hrvtrans HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HEARINGS 1996-10-16 WINELANDS 3 CT/00684 HENDRIK FREDERICKS HENDRIK FREDERICKS SHOOTING https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=56139&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/hrvtrans/wineland/ct00684.htm DR ORR Good afternoon Mr Fredericks and also your friend, Poppie Bless, we would like to welcome you both. Could you please stand to take the oath. HENDRIK FREDERICKS Duly sworn states DR ORR ADV POTGIETER Thank you very much Dr Orr. Mr Fredericks good afternoon, you were also involved in the shooting incident. You were injured in the shooing incident of he 24th of November 1990 in Wolseley? MR FREDERICKS That is correct. ADV POTGIETER We heard something about the circumstances surrounding that. Would you like to explain us - to us specifically what happened to you? MR FREDERICKS Yes sir, it is as the previous speaker said according to the time and everything where the Captain issued the - the order for them to shoot and hardly 5 minutes thereafter they started shooting. And I went to hide at the walls and moved that way but before the people started dispersing I walked passed them and about 4 feet away from the corner I felt a shot against my head and I fell. They took X-rays and I could see the - how the bird shot had disintegrated in my head and it looked like clouds in the sky. ADV POTGIETER Just to understand how the shooting incident took place, you first tried to find shelter behind a wall? MR FREDERICKS Yes we all stood there but when the order came that they were going to shoot I moved in a southerly direction past them. ADV POTGIETER MR FREDERICKS Yes. ADV POTGIETER Were there any warning that you were going to be shot? MR FREDERICKS ADV POTGIETER So were you shot in the first few rounds of shots that were fired? MR FREDERICKS Yes. ADV POTGIETER And you say that bird shot was found in your left index finger and is that - is that bullet still lodged in your finger? MR FREDERICKS Yes. ADV POTGIETER And you said that you had bird shot in your head - has it been removed or not? MR FREDERICKS ADV POTGIETER MR FREDERICKS Yes. ADV POTGIETER Does it bother you? MR FREDERICKS Yes, it bothers me, my head itches and I keep scratching. ADV POTGIETER Does it pain a lot? MR FREDERICKS Some times. ADV POTGIETER So some times your head pains and your finger? MR FREDERICKS I cannot move it very well. ADV POTGIETER Were you admitted to hospital? MR FREDERICKS Yes, with the other people that were shot. ADV POTGIETER How long were you in hospital for? MR FREDERICKS It was the Saturday and the Sunday morning I was discharged. ADV POTGIETER So after you were shot you regained consciousness in the hospital without knowing what happened? MR FREDERICKS That is correct. ADV POTGIETER Or even how you got to the hospital? MR FREDERICKS Yes. ADV POTGIETER Did the injuries which you sustained - the - have any other effect on you? Could you proceed with your work as usual? MR FREDERICKS I was out of work for approximately a month, we had to visit the district sergeant. ADV POTGIETER Did you any - did you receive any compensation for the injuries? MR FREDERICKS Nothing. ADV POTGIETER Is there anything else which you would like to add or which you would like to mention to us specifically? MR FREDERICKS No not at the moment. ADV POTGIETER Thank you very much Mr Fredericks. MS GOBODO Thank you Mr Fredericks for coming this afternoon. Yes, you also demonstrate along with many others before you the extent to which the heaviness of metal in peoples bodies is weighing heavily on the nation. Your carrying of bullets in your body is a symbol of the heaviness of the history of this country. We appreciate that you have come this afternoon to share with us that experience and we thank you that you have been able to way in this heat and come towards the end of this session. Thank you very much. MR FREDERICKS Thank you.