hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-10-14 WINELANDS 1 CT/00443 YVONNE DUBE JASMINA DENNIS [ sister] SHOT & KILLED https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=56137&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/wineland/ct00443.htm DR ORR Ms Dennis welcome to you, who has accompanied you? MS DENNIS [indistinct] DR ORR Your husband, Mr Dennis, welcome to you to. Are both of you going to give evidence or just Ms Dennis? MS DENNIS [indistinct] DR ORR Net me Dennis. Can you stand to take the affirmation please? JASMINA DENNIS Duly sworn states DR ORR Thank you, Adv Denzil Potgieter is going to facilitate your evidence ADV POTGIETER Thank you Wendy, Ms Jasmina Dennis good afternoon. With you is Mr Casiem Dennis, good afternoon to you to and welcome here to both of you. MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER Good, both you and your husband and Yvonne were together on that day. Will you - would you like to tell us what had happened. MS DENNIS Mommy, Aunty Eva had been shot. And she said: Where did they shoot me? When I came there my mother asked me where my sister was and I said: After a quarter of an hour he came out and he told us that she had died on the way to hospital. We got into the car and the doctor said we had to go to the police station. Having arrived there, I told them that I wanted a - to tell them that my sister had been killed and he said: Oh dear, another hotnot-meid had been killed. ADV POTGIETER MS DENNIS She was a Christian, she belonged to the English Church - to the Anglican Church. ADV POTGIETER And you said when this happened it happened during the fast. MS DENNIS Yvonne us where necessary because my husband also looked after her. She was not married. ADV POTGIETER Then she was shot while you were on your way back home from the shop. MS DENNIS After she had said: wrong. She said: There was no necessity for anybody to shoot her at all. We were the only people in that road. ADV POTGIETER At which police station was that? MS DENNIS It was at Paarl East. ADV POTGIETER When you saw the police, were they carrying guns? MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER So it was only one policeman who shot at you? MS DENNIS Ja, it was only one policeman with a gun standing at the door ADV POTGIETER And it looked as if he was going to shoot? MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER Did you know that policeman? MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER They were estranged at that stage? MS DENNIS Yes, she had five children. ADV POTGIETER And they all - they lived with her? MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER Yes, she helped Mr Dennis. MS DENNIS The income she obtained was from my husband. ADV POTGIETER The income she obtained from helping your husband she used to bring up her children. She was about 43 when she died and the children were they still young? MS DENNIS Yes, the eldest daughter were just over 20 years. ADV POTGIETER When she died, what happened to the children? MS DENNIS My husband had to care for the children because they had no income. He was a hawker and then he had to care for 2 households. He accepted the responsibility to also support those 5 children. We also had to bury her. ADV POTGIETER Do you have your own children? MS DENNIS Yes, we have eight children and we had to bring them up as well. ADV POTGIETER You yourself did not work? MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER Was there a court case after this incident afterwards? MS DENNIS ADV POTGIETER What happened to the policeman, was he punished? MS DENNIS No, because the Magistrate said if I was not able to identify the number on his jacket, they could not accuse him. So the two of them told them that I could not say who actually shot because I have no real evidence and therefore nothing happened afterwards. ADV POTGIETER Was any claim instituted for any money? MS DENNIS Nothing, nothing at all. Not a sent we received. ADV POTGIETER Ms Dennis is there anything else that you would like to add before I turn to Mr Dennis? MS DENNIS I just want to say that I was very sad to loose my sister in such a way. After we did not do anything wrong, I felt very sorry that she was shot dead like a dog and I felt very sorry for her children because they had no parents to care for them. ADV POTGIETER How do you feel about this incident, about this police just shooting down your sister in the street and the court finding that nobody could be kept responsible? MS DENNIS I felt very sorry that they said they could not do anything because it was on of their people who had shot my sister. ADV POTGIETER Thank you very much, Mr Dennis can you just come nearer to the microphone please. Thank you very much, we have listened to what your wife has said and we know the circumstances surrounding this case. Is there anything you would like to add to this evidence? Please go ahead. MR DENNIS ADV POTGIETER Thank you very much Mr Dennis. Is that all you wish to add? Thank you very much for coming here today. MR DENNIS Thank you very much. ADV POTGIETER I have no further questions. CHAIRPERSON Are there any other further questions? Mr and Ms Dennis once again one needs to say that it is unbelievable that incidents like this could take place in our country. And as you alleged that the police could say things like they did when you went to the police station to report your sisters death. Things about hotnot and things like that. We would like to say that we feel very sorry and very sad especially about - about your suffering. Thank you that you are people who do not have revenge in your hearts. We want to say that we are a very happy country to know that there are people like you and Mr Viljoen and others who can say: No we are willing to forgive. Thank you very much. MR DENNIS Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to speak the truth today. Thank you.