hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-08-12 BEAUFORT WEST 1 CT/00361 JAN MOLOWITZ JAN MOLOWITZ SHOT BY KITSKONSTABELS https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=54955&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/beaufort/ct00361.htm MS BURTON Hello, Mr Molowitz. Can you hear me? MR MOLOWITZ Yes MS BURTON Can you sit closer to the microphone so that we can hear you well, please. Thank you. Before we start, could I ask you to stand and take the oath. JAN MOLOWITZ Duly sworn states MS BURTON MR MOLOWITZ And I said: He started assaulting me. And I put my hand in my back pocket and took out the seizures which I used to cut hair and showed them to him. But he continued beating me, but I said: But you can see these seizures. He stood back and I ran a slight distance and I stopped and said: And I heard a voice saying: Shoot him, he is clever. But I did not pay any attention to that and said to Vujani: Come take me to the police station. And I just heard a shot - I then fell. I had to push my intestines back into my body and somebody came with a blanket and threw it over my body and some more of these kitskonstabels came and one of them said: Leave this dog, let him die. And I nearly did die and said not one of them must go to him. Another person, well know in the black area, went to call Phasi and Phasi came and said to these ten kitskonstabels: MS BURTON Thank you, Mr Molowitz. There is one thing I want to understand clearly. When the kitskonstabels were beating up this man, and when they asked you what you were doing, you showed them the seizures. MR MOLOWITZ And I used to cut some of their hair as well. I then took the seizures out and showed them to him. And he continued beating me and I said to him: You could see the seizures. And he jumped back and then I ran. And then I ran a little distance, stopped and I said to him: Take me to the police station and charge me so that I can see what offense I have committed. And I heard a voice say: Shoot him, he is clever MS BURTON When you showed him the seizures, you were using that as proof that you were going to go and cut hair. MR MOLOWITZ Yes, it is seizures used for cutting hair MS BURTON You were not using them to threaten him? MOLOWITZ No. MS BURTON MR MOLOWITZ I did not threaten him. MS BURTON Thank you, Mr Molowitz, for clearing up the question about the seizures and it was a pair of seizures, not a hair clippers? Is that right? MR MOLOWITZ I did not use any clippers. MS BURTON MR MOLOWITZ It was an ordinary pair of seizures that also gets used at a barber shop to cut hair. MS BURTON Thank you, thank you very much. Now, since this happened to you - were whose serious injuries - you have not been able to work? MR MOLOWITZ No. MS BURTON Are you receiving any disability grant ore a pension? MR MOLOWITZ Yes, I do get a grant at the moment. MS BURTON And how is your health. Do you still have to get a lot of medical attention? MR MOLOWITZ MS BURTON MR MOLOWITZ I am not happy because I cannot take care of my children like I used to. And some of my children had to leave school without matriculation. Their futures are also damaged because of my shooting incident. MS BURTON Would you like to tell us a little bit more about your children. How many you have and how old are they? MR MOLOWITZ MS BURTON CHAIRPERSON Any further questions? ADV POTGIETER Mr Molowitz, you said that there was a Warrant Officer Marks that came to you. And you signed something. What did he say to you, what was that you were signing? MR MOLOWITZ He asked me if I was going to lay a charge and I said: Yes, I would like to lay a charge. And he said to me that I should sign that form and that he would send the investigating officers to me. Now investigating officer ever came to me since 1987, up until now - 1996. Not one of them have since come to me. ADV POTGIETER So, you understood this paper that you signed, to be that you were going to lay a charge against the person who shot you. MR MOLOWITZ Yes. ADV POTGIETER Did you ever make any inquiries about that later? MR MOLOWITZ ADV POTGIETER So, you are saying that Mr Esop contacted a attorney? MR MOLOWITZ ADV POTGIETER But you personally never went to an attorney. MR MOLOWITZ No. ADV POTGIETER And you never instituted a claim for the damage which you suffered? MR MOLOWITZ No, not yet. ADV POTGIETER No claims MR MOLOWITZ No ADV POTGIETER Thank you very much. CHAIRPERSON We now have democracy, we have a democratically elected Government and that is thanks to the contribution made by people such as yourself because of the trauma which you have suffered and this has helped to bring out democracy - make our democracy a reality. We thank you and we would like to assure you that we will do our best to see what relieve we can bring you. Thank you very much, thank you.