TRC Final Report

Volume 3

Chapter 5

Subsection 19

115 Those injured outside Hewat College included a group of religious leaders, amongst them church minister Jan de Waal, who lost the sight in one eye after a sjambok smashed his spectacles into his eyes. At a Commission hearing, Mr De Waal [CT01434] described events that day:

It was not a secret march – it was in the newspapers. I remember on the 24th or the 25th Dr Boesak was still negotiating with Mr le Grange, then Minister of Police. He sent him a telegram to say that this march will be peaceful and, to a large extent, was a symbolic march. There was no idea that we would physically go into Pollsmoor prison and break Mr Mandela out.

On that Wednesday 28th we arrived with my colleagues from my denomination together with a big other crowd of clergy and people also from other religions to meet at the Athlone stadium. When we came there, it was already chaotic. There was no way you could get in. The previous night they slammed a ban of around 5 km – no one was suppose to come near … The police were there in full force and I think there were also quite a number of Army people there as well … They were clearing that area with sjamboks and batons and shooting tear gas all over the place.

We had to turn back and went to Hewat Training College. We were between 3–5 000 people together there. There was a long debate whether the march should go on or not. In the end there was a sort of democratic consensus, that it will continue. From there we proceeded onto Kromboom Road. And as we drew nearer to the M5 more police arrived and then of course, the Casspirs.

On one side of that road were just vibracrete fences … We were somehow boxed in. Then we were confronted by the police in full force. Myself and a colleague of mine, Rev Shun Govender, went forward to speak to the police Commander. He had a megaphone there, telling us we have two minutes or five minutes to disperse. I went forward to him and told that it is impossible for five thousand people to disperse, especially where you have all the restrictions on the side of these roads. We asked them to give us some time to talk to the people and see what alternative plan we can work out.

Some other colleagues organised the people to kneel down. They were singing the Lord’s Prayer. Yet, towards the end I just realised that we are going to be attacked by the police. We tried to get the clergy up, because they were in front and we locked arms with the hope that we will withstand to protect the people at the back.

But they came so fast – when someone shouted a command, because they also had these loud hailers. And they came. Many people here in front were still on their knees praying. And I think there were a lot of people that got head injuries, because of them kneeling.

I was there in front, I remember there was a young man next to me, who fell. I was trying to get this man up on his feet. Then suddenly I just felt a blow and I was out for a while. One of the policemen hit me with a baton. Now the baton is fairly thick and not so long, but he hit me from the back and that thing bent over, right over my head. I was growing a sort of a Rhinoceros horn in my front head, immediately after that. Unfortunately I was wearing specs at that stage and both glasses broke and the one in my right eye penetrated my eyeball. And even glass in the left eye as well and I couldn’t see at all for a brief moment. I managed to stay on my feet, I think, when someone was leading me to a house nearby. And I was standing at a tap outside the house, trying to wash the glass out of my eyes. Until one woman that was helping me said to me “But look – you have no eye”.