken clearly about Caiphus's activities. You also mentioned that he was a peaceful person. Do you know or is it possible that he was in fact a member of the underground liberation movement.
MS NYOKA: That I do not know.
DR RANDERA: And my last question is, what were actually happening in your area at the time? Was there a great deal of student activity, were policemen being killed, were bombs going off in the area?
MS NYOKA: This question you are asking me is the one that had been bothering us for a long time, because during the time when he was arrested, during 1985, it was a period there were indeed, there were uprisings. But at the time when Caiphus was killed, it was a time when
everything was normal in the community.
So is was just funny that there was nothing going on and we thought everything was peaceful and then there was this raid and he was killed.
DR RANDERA: Thank you very much.
MR LEWIN: Joyce?
MS SEROKE: Alegria, I would like to know what happened to the young men who were in possession of those weapons and grenades. Are they still alive, or still around?
MS NYOKA: In fact he was charged and then he was taken to Robben Island for three years and then in 1990, if I am not wrong, they were given parole.
So we do not see of him a lot and he sort of dissociates himself from the family. So, we do not know actually his whereabouts.
MS SEROKE: I was asking this because maybe you could give some light as to why, after the police had discovered the weapons in his possession they sent them to Caiphus.
MS NYOKA: That is, as I have explained in that statement, when he was released, as I am saying he was given parole, somewhere in 1990, he came to my place and my father was still alive.
So my father said, at least you are my last hope, if you can give me a direction, if you can tell me what actually happened. So his preoccupation at that point was for my father to go and show him the grave and then he said I will come back and explain, but he never.
Instead he dissociates himself from the family, so we do not know actually his point of view.
MS SEROKE: Although he has disassociated himself would you have an address, maybe we could ask him to make a
statement as well.
MS NYOKA: Although I do not know the address by heart now, but we know where he used to live. Yes.
MR LEWIN: Thank you Joyce.
Alegria I would like to, I have no further questions myself and I would like to thank you on behalf of the Commission. I would like to thank you very much for your testimony which have been very comprehensive. It is also very moving.
I think that you have told us and what you have told us again emphasised a lot of what we heard this morning even. About the role of the police in those times. About their pettiness, their nastiness and their viciousness.
And again, we are not looking backward all the time. We are also looking forward.
You have told us about a person, who you described was a person who loved the truth and who fought for the truth and whose life in fact, became a sacrifice to that truth.
I think we have heard a lot of talk about the lost generation, what I do not necessarily believe it, because I do not think they were lost, but it is significant that Caiphus's name has come up, more or less at the same time that there has again been discussion about the case of Steve Biko, of Ginewe, of other people who were killed in the process.
And I think what we are looking at in fact, is the lost leaders. The people who so unnecessarily lost their lives, who were killed in the struggle and Caiphus's name obviously is foremost amongst those.
We thank you for coming and you have given us a check list which we certainly will follow through and I am pleased to see that the last point that you do raise is that of the possibility of memorials, of monuments to this people, these lost leaders who have left us.
Thank you very much for coming.
MR LEWIN: Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you very much for your patience and forbearance. We are slightly late but we will break now for lunch and I suggest we come back in forty minutes time at twenty to three. Thank you very much.
