MR LEWIN: I would now like to call out our next witness Tetiswa Njikelani, will you please come forward?
TETISWA NJIKELANI: (sworn states)
CHAIRPERSON: I will now ask Joyce Seroke if she will please lead you in your evidence. Thank you Joyce.
MS SEROKE: I greet you Missy, before you give us your evidence I would like you to tell us about the sister next to you.
MRS NJIKELANI: The sister next to me is staying at Tafeni.
MS SEROKE: Is she your neighbour?
MRS NJIKELANI: She is staying in a section next to my section.
MS SEROKE: We welcome both of you. Tetiswa on the 31st of July 1993, you went through an accident where you were hit by a hippo while walking on the street. Can you explain as to what happened on that day and also as to why you were run over by the hippo?
MRS NJIKELANI: I was from ...(indistinct) section, I was going to Giyani. It was on the 21st of July 1993, it was about a quarter past six and it was dark because it was during winter. While walking I was just getting out of the house where I visited. I heard the engine of a hippo, it's lights were off, it was so close to me and I got out of the road and it turned on the edge of the road because as it turned, we used to run when we saw hippos. There I opened
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a way, standing on the side of the road. The hippo proceeded straight towards me and hit me.
MS SEROKE: After you were hit by the hippo, what happened?
MRS NJIKELANI: There were four young men who saw them at the time when it ran me over. They tried to come towards my direction because after I was hit by this hippo it ran away. The came to me to help me but at that time I couldn't recognise them because I was confused. I just found myself in a car, it was a white van. They were taking me to hospital, therefore I thought the person who ran me over was trying to kill me. I just found myself in hospital.
MS SEROKE: How injured were you and what part of the body was injured?
MRS NJIKELANI: I was badly injured because my leg, my left leg from down up to my thigh, I was injured and also the knee was not working and also the whole foot was not working. As you can see me limping, that happened because of the incident.
MS SEROKE: These boys you said who helped you, didn't they give you the number plates of the hippo? Or didn't they describe the hippo to you because you said it's lights were off.
MRS NJIKELANI: These young men who helped me, they tried to look for this hippo, they found it. I heard while in hospital about the hippo's registration number that they found them and also that they found my clothes and my belongings. They were found by these young men and they also found the name of this man who was driving the hippo. They took it to our house. I got all this information while I was in hospital.
MS SEROKE: Do you still have these registration numbers
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and the name of the person who was driving the Casper in order for us to have them when we investigate the case?
MS NJIKELANI: The registration numbers I don't have them in my possession at the moment. However, I still remember the name of the person who was driving the Casper and also the number of his house.
MS SEROKE: Was he a policeman?
MS NJIKELANI: Yes.
MS SEROKE: Do you know the name, can you give us the name and address?
MS NJIKELANI: Yes I can.
MS SEROKE: Is he still in the police this person?
MS NJIKELANI: I am not sure whether he's still a policeman.
MS SEROKE: What are you doing now?
MS NJIKELANI: Before I was run over I was working as a domestic worker, but at the present moment I can't work.
MS SEROKE: Is it because of the accident?
MS NJIKELANI: That's correct.
MS SEROKE: How do you survive now?
MS NJIKELANI: I get a disability grant, monthly.
MS SEROKE: Did you have a child before this incident or do you have children?
MS NJIKELANI: Yes I do have children. There are six children.
MS SEROKE: Do you have a husband?
MS NJIKELANI: No I don't have a husband.
MS SEROKE: When you left this hospital with this information, the registration numbers and the name of this person, did you try to open a case?
MS NJIKELANI: The police arrived at the hospital after
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three days to take evidence and they wanted to take a statement from me. Firstly one man who was a member of the ANC by the name of Bomba came to my place with other people whom I didn't know, they said to me that when police come to you you mustn't give them a statement. The police came and they asked for a statement. They asked me and I told them what happened. Later other police came, the other one was Sergeant Malatje, he also came to take a statement after two weeks. I gave him the very same statement.
MS SEROKE: This Sergeant Malatje is he from Tembisa?
MS NJIKELANI: Yes he told me he's from Tembisa.
MS SEROKE: Do you know whether he's still around?
MS NJIKELANI: I won't know whether he's still around because when I got out of hospital I spent about eight months in hospital, after I was discharged police from Rabasotho Police Station called me. I was discharged on the 7th of March 1984, when I arrived at Rabasotho Police Station they said my case is not under Mr Malatje it was now investigated by Sergeant Gomo. After I have given them the statement and Mr Malatje came to me to get the statement and now I was told it's Sergeant Gomo who is conducting the investigation.
MS SEROKE: Didn't you hear anything about the case up to now?
MS NJIKELANI: On the 13th of September 1995 police came to me and told me that my case is over. They said if I have a problem I have to call at the numbers which appeared on top of that paper. They asked me whether I have a lawyer, I said yes I have a lawyer. They said if you have a problem in connection with this case you had better call these numbers. I didn't call the numbers that they gave me. According to
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them the case was over.
MS SEROKE: Who was your lawyer?
MS NJIKELANI: He was Crafford based at Kempton Park. Crafford also referred me to Divorak in Joburg.
MS SEROKE: Can you give us the addresses of these lawyers?
MS NJIKELANI: Yes they are at my home.
MS SEROKE: Can you send them to us, we will give you our address.
MS MKHIZE: I greet you. You said you saw a Casper coming, what time was it?
MS NJIKELANI: It was past six, it was dark because it was during winter.
MS MKHIZE: How sure are you that this Hippo ran over you, hit you intentionally?
MS NJIKELANI: This Casper wasn't in high speed, it was coming slowly from the sounds that I could hear it was in a low gear. I am sure that they intentionally ran over me because I opened a way for it but instead I was standing on the side of the road next to a pole on my back there is a very big hole and it came straight towards me and I was out of the road.
MS MKHIZE: Maybe the way it happened, it may happen that when you are driving a car it might skid out of the road or were they just driving straight to you or do you think the driver might have lost control of the Casper?
MS NJIKELANI: I don't remember as to exactly how it happened because I just found myself just got run over. I saw it coming, I don't know what happened then.
MS MKHIZE: If you can just clarify for us, how far were you from the main street, how far did you get out of the road? Maybe if the Hippo was passing you at high speed you TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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might have been pulled by the wind and then you fell in the
road.
MS NJIKELANI: I was very much far from the road, and there was still a space for the Hippo to pass through.
MS MKHIZE: You said you were an ANC member did you occupy any office in the organisation?
MS NJIKELANI: I was must a member.
MS MKHIZE: At the time when this incident happened it was 1993, at that time most of your leaders were becoming strong, you said you had the registration numbers for the Hippo.
MS NJIKELANI: These numbers were brought to me by these people.
MS MKHIZE: Why didn't your leaders take the matter over since you had the numbers, why didn't you give them the numbers to take it over?
MS NJIKELANI: They used to come to me in hospital, one of them was Bomba. He also came with another one who was the secretary of the ANC, I don't remember his name, and they said when I get out of hospital, because they didn't know when I was going to be discharged, they thought I would be in hospital for a short period of time, they said I must come to them at Tembisa, in their offices. I spent a long time in hospital and I couldn't go to them and then I had to continue the case with the police at Rabasotho.
MS MKHIZE: As you said the matter was handed over to the lawyers, did you claim anything or did you just lay a charge?
MS NJIKELANI: I didn't claim anything.
MS MKHIZE: As you have opened a case with the lawyers what did you want them to do?
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MS NJIKELANI: Because I can't work anymore I would like them to find some way as to how I can be assisted regarding money to buy necessary things for myself.
MS MKHIZE: You put a claim with regards of the loss of a body part and you also wanted to find out as to exactly what has happened regarding that, because even in your statement, I am not sure whether when you were giving a statement you gave them the doctor's reports as to the injury of your leg?
MS NJIKELANI: I didn't give them the reports. However the person I gave the statement to looked at my injury and he didn't ask for the reports.
MS MKHIZE: It helps us a lot, as I said your leg was injured, if you have got any report from a doctor you can bring it to us so that when we go through your statement we can look at all the information that might be required and also the names of the lawyers you have given before the Commission. Thank you very much.
MR LEWIN: Thank you very much. Tetiswa if I could just ask in following up what Hlengiwe has said, you mentioned in your statement that you are now semi-crippled and that you have constant pain in your left knee, is that correct?
MS NJIKELANI: Yes it is so.
MR LEWIN: It would help us if you could give us some documents about that. Also just coming back to the question of the driver, you say that you know the name of the driver?
MS NJIKELANI: Yes I do.
MR LEWIN: If you could give us that name, not necessarily now but could I ask did you know the driver before the incident?
MS NJIKELANI: No I never knew him before.
MR LEWIN: At all. Okay. If you could please then give us TEMBISA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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all those details, the name of the driver, the names of the other people involved so that we can investigate this as much as possible.
We would like to thank you very much for coming to tell us of this incident. It was at a time when there was a lot of unrest in the streets, in the townships and we would very much like to follow this up and find out for you and for the community as much as possible about what was happening. We commend you for coming. We commend you for your strength that you have shown in coming forward to do this very difficult thing, to give your testimony in public. Thank you for waiting and thank you for coming. Thank you very much.
MS NJIKELANI: Thank you.
