hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-06-18 GEORGE 1 CT/00328 SOYISILE DOUSE RAYMOND DOUSE [brother] SHOT DEAD BY POLICEMEN https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55088&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/george/ct00328.htm MS BURTON Our next witness is Mr Raymond Douse, would you please come to the platform Mr Douse and Ms Seroke will be facilitating your story and we may run a little late into our tea break time, but I hope we will aim to be finished as soon after 10:30 as can be possible. Good morning Mr Douse. MR DOUSE Good morning. MS BURTON Do you - do you want the earphones or are you all right. MR DOUSE I am all right. MS BURTON Would you stand please to take the oath. RAYMOND DOUSE Duly sworn states MS BURTON Thank you very much. MS SEROKE Morning Mr Raymond Douse. MR DOUSE Good morning lady. MS SEROKE Are you going to testify in English or in Xhosa or Afrikaans, which language would you prefer? MR DOUSE MS SEROKE Okay. MR DOUSE Yes. MS SEROKE We are going to be talking about Soyisile Douse, were you the older brother or the younger brother [indistinct] Was Soyisile your younger brother or your elder brother? MR DOUSE He as a younger brother. MS SEROKE Okay, I would - in a few words I am going to summarise this situation at the time. [indistinct] people killed and ten injured on January the 16th 1988 in Bhongolethu, Oudtshoorn by David Sibango who was a kitskonstabel and others. I want in a few words Raymond - just tell us the reason of this tragedy that prefer your younger brother by shooting. MR DOUSE After that quarrel they disbursed each one his one way, I am in my own place and Soyisile stays with his mother in the old location. I heard when I was on my way to church the other day, some kids who shouted at me and said, there Soyisile is lying there, he has been shot by David Sibango - David Sibango. I was driving my car and when I turned on my way to them - to see - to have a look at this - then there was this other kitskonstabels together with other - two other white and then I - a gun was pointed at me by one of the kitskonstabels and he said - here is this dog, and I am also to [indistinct] and then he used very obscene words. [indistinct] and I then ran to my car because this one wanted to shoot me, this one called Skhumbuzo and David was just standing over the corpse and then I went on - as I was going towards Bhongolethu, there was some people from Bhongolethu who were coming back and they could see the [indistinct] [indistinct] and the [indistinct] there, the son of - and two Coloureds who were also shot, they were also in that tragedy, which took place on that day when Soyisile was shot. Do you - do you understand it that way? MS SEROKE Yes I understand it very clearly. MR DOUSE MS SEROKE Soyisile - did he belong to any organisation at the time? MR DOUSE MS SEROKE As you are describing this situation in Bhongolethu at the time, were you - do you think this kitskonstabels and this police, what were their views, as far as you think about people - about people in the community. MR DOUSE MS SEROKE On the aims of those Governments as you as the civilians of Bhongolethu, what were your aims about this Government views? MR DOUSE As from 1968 when I was joining the ANC organisation there was - there is a - there was a school in [indistinct] and - and there was a hollow that ran water, we were holding our meetings there, lying on our tummies. We use to light candles if we are reading the letters from Cape Town etcetera. We were trying our best to fight for the freedom of the black people. MS SEROKE Was Soyisile one of the youth who was trying to get freedom? MR DOUSE Yes he was one of them - Soyisile was one of them, the one of the Freedom Fighters that we - the freedom that we are having today. His death was very sad, but today some of us are going to eat the fruits of his death, fighting for freedom. MS SEROKE MS BURTON Now as you mentioned in your written statement that Soyisile had a child, where and how is that child today? MR DOUSE CHAIRPERSON Dr Ramashala. DR RAMASHALA At the time of his death, what was Soyisile doing, was he working, was he in school? MR DOUSE He was working. DR RAMASHALA MR DOUSE No he is doing very well and he is at school. DR RAMASHALA What grade? MR DOUSE I beg yours? DR RAMASHALA What grade is he in? MR DOUSE In a lower standard, in a primary school. DR RAMASHALA Thank you. CHAIRPERSON Mary Burton. MS BURTON You mentioned also in your statement that there was a court case, do you know what happened in that court case? MR DOUSE MS BURTON We will try and follow up the - whether there was a court case and what the outcome was and what the sentence was, so that we can inform you of that. MR DOUSE Good. CHAIRPERSON My apologies, Russell Ally. MR ALLY MR DOUSE Yes I can say so. MR ALLY How did that happen - [indistinct] what happened to those policeman who were - who were driven out of the townships? MR DOUSE Those police were taken by white people and gave them accommodation in town and they kept them at the police station in the garages there. Thereafter they were accommodated amongst the Coloureds - I am talking about the police who - who were driven out of the township. MR ALLY Were there any of the policeman killed? MR DOUSE It - I am not clear. MR ALLY Were any of those policeman - were any policeman killed before they were taken out of the township. MR DOUSE MR ALLY And the kitskonstabels where did they come from, where were they brought from - from somewhere else or were some of them from the township itself. MR DOUSE MR ALLY And the police have they since, have they since come back - the police who were forced out of the township, have they since come back into the township. MR DOUSE MR ALLY Thank you. MR DOUSE Thank you very much. CHAIRPERSON Thank you - thank you sir, as Mary Burton has already said, we will try and follow up of - follow up what happened. We are not saying we will get the truth but we will investigate so that we are in a position to tell you - we thank you for coming and for revealing the pain that you went through in your township, thank you. MS BURTON Thank you - thank you very much Mr Douse.