hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-10-09 KAROO 3 CT/01508/KAR MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE SHOT BY POLICE SEVERE, ASSAULT AND DETENTION https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=55353&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/karoo/ct01508.htm MS BURTON Good afternoon, Mr Rasmante, Can you hear me well. MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE Yes. MS BURTON Please will you stand to take the oath. MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE Duly sworn state MS BURTON Can I make sure that I am pronouncing your name correctly. Is it Rasmante? MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE Rasmante MS BURTON Advocate Potgieter will facilitate your evidence. ADV POTGIETER Good afternoon. MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE Good afternoon. ADV POTGIETER MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE ADV POTGIETER [Indistinct] Mr Rasmante, take your time. If you feel better then you can carry on with your testimony. MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE O.K. ADV POTGIETER Do you feel a bit better? MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE Chris beat me with a stick of broom. It broke as a result of the force he used. There were other policemen who were waiting outside. They were from Oudsthoorn, they were white policemen. They were braaing outside, they were drinking beer. When Chris took me out of that room, he took me to these policemen and these police, they formed a circle and I was hand-cuffed at that time. They were beating me, taking turns in beating me and they threw me outside the gate. Before that did that they untied me and they told me to run away. And then I felt that if I run away they will shoot me. I just thought that Chris will not shoot me and I decided to come back inside and they were beating me all this time. They took me to the shower again. They were assaulting me. Chris took a stick of broom. He tried by all means to beat me and assault me and he saw that I knew nothing. He took me back to the cell. At that time there was another attorney, Maruba from Bloemfontein, who was there. That lawyer promised that he will find that money for me. And they took me back to the cell on Monday night. I slept there at night. Chris came back. Chris came back that night. He said to me he envies me he sent me to buy him a coke and when I told him I am not going to do that, because they already charged me. I was charged on three cases. I told him that he must go himself to buy coke. I am not going to do. He assaulted me again. The coloured policeman called Jansen who was always there when I went to sign. He used to beat me up and I decided not to go and sign and this time. And the police used to come and look for me. I used to hide from them. And the day of the court case I went to the police station together with my brother. ADV POTGIETER Mr Rasmante, [indistinct] MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE I am a bricklayer, but I have a problem as I have stated before. I can not bend for a long time, because my back is so painful. It is hurting. And my job requires me to bend all the time. ADV POTGIETER You say that you were tortured and assaulted over a number of days. Were you constantly told to tell the truth. Did the police want you to admit to these four charges that they eventually brought to you. MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE Yes, they wanted me to agree with them. ADV POTGIETER Chris Labane, is he a policeman from Colesberg? MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE When I was released from prison, he was no longer here. People say that he is in Aliwal North. ADV POTGIETER Now he seem to have been central in what you have experienced. How do you feel about that and how do you feel about Mr Labane at this stage? MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE ADV POTGIETER [Indistinct] nothing else to ask. MS BURTON MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE There is nothing else. MS BURTON Thank you very much indeed once again. MIMI THEMBA RASMANTE Thank you. MS BURTON As I mentioned before, we were expecting to hear the testimony of Siphiwo David Ndomile. He has been transferred from the hospital here to Bloemfontein, so we will not be able to hear him today, but we want to assure his mother, who I think is still here that it makes no difference. That his statement will equally be recorded and be taken into account by the Truth Commission. He told us in his statement, his written statement that he was arrested by members of the security forces round about September 1979. And they gave him something which turned out to be a explosive device. They told him not to show it to anybody until he got home and then when he got home, he tried to open it. It had a very strong smell and members of his family urged him to take it outside and throw it outside and as he was doing so, it exploded in his hands and severally injured his right hand. We thank his mother for coming today and him for making a statement.