hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-08-13 BEAUFORT WEST 2 https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=54967&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/beaufort/ct00582.htm CASE NO: CT/00582 VICTIM: NONIGHT ANNIE QAYI NATURE OF VIOLENCE: DETENTION TESTIMONY BY: NONIGHT ANNIE QAYI MS BURTON Ms Qayi can you hear me? MS QAYI [indistinct] MS BURTON [indistinct] you be convertible, good thank you. Would you stand to take the oath, please? NONIGHT ANNIE QAYI Duly sworn states MS BURTON Chairperson - my colleague - Ms Joyce Seroke will facilitate the witness. MS SEROKE Good morning Ms Night, is this name you got from your marriage? MS QAYI Yes, it is. MS SEROKE Before you can explain to us what happened to you in 1985, could you briefly tell us about your family and how many children you have and what you are doing as a person? MS QAYI I have eight children but they are quite old because some of them are married. Those I live with - there are only two of them and they are boys. One is of school going age attending school in Cape Town - another one is here with me attending school. MS BURTON How old are they? MS QAYI The one in Cape Town is 25 years old and the one I live with is 21 years old. MS SEROKE You mean even the one who is 25 years old is still attending school? MS QAYI Yes, he is in a university in Bellville, all right. MS SEROKE Now, explain Nonight what happened to you in 1985. MS QAYI This is what happened to me, policemen used to be after me because of certain things they do and things that I was against until the time when there was this State of Emergency when people were being arrested. But during all this period they were keeping a - a watch on me saying that I was to talkative so when it was this time they got hold of me because they had always been after me. Then they asked us to get onto the van - there were three women - then men were coming out the other side whiles we were coming out the other side and when I observed I saw my son amongst he men. It means after me they went to fetch my son, there were many of these children - he was not the only one. And they had been beaten up even my own child had been beaten, so we got into this van. They did not tell us where they were taking us to, they just drove out of town and we could see that they were taking us to Middelburg. They did not beat us at the time we were there. We were starved until the time came for them to release us, then we went out and it was found that my son had to go back to school and I did not know that he had been injured and when he got home I was - when we - he got to school I was called there because he was very sick and when I got to school I found that he was very sick and I had to take him to Groote Schuur Hospital. MS SEROKE Thank you Ms Annie, with your story that is very painful. Now you say when you replied you say you were a member of the location - not a member of the Committee, what member - what political organisation were you a member of. MS QAYI I was a member of the ANC. MS SEROKE And you again say they were - you were after you because of certain things that you were doing because you were - you disliked what they were doing. What were these things that you did not like and tell us how were you showing to them that you disliked all these things? MS QAYI Then I would say we are not animals, it you come to our location you making us wild because they would be bringing sjamboks with them together with riffles and tear gas and this would make us unhappy. These are the things that made them to be after me. MS SEROKE Because of these things you say that is why they arrested you? MS QAYI MS SEROKE Were you surprised when you saw your son, Songezile arrested when you had actually left her behind? MS QAYI Yes MS SEROKE Now you say they had taken him because he had a T shirt on. What was written on this T-shirt that could have annoyed these people? MS QAYI It was written ANC. MS SEROKE Was it just written ANC, no other words were showing on this - on this T shirt? MS QAYI No MS SEROKE Now you say at the time you were in Middelburg in the cells there for about three months. They ill treated you as if you were terrorist, could you exactly explain how you were ill treated, what were they actually doing besides this starvation that you made mention of earlier? MS QAYI We would go out there on very chilly days now - no one sympathized with us. Then we would go out, they would make our place very wet and ask us to stand there in that cold and in the cells there was no hot water for us to use when we were washing. That is how things were until the end. MS SEROKE Then you again say when you arrived here they searched you, how were they doing it? Were the searches males or females? MS QAYI They were females. MS SEROKE What were they actually doing? MS QAYI They asked us to undress and take off all the clothes and just stand stark naked. They would even search there in our hidden places and I would ask them what they were actually looking for, then they would say they were looking for bombs. MS SEROKE According to you, do you think you could have - you could have hidden your - the bombs and weapons in those hidden places? MS QAYI MS SEROKE Now you say this - this starvation for three months they were only feeding you on porridge morning, midday, evening? MS QAYI MS SEROKE Your son - when you took him back to school - what school was that? MS QAYI He was first attending school here in Beaufort West and then he went to a school in Cape Town after he had passed standard ten. MS SEROKE Is that where you discovered that he was not well after the [indistinct] to undergo an operation? MS QAYI Yes MS SEROKE Was he one of those who are still - is he still attending school? MS QAYI Yes MS SEROKE Is he the one who is at the university? MS QAYI Yes MS SEROKE MS QAYI It is the policemen, because even this very Thursday they were there and they shot a child. So it is now obvious that they are now trying to dig out these wounds that are healing. MS SEROKE Now you again said that you were the head of the family at home, is your husband still alive? MS QAYI No, he died. MS SEROKE When did he die? MS QAYI MS SEROKE MS QAYI I used to work but because I could not continue the doctor asked me to stop and he made it possible for me to get a pension and I used to take [indistinct] salary and help here in the home but there are now my other children who help me. MS SEROKE We thank you Ms Annie, maybe my colleges have questions to pose to you. ADV POTGIETER MS QAYI Yes, it is like that. ADV POTGIETER The others were they slightly older than that - the other children? MS QAYI Yes ADV POTGIETER So they all were at home still in that time in 1985 when you were detained? MS QAYI Only one was living us at home, there were two - there were two girls that I left at home. ADV POTGIETER And they basically had to tend for themselves - they were left alone. Your husband was deceased at that stage already? MS QAYI Yes, my husband was dead then. ADV POTGIETER And you were just locked up, taken away from three months with no real reason given to you when you wanted to ask, when you inquired they said to you, you talk to much, and your starting with your - you starting with trouble again. Is - was that in fact the response that you got? MS QAYI ADV POTGIETER How did that make you feel? MS QAYI ADV POTGIETER Your the second person that referred to this shooting incident - this very recent shooting incident. Do you - do you want to give us just a little bit more detail, I - I heard that somebody - a child was shot but can you give us a little bit more detail of what happened? MS QAYI I cannot give full explanation because it was at night and we were sleeping and we just heard of this in the morning that the policemen had come and even in the morning they came and we did not know what they were looking for and that was the time they had already shot this child. ADV POTGIETER And [indistinct] that has caused some tension where you live - people are not happy with this incident. MS QAYI Yes, we are not satisfied because there was no reason - it was uncalled for. They would understand if there was a reason for it because for everything there has got to be a cause. ADV POTGIETER The police that are there now, is it the same police that were there in 1985? MS QAYI There are new policemen but those who were there in 1985 are still there. ADV POTGIETER And nothing - nothing has happened to them at all - in spite of all this to you, the assaults that they - that were perpetrated on you and other people, even your son? MS QAYI Nothing was done. ADV POTGIETER [indistinct] does Songezile when he was detained with you? MS QAYI ADV POTGIETER [indistinct] in 1985 - 11 years ago - so he is still very young. MS QAYI Yes ADV POTGIETER Was he still at school? MS QAYI Yes, he was still at school. ADV POTGIETER [indistinct] because of a T-shirt? MS QAYI ADV POTGIETER MS QAYI I also thank you. MS BURTON Ms Qayi, I would also like to ask you just one or two more things. Firstly you mentioned the names of some of the people who has arrested you, I think. You mentioned Alfred from Richmond, is that right and - and another name of somebody from Murraysburg, I think you said. MS QAYI Middelburg MS BURTON From Middelburg, who was that? MS QAYI Now the name is just flashing. MS BURTON [indistinct] MS QAYI Yes, it was Ticktick. MS BURTON And he was from Middelburg? MS QAYI Yes, he was from Middelburg, there was also Archie Dalihjong. MS BURTON [indistinct] would also like to ask you it you can remember the date when - when you were detained? MS QAYI I cannot recall. MS BURTON The reason that I ask you is because in your original statement to us you said 1985 but our investigators have followed up the records and they say - they tell us that it was in 1986, so we can check that and get all the facts correctly. MS QAYI MS BURTON And I hope that they - the tensions that are present in your neighborhood at the moment will soon be properly dealt with so that you can be more satisfied. And so that you can begin the process of forgiving and reconciling in the future. This is only the beginning of that time, we thank you very much for coming to tell us today about what happened to you, thank you. MS QAYI