hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, SUBMISSIONS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1997-02-12 CRADOCK 3 PHILLIP BEJILE BOB https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=54992&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/cradock/bob.htm PHILLIP BEJILE BOB (sworn states) MR SANDI Your name is Philip Bejile Bob? MR BOB Yes. MR SANDI You are going to tell us about Sophie Nunusie Maarman? MR BOB That's correct. MR SANDI How are you related to her? MR BOB She is my daughter. MR SANDI You say in 1986 she was shot. Can you tell us briefly about her and what happened? MR BOB It was on a Sunday in the morning. I was talking to Nunusi telling her that she must wash my T-shirt because I was going to wear it as I was going to work. She told me that there was no soap so I gave her R5 and I told her to go and buy some. She went to do this and after she had gone a few minutes I saw the people toytoying down the road, they went up Queen Street and after a while I heard a big sound. After that my neighbour Trompie who resides at Mhlala came to me and said that my daughter has been shot by Fiksie. I told Nothembile to go there and I would follow after. I put on my shoes and followed her. When I was at the corner there was a taxi. MR SANDI Who is this Fixie that you are talking about, is he the one that the other witness referred to? MR BOB He is the one that the other witness talked about, was not around. I'm talking about Foure, Fiksie Foure. We took a taxi down to the hospital and when we were next to the councillor's house Fiksie stopped us and said, "I just want to look at this dog that I have shot". The driver stopped, we kept quiet and my wife was still crying. Then we continued and went to the hospital. When we arrived there my daughter was certified dead. MR SANDI Do you mean that this child was shot while passing the toytoying people? MR BOB I'm not sure because she took another direction, the shop was just across the railway line and the toytoying people were on the other side. MR SANDI Who is Trompie Tini, the one who said he was there, he saw everything? MR BOB He is the one who came to tell us that our daughter was shot by Fiksie. MR SANDI Where is Tini now? MR BOB He is in Graaf Reinet, he stays there. MR SANDI Was Fiksie arrested after shooting this child? MR BOB After two months we were called to the court of law, we went there at nine o'clock in the morning and were still sitting there until 4 o'clock in the afternoon but we were not called. We used to see Fiksie and the others walking up and down wearing their black gowns. MR SANDI Do you mean at Graaf Reinet? MR BOB Yes at the court in Graaf Reinet, we were waiting outside. MR SANDI Who told you that you should go to the court? MR BOB Some policemen came to tell us the day before that at 9 o'clock we should go to the court. MR SANDI Did you ever consult with any legal representative? MR BOB We didn't go to the legal representative of Graaf Reinet, we consulted a woman attorney from Port Elizabeth but after that she passed away. MR SANDI Do you still remember her name? MR BOB I couldn't find the document so I cannot remember her name. MR SANDI But do you think we can still get those documents? MR BOB I'm not sure because it's been quite a long time. MR SANDI Is that all that you'd like to tell us Mr Bob? MR BOB Yes that's all. MR SANDI Do you have a wish that you'd like to tell the Commission about. MR BOB Yes I have because I'm telling the truth and I am sure of this. MR SANDI Do you have a request or a wish that you'd like to ask the Commission. MR BOB Yes I would request that because I'm still maintaining her child, she is 16 years old. MR BOB Is she at school? MR SANDI Yes when her mother passed away I took her to school. She is in standard four now. MR SANDI Is that all or maybe I can just take you back to the chairperson? Is there anything else that you would like to tell us? MR BOB There is nothing else, there would never be anything that I would want to say, what else can I say? Sir I want to say, the death of my child is fine, what I'm saying right now, it's fine, her death is something that was done deliberately. I don't even know why that white man shot my child among the people. MR SANDI The request concerning this incident of the death of your child is to ask the Commission to help you in the loss of your child. MR BOB Yes even now I made a plan. My wife was still alive at the time. When my wife was looking for help for this child it became clear that there was no birth certificate from the person that my wife had once visited, but I tried to see another white woman but she said that I must try an bring the birth certificate, but I couldn't get it. Instead I made a photostat of a birth certificate and now I'm waiting for that certificate so that I can go back to that white woman. MR SANDI Thank you Mr Bob, I'll hand you over to the chairperson. If there's something else that you have left out you can just tell us while they are asking questions. MEMBER OF PANEL Mr Phillip Bob, I have one question. Your daughter is Sophie Nonusi Maarman? MR BOB Yes. MEMBER OF PANEL And you are Philip Bejile Bob? MR BOB Yes that's correct. MEMBER OF PANEL Why do you have different surnames? MR BOB I was not married to her mother at the time. We got married after her death. CHAIRPERSON We thank you for your story, it is a very painful story, but the way that you are relating the story, even though it is painful, you make us to laugh so that we are forgetting that this is painful. In this hearing we usually listen to painful things, every day we listen to painful stories. We are glad that we get people sometimes like you even if they are relating some painful stories we just laugh a little bit. There's no need to cry Sir, thank you you can take your seat, we are going to take note of your request. If there's something else that we need from you like details, the investigators of the Truth Commission will come to your place and gather some other information that would be necessary. For now we say thank you. Thank you Sir.