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A-Team (Chesterville, Durban)Explanation Protest against black local authorities 733 In urban areas, most black local councils had collapsed during the height of conflict in the mid 1980s. In rural and peri-urban areas, however, opposition had been less intense owing to an intensively conservative environment and many local councils ... Peter Lathli Mabilo Mr Peter Lathli Mabilo [CT04603] was shot dead on 21 August 1987 in Kimberley. The police (Unrest Unit together with Security Branch personnel) surrounded him in the house early in the morning. When he came out he allegedly threw something at them which they believed to be a ... Mthetheleli Gcina Mr Mthetheleli Gcina was shot dead by askaris Lucky ‘Agrippa’ Madubula and David Musimeke who stated to the inquest that early on 27 September 1988 they met with an informant who wished to point out a trained ANC ‘terrorist’ to them. They then travelled in a minibus ... Security force units involved in public order policing 125 The highest number of security force shootings in the western Cape during the Commission’s mandate period occurred in August to November 1985, constituting the peak of the political revolt in the western Cape. These shootings were ... Killing of political suspects 227 At least nine MK operatives were killed in the western Cape between 1986 and early 1990, namely Mr Norman Petersen, Mr Zola Dubeni, Mr Ashley Kriel, Mr Mthetheleli Gcina, Mr Nkululeko ‘Solly’ Mutsi, Mr Anton Fransch, Mr Samuel Baloi, Ms Coline Williams and ... Preparations for the hearings 15 The preparatory work began with the dissemination of information about the Commission and its work, followed by the gathering of statements and background information. 16 Preparatory discussions, during what was usually an eight-week cycle, often coincided with ... Intimidation of families 71 The childhood of the children of activists was often filled with fear of police intimidation and violence. Ms Nolita Nkomo was born in February 1970. Most of her recollections of her early teenage years are of threats and intimidation, especially when members of the ... ■ WORK OF THE COMMISSION Statement taking 25 Eight regional statement takers worked throughout the region, often spending days out of the office as they visited rural areas. Preparation included briefings, pamphlet distribution and radio publicity. In many areas, hostility was shown towards ... Accommodation, resources and equipment 16 The Johannesburg office had a particular advantage over all of the Commission’s other regional offices in that it was on one floor, and the ability of office workers, management and commissioners to communicate easily with each other enhanced ... ■ METHOD OF WORK Commissioners allocated to the region 15 As in other regions, the Cape Town regional office included a Human Rights Violations Committee and a Reparation and Reconciliation Committee. Commissioners Adv Denzil Potgieter, Ms Mary Burton and committee member Ms Pumla ... ■ METHOD OF WORK Commissioners allocated to region 7 As the convening commissioner, Dr Fazel Randera assumed overall responsibility for the work of the office. He was also a member of the Human Rights Violations Committee. Joint deputy chairpersons of that committee, lawyers Ms Yasmin Sooka ... ■ WORK OF THE COMMISSION Statement taking 23 Statement takers acted as the front line of the Commission’s work with communities. Working in teams of up to five, their formal job description entailed only the recording of stories of gross human right violations. Yet statement takers often ... Hearings in the Johannesburg region 34 More by default than design, the holding of public human rights violations hearings became the dominant activity of the Commission. Very little thought had been given to the process of organising these hearings before the Commission began its work, and it ... ■ WORK OF THE REGIONAL OFFICE 23 The daily work of the Commission was divided into five areas: statement taking, information flow, investigations, hearings and co-operation with other organisations. Statement taking 24 To ensure that statement takers covered the Western and Northern Cape ... ■ SECOND PHASE: TACKLING THE BIG ISSUES41 The second phase commenced in October 1996 and extended until May/June 1997. In order to be effective, the Investigation Unit had to develop the capacity to corroborate claims made by victims or witnesses, and then to launch a programme of ... ■ ESTABLISHING APPROPRIATE PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAMMES (WITNESS SUPPORT)17 From the outset, the Commission recognised the need to provide an environment that supported and respected the dignity of all who approached it. It was also agreed that, as far as possible, there should be ... ■ INFORMATION MANAGEMENT27 The Human Rights Violations and Amnesty Committees also referred information to the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee. In addition, the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee generated information through its own activities, such as briefers’ reports, ... ■ THE DATABASE8 The Commission’s database was the backbone of the information flow. All human rights violations statements and amnesty applications were loaded onto the database. 9 The database was designed and built from scratch by a small team consisting of consultants from Oracle ... Capital outlay 25 The next major item of expenditure was the Commission’s projected capital outlay. It was clear that the Commission would not be able to fulfil its mandate without an extensive information management system. The Commission entered a contract with an international expert on ... ■ DEVELOPING PROCESSES AND PHASES OF WORK 28 To begin with, the Unit was decentralised internally into a national unit and four regional units: one in each of the Commission’s four centres. Regional heads were responsible for the management of the regional units and reported to the national ... |
