TRC Final Report

Volume 3

Chapter 5

Subsection 24

Beaufort West

147 On 22 January 1985, Constable PA de Villiers and the three other policemen went to the home of popular local UDF and youth organiser Mandlenkosi William ‘Tshaka’ Kratshi [CT00563 and CT00570] at 07h30 to arrest him following a stoning incident. Kratshi was cooking porridge for his seven-year-old son Simphiwe and asked to be allowed to finish. After a few minutes a scuffle broke out when police attempted to take him into custody by force. Kratshi was punched and retaliated with a fork, allegedly also biting De Villiers. Shortly thereafter, Constable de Villiers shot him fatally in the chest. Kratshi’s funeral was restricted by the local magistrate. Residents renamed the township ‘KwaMandlenkosi’. In October the Beaufort West inquest court found that no one was criminally responsible for the Kratshi’s death and that Constable de Villiers had acted in self-defence. That weekend the township erupted in widespread protest in which Mr Andile Amos Klaasen [CT00880] was fatally shot by South Cape Unrest Unit commander Major GP Marx during police action. At least 15 residents and two policemen were wounded.

Colesberg

148 From June to October 1985, local organisations took up a campaign around the lack of facilities. On 2 July, SADF soldiers set up camp outside the residential area, resulting in clashes with youth. The following day police entered the township, firing tear gas. Mr Solani Gcanga [CT01508] was arrested and repeatedly assaulted and driven around the township on top of a Casspir with a sjambok around his neck. This precipitated events leading to the killing of the ‘Colesberg Four’.

149 Youths marched on the township house of a black policeman and set fire to his car. At about 20h00, police in Casspirs and vans entered the township. When youths approached the houses of two black police officers, police inside the house opened fire, killing four people. They were Ms Funeka Siyonzana (17) [CT01506], Mr Krakra Maciki (17) [CT00392], Mr Mongezi Juda (17) [CT01505] and Mr James Masumo (23). Numerous other residents were injured and were subsequently charged with public violence.

150 In the wake of these events, over seventy residents (sixty children, eleven men and eight women) of the township were arrested. Many in this group were subjected to severe assault and torture while in police custody and were teargassed in their cell. In a subsequent conflict with police on 22 July, fourteen people were injured, including Reverend Mcoyana [CT01528].

Knysna

151 Seventeen-year-old Mr Goodman Tatasi Xokiso [CT00334] was shot dead by police in street clashes at Knysna in March 1986. Several others were injured and/or arrested. Some of these made statements regarding assault and torture after their arrest, including sjambokking, beating and suffocation. Restrictions placed on Xokiso’s funeral caused tensions between the local ‘comrades’ and the victim’s mother, Ms Esther Johnson, who then left Knysna.

Kimberley

152 On 11 April 1985, Galeshewe student activist Thomas Mmereki Morebodi (15) [CT02851] was shot dead by Riot Squad members. Business came to a standstill in the black residential area as thousands of residents flocked to his funeral and police fired on a march that took place afterwards. ‘Stratcom’ pamphlets to disorganise the funeral were distributed by the local Joint Management Centre. This killing was the trigger for an escalation in the conflicts. Arson and public violence arrests took place and police action with rubber bullets, tear gas and birdshot was commonplace during this period. July to October was a peak period of street resistance and repression.

George

153 During the mid-1980s, serious tensions and conflicts arose between the residents and authorities in George over the proposed forcible removal of people from an informal settlement, Lawaaikamp, to a new township called Sandkraal. This contributed to the protests in George that resulted in the deaths of at least five people in early 1986. In February 1986, Mr Rhotsi Mbuyiselo Jonas Jack (22) [CT00558], Mr Skosana Meanwell Lakeyi [CT03065] and at least one other were shot dead by police during street protests. This was followed by the ‘necklace’ killing of Mr Afrika Nqumse [CT00559], an employee of the Development Board seen as responsible for the forced removals. On 3 March 1986, Oudtshoorn activist Nkosinathi Hlazo [CT00534] was shot dead by Captain GP Marx and others in George, allegedly while fleeing arrest.

AS IN OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE COMMUNITIES WERE SUBJECTED TO FORCED REMOVAL FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, THE CONFLICTS WHICH AROSE CREATED CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH GROSS VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS TOOK PLACE. THE COMMISSION FINDS THAT THE INJURIES AND KILLINGS WERE CAUSED IN THE FIRST INSTANCE BY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS POLICY OF FORCED REMOVALS.