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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

DAY 1 - MONDAY 14 OCTOBER 1996

 

CASE NO:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;CT/00434&#9;

VICTIM:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;ADRI AARON FAAS

NATURE OF VIOLENCE:&#9;SHOT & KILLED

TESTIMONY BY:&#9;&#9;ALEXANDER FAAS

&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;CAPTAIN PETER JOHN CLAYTON

 

DR ORR:

Welcome to you Mr Faas and to you Louisa, thank you for coming here today to tell us your story. Mr Faas could you stand to take the oath - the affirmation.

ALEXANDER FAAS &#9;&#9;Affirmed for truth

DR ORR:

I’ll now hand you over to Adv Denzil Potgieter.

ADV POTGIETER:

Thank you Wendy, Mr Faas good afternoon and Ms Faas good afternoon to you to. A hearty word of welcome to you here, your evidence is related to the shooting incident in which your son, Adri Faas, was shot and killed by a policeman on the 28th of August 1985. 

&#9;Perhaps tell us a little bit more about your son, how old was he when he died?

MR FAAS:

He was 18 old, he was at University of the Western Cape. He was a first year at the University.

ADV POTGIETER:

What course was he doing?

MR FAAS:

He was doing Law, he wanted to become a lawyer.

ADV POTGIETER:

And what was his progress like?

MR FAAS:

He was doing very well, he attended University as from the beginning of 1985.

ADV POTGIETER:

So his prospects were excellent, the prospects of his studies?

MR FAAS:

No he had non - no problems with that what so ever.

ADV POTGIETER:

Then the 28th of August 1985 came, that was a stage when there was turmoil in Paarl and what happened on that specific day and how did it happen that he was shot and died?

MR FAAS:

On that specific day I was coming from work, I came to home that evening about 7 o’clock. He brought his girlfriend with and he said: 

&#9;Father, please give me some money, I would to bioscope.

&#9;I had money but I said:

No I don’t have any money for you, because you see how the boers are shooting, they going to shoot you and when you come from bioscope tonight, at that time they going to hurt your.

I said:

All I could do is that tomorrow you need some shoes, go and buy some - two pairs of shoes tomorrow. I don’t want you to get hurt.

And he said:

Yes, father then I’ll rather take her home.

And he took her to Amstel Hof in Paarl East. He took her away to her house and coming back the unrest was already - already there in Klein Drakenstein Street. His friends accompanied him, when he came to Fisher’s house, they said no they at Klein Drakenstein Street. 

He always told me, I can’t participate in these things, but if they catch me, they’re going suspend me at the University. And therefore I had confidence in my child, we all loved one another in this house and we always shared - when I bought something for the one, I bought the same for the others. I had another 2 sons and a daughter. 

That night I asked my wife - it was about past 10 that evening - and I asked when was he coming home and she said no if he did not come home, he was going to sleep with Godfrey Hendricks. If it was to late he usually slept there, I accepted that because a mother knows her children. 

That morning I got up, she had already left for work. When I left the house, I heard the telephone and somebody said:

Alex is that you.

And a voice said:

Your son was killed last night, he was shot dead.

I was so shocked because I know he had taken his girlfriend home. Then I left the house and I walked. I put the telephone down and I went to Fisher’s house. When I came - when I left my house I saw all the people watching me and it was strange why were all these people looking at me. 

What had I done, when I came to Fisher’s house Anthony was crying and he said Uncle Alex they killed him last night, they shot him dead. I knew we are all coloured people, I didn’t believe it, I wanted to see it myself. And he said take me there and show me.

Having arrived there I saw the blood and I realized what had happened. And I said I was going to the police station. On my way to the police station, all the people were standing outside the police station and I asked who had shot my child. It was Boy Reed and Goldy Simon, Appolis and other policemen whom I knew because they all belonged to my church. And they said the boers had killed your child, Mr Faas.

I couldn’t do anything because I believed what they said, I went home. Afterwards I went to my - where my wife worked and I told her. I went back to the mortuary and they asked is that your child and I said they couldn’t show me anything, I must come back the next day.

The next day I returned there, I took 1 day off and I took one of his friends as a witness - one of his University friends. Having arrived at the morgue with my wife, there was a - Peter’s was also there and all the policeman are not bad - some of them are really well behaved. They accepted us - or received us in a friendly way and they chatted to us and they put us at ease. 

After we’ve had our tea we were not so tense anymore and we settled down, then they told me what had happened to my son. I felt very, very sad but what frustrated me even more, was that all the white policemen were standing outside and they were showing me their fists. And this was very terrible because my child had already been killed. What did they want from me? And this atmosphere was not very good - not very friendly and then I said I wanted to go out and arrange for my child’s funeral. 

Outside I asked them what caused my child’s death because the other pathologist said that he was bending down - the tried to pick up a stone and that caused his death and somebody said no he did not bend to pick up a stone because then he would still be alive. Because then the shot would have not hit him at the back of his neck, on the left side - the shotgun hit him and he fell down dead.

This was - I felt very sorry about this but as we were walking away, two white policemen came there and I asked them:

Please sir, who had shot my child?

And the one Constable said:

I am Captain Coetzee and this is Lieutenant Oosthuizen.

What broke my heart is that I never could think that white people will also belong to a church - that they could behave like that and this Oosthuizen took his finger and pointed on his chest and said:

I killed your child

And my heart dropped into my shoes. I felt so sad, I was at a lost for words and he said:

You - you must go and ask your friends what he did, he carried the drum with the fire in it and he was wearing a white sweater and that is why I had shot him.

And this man with him said:

You had shot a wrong man, you did not shoot the one with the white sweater, you shot the other one.

And Captain Coetzee said:

Let’s rather go.

When we came inside, Colonel Peters asked me when will the funeral be. I can’t say because I waiting for people from Bloemfontein. 

Inside a Captain Daniels was sitting at a desk. He was a very pompous man. He was sitting there, the doors were open and all the policemen was standing there to listen to what we were saying. What was really shocking is that this coloured detective stood up and he put his shirt into his trousers and said:

Alex, is Adri Faas your child, I could not think that you could afford a child to attend University.

Those were his precise words, I sat quietly and I thought that man - this man does not have a skin, this man does not think anything about anybody else - he’s a nothing. And Peters kept quiet and after 2 minutes he said:

Captain Daniels rather read this rule because you should not be here and when you leave close the door behind you.

He left, he closed the door and after that we held our conversation. I appreciate what Peters did for me. He always encouraged me and he told me that I appreciate what you said, nobody would have behaved like you would have done. I told you when the funeral would be held and he said that he will arrange everything. When I came home, I arranged the funeral for that Tuesday.

I told the minister that I am going to hold the funeral on the Saturday and the minister said:

Don’t worry.

He himself will organize my child’s funeral. I didn’t answer him at all because never in my life I have noticed that a minister could arrange a funeral. 

Half past 10 that morning, when he arrived at my house he said that the funeral will go down Langtana Street, Paulus Street, Klein Drakenstein Street, passed the police station and then to the hall and then right down Van der Stell Street and then back into Langenhoven Street and the we will go to the grave yard.

And I asked:

You are my minister and today I’m telling you

and I left him standing outside

and today I’m telling you, you’ve sold me out to the boers.

And I said:

How can you say that?

And you said:

I’m a member of this church.

Because I was a member of the church in Joubert’s time. A coloured’s funeral had never gone threw a white area. Strauss arranged the funeral I Klein Drakenstein and he said why you and he says:

Now I understand your circumstances, you should be on the relationship community. You are part of the NP conspiracy.

And I said:

I’m not going to attend the funeral. Tell him I’m going to arrange the funeral myself.

And on that Wednesday I met him and Peter said if you want to talk to me about the funeral, I have a house you can come to my house. After 15 minutes he came back and we spoke and I told him everything, how it is - it was from Paarl - and why I did not want to go down Langenhoven Street because there was a farm house and next to that there were guava orchid and near that most of the policemen and detectives lived.

And also the commanding officer lived there and he was actually their [indistinct] because I painted that church, I know him, I great him in the mornings. I say:

Good morning Reverent.

And he would not great you back, neither will his wife, neither will his children. And I knew that they were going to shoot more children there - more children and I said I am not going because my child is dead, I made peace with that, but I do not want other people’s children to be shot and then the following day my referent - my priest is going to tell me that he did not lead the funeral.

And later Commander Peters phoned me and said there - there was board that said the Bergram Group and that evening he said - he came to me and he said arrange the funeral the way you want to and I did that and I can just thank God for it because I can say nobody can speak - can feel your pain for you. It’s your pain, it’s child - it’s your child and it’s your pain. 

And what was so ironic is that when we left END OF TAPE 3, SIDE A…the whole road was full, right up until Van Riebeeck Street and the children were all following the precession - funeral precession and the hearse was stopped before this plankies school and Captain Coetzee was there and Oosthuizen and so many white policemen, but not one coloured policeman was present. But at the shooting incident there were coloured policemen and they all gave statements but when we got to town they weren’t acceptable anymore. They had to stay out, they were - they were refused entry, but when - when they came to kill our children, the coloured policemen were present. That’s why I say thereafter many of them were promoted - many of them were promoted after my child’s death. 

They were on it but I am just happy - I’m - I’m at peace because when the hearse stopped, they started shooting at 6-, 7- and 8-year-old kids and I got out of the vehicle in which I was in and I went to stand in front of the hearse and said to him:

Shoot me, I am at peace with this whole thing.

Because by then I was bitter.

CHAIRPERSON:

Order please.

MR FAAS:

It was heartbreaking for me to think that the NG Mother Church could cast us as the NG Daughter Church. The Dutch Reformed Church could cast us aside like dogs, even their priests they are as guilty for their prejudice and one day I got a tape for Allen Boesak when he was in Belhar. 

&#9;I played this tape and his message was that God’s word is not bound, and that’s where I realized out of that message that the priests had misled us. They had misled us to their advantage and I would like to say to you today, I am a member of the Dutch Reformed Church but I would like to say thank you to the ANC, I would like to say thank you to Reverent Maart. Those people supported me far more than my own church. As a missionary I would like to say it in all honesty, the Dutch Reformed Church’s people I don’t even know if they know that God exist to them, God is but a word.

&#9;They cannot say that they’ve excepted God, because it is but the word of God that can - that can free you. God’s work can set you free and I would like to say today that my child’s death was a loss to me. Thanks to that my whole home has suffered because it was a loss to me, I even lost in court. My wife and I have been divorced since - as a result. When we appeared in court Rossouw the magistrate said:

What do you want here, you husband and wife, go out.

And the advocate said to him:

These are the deceased’s parents.

And I’ve never seen a court like that, that’s where we were sitting, that’s where the magistrate was sitting. All these policemen were sitting between us and they gave conflicting versions of what happened and they’d be laughing. How would I - how was I suppose to feel as a parent and that led to the breakup of my home. But I thank God I have since excepted God in my life because I realized that when you except God you have to fix your things with God first, you have to fix your relationship with God first. Because without building a relationship with God you cannot do that with - with - with your fellow human beings. 

I’ve forgiven them because I do not want their children or the community should point a finger at their children in the future and say they did that. They are children, God wants us to come together and it is my feeling that I do not want to bear grudges and I want reconciliation but reconciliation is only possible threw God. Only then can reconciliation with our brothers and sisters be possible. And I trust that God - we don’t know - will make it possible for us to hold hand with each other that we know and we see. Because he is a just God, he is after 11 years God has placed you here to come and wipe our tears so that we can know that this is our souls and this is where we can come and tell our stories. 

So that when we leave here we can say truly there is God and I would like to say I have a son that left school in 1987. He tried to apply to be a prison warden, a policeman, they would not except him - a traffic warden. He is independent - he as my daughter, she is a matriculant. I retired out of the building trade last year as a painter, I receive a mere R460.00 per month and I have got to support my children. And until - when God blesses me with a few odd jobs, I get a bit of an extra income. 

But what will happen to my children, who is going to care for them. And that’s why I would like to ask the Honorable Commission, I have done a lot in live but I’m not - I don’t care about myself. I know that I have settled my matters with God - because when one settles matters with God he says that we have to share with each other and I am sharing my feelings with you now and also with the community. So that they can understand how bitter my wife and my children and myself were and what the cause was because if my child had lived today, he might have had his own practice and he would have been able to help them to. 

But God has always been good to us and we trust that he will take care of their needs and that there will be compensation and this is my wish - my wish is that God will carry us threw to the times that lay ahead that we don’t know about. So that we as a community will reach out to each other and insure that something like this never happens again, that we will hold each other by the hand cause you are here today to make it possible that there should be reconciliation and that we will hold each other by the hand and march forward together towards the path of reconciliation. 

ADV POTGIETER:

Thank you very much Mr Faas, can I just ask you a few questions about this incident itself. There was an inquest at the Paarl Magistrates Court to - with regards to the death - this death which was held on the 17th of February 1986 with residing officer Magistrate JHA Rossouw. 

And according to the medical record the - your son’s death was caused by brain damage due to the shooting incident and there are three - there were three bullet wounds on his body - found on his body. There was a bullet wound behind his left ear which penetrated his brain, there was a bullet wound to his left shoulder which penetrated the mussel tissue and there were two shooting - two bullet wounds to his right arm. 

And this indicated that all these shot were fired from behind and that this Lieutenant Colonel Oosthuizen acknowledged that he had fired the shot with a - a - his own personal shotgun and this shotgun was a weapon known as a SSG. It wasn’t bird shot, it was buck shot these were big bullets that he had used. They were SSG bullets which were much bigger than usual and the evidence that was given by the persons who were with him that evening - his friends. 

His one University friend was with him and that was Godfrey Hendricks and Isaac Fisher and also Precilla Jacobs and all of them submitted statements to the effect that your son was not involved in any stone throwing or riotous incident but he was sitting looking at a drum which was burning in the road and that the evidence heard from amongst others the Lieutenant who acknowledged that your son had run away when we wanted to shoot and that the eventual finding of the court on the 19th of February - two days after the - the matter was heard in February [indistinct] was to the effect that no one was - could be held responsible for the death of your son and that there was no - there was no offense - there was no criminal offense and no one could be charged as such, is that so?

MR FAAS:

Yes

ADV POTGIETER:

Thank you very much, that was just to complete the record. What was so interesting to me was that in that finding of the Magistrate was that I couldn’t believe it - I couldn’t believe that a person could be so unchristlike. 

MR FAAS:

Do you know how they laughed, they absolutely rejoiced - they rejoiced. I cannot believe that a person could stoop as low as those coloured policemen did. Your own race, you know I am not angry at this one policeman but I would like to say today what kind of person he is. There’s no point in a person going to - coming before people but in your heart you’ve got no regard for your fellow humans.

ADV POTGIETER:

In conclusion to my questions I would just like to say that there was a Captain Peter John Clayton who submitted a statement to the Commission and who is prepared to come and give evidence - he will give evidence when you’re finished to indicate what the attitude of Lieutenant Oosthuizen was on this particular day. He will give evidence so you will hear what he has to say.

&#9;That is all I wanted to say to - all I wanted to mention to you, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON:

Could we please have silence, Mr Faas we thank you that after all this pain and suffering you could have - God could have blessed you and you could have held onto your faith. 

There are not many words of comfort which we can provide or much we can do but we feel we - we would like to express our sympathy towards you and we are very grateful that threw God’s mercy you have been touched in such a way that you can say you are prepared to forgive people.

&#9;Thank you very much. 

DR ORR:

Captain Clayton thank you very much for being here this afternoon. This really is quite a momentous occasion to have someone from what was then the South African Police and is now the South African Police Service to come and give corroborative evidence. It really does mean a great deal. Would you like to take the oath or the affirmation?

CAPT CLAYTON:

The oath.

DR ORR:

Will you stand to take that?

 

PETER JOHN CLAYTON &#9;&#9;Duly sworn states

 

DR ORR:

Thank you very much, Denzil Potgieter is going to lead your evidence.

ADV POTGIETER:

Thank you Wendy, Captain would you like to give your testimony in English or in Afrikaans?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Afrikaans please.

ADV POTGIETER:

You are a captain in the South African Police Service?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Yes, that’s correct.

ADV POTGIETER:

Where are you stationed?

CAPT CLAYTON:

In Paarl East.

ADV POTGIETER:

You were also in the service of the Police Force in 1985, more specifically the 28th of August 1985. Where were you stationed?

CAPT CLAYTON:

In Paarl East.

ADV POTGIETER:

What was your rank back them?

CAPT CLAYTON:

I was a Warrant Officer.

ADV POTGIETER:

Are you familiar with the incident of Adri Faas - the one about which Mr Faas just gave evidence?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Yes

ADV POTGIETER:

We know that this shooting incident took place on the 28th of August 1985. Were you on duty that day?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Yes

ADV POTGIETER:

Can you please tell us what you saw, that happened that day?

CAPT CLAYTON:

I think it was approximately 7 o’clock when the deceased walked passed me - I speak under correction, I’m not sure whether there was a young lady with him but it was at approximately 8 o’clock that evening I was standing outside the gate with some of our members and I myself was in charge of these members - because we were coloured members. 

&#9;And I cannot remember whether it was a white or a yellow Ford Cortina that came into the entrance of the police station. And I could see that the passenger Lieutenant Colonel Oosthuizen was - Lieutenant Colonel and I don’t know who the passenger was. And he took out a shotgun which did not look anything like the police issue and his words were:

&#9;You people take to long, I am going to shoot a hot-not tonight. 

&#9;Thereafter they left and I think approximately 3 minutes later - 3 minutes at the most the distance - from the distance where the police station was and where the diseased was laying it was approximately 300 meters and I heard them asking Wessels to come there and I went out of curiosity to see what was happening there. And Sergeant Ross was my vehicle driver and when we got to the scene somebody shouted cause:

&#9;Just fuck off from here.

&#9;And they said we should leave and we just made a U-turn at Steenkamp’s Vleis which was approximately 10 meters from here. I said he must please stop, I just want to see something and we then went back to the office and I said to them I am withdrawing from service now and I told my people they could go home as well.

ADV POTGIETER:

There was an inquest in connection with the shooting incident, did you know anything about that?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Definitely not.

ADV POTGIETER:

Were you ever approached by the police?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Not at all.

ADV POTGIETER:

For a statement or anything?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Not at all.

ADV POTGIETER:

This Lieutenant Colonel Oosthuizen, where was he stationed at the time?
CAPT CLAYTON:

He was at the Detective Branch in Paarl.

ADV POTGIETER:

According to what he said - the actions which he made it appears as though he is a trigger-happy person because he said that tonight he was shooting somebody.

CAPT CLAYTON:

Absolutely

ADV POTGIETER:

And he was - he - he took out a - a private firearm - a personal firearm. It was not a police issue, it was - it was a personal firearm.

CAPT CLAYTON:

I cannot say with certainty that it was his personal weapon but what I can say is that it was not a police issue.

ADV POTGIETER:

As it an ordinary situation that - was it common practice that somebody could come on duty with a - with a shotgun?

CAPT CLAYTON:

No as far as I know it was never allowed.

ADV POTGIETER:

And another aspect is that it was also common cause in the inquest that his firearm was with - loaded with SSG bullets which are - and how do SSG bullets compare to the bullets used by police?

CAPT CLAYTON:

The smaller one - the bird shot is very tiny. The SSG is the biggest one that can cause death. Bird shot does not cause death unless you are - you shoot the person at close range. SSG can kill you from a distance because it is the biggest type of bullet.

ADV POTGIETER:

And is this SSG the most dangerous type of bullet that can be used in a shotgun?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Yes

ADV POTGIETER:

And can a person then assume that this kind of information would be - or this - a policeman who was at the rank of a Lieutenant would know about the dangers of a 

SSG bullet?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Yes you are trained accordingly.

ADV POTGIETER:

Is there anything else you would like to add to your evidence just before I conclude?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Yes, I was - the scene of the crime disturbed me that’s why I asked this gentlemen to make a U-turn and stop because the stone that was there I could not believe that a person could have had or thrown such a stone. Because it was probably the size of a dove’s egg and I speak under correction of whether it in his hand or approximately 5 centimeters from his left hand.

ADV POTGIETER:

So that seamed strange to you the little scene that you saw there with the stone?

CAPT CLAYTON:

Yes

ADV POTGIETER:

Thank you very much Captain for your evidence.

CHAIRPERSON:

Pumla Gobodo

MS GOBODO:

Thank you Chairperson, thank you Captain. I just have two questions, I can - I’ll ask my questions in English, you’re welcome to respond in Afrikaans.

&#9;I’d just like you to describe to us the nature of what was commonly known as riots especially on Klein Drakenstein Street where Mr Faas’ son was killed. What kind of - what form did they take, I just want to have an understanding of the dangerousness of the situation for the police at the time. Could you describe this to us please?

CAPT CLAYTON:

I would say that because the place was like a - it was - every year there were specific places and with specific reference to Klein Drakenstein it - they were named in police language, it was in front of the bioscope and near Maco, which is a fast food place where the deceased was. These were focal points where there were normally problems.

MS GOBODO:

Yes, I’d like to know what happened exactly, what - what did people do when they engaged in riots in those area that were focal points?

CAPT CLAYTON:

What usually happened there was that tires would burnt, stones would be packed in the street, vehicles would be stoned but usually we would cut off the vehicles and redirect them along different routs. So that there were - police vehicles would patrol Klein Drakenstein Road and others would go around the back. For example where there was one - where the water tank was and also at the side of Spesbona, we would patrol there. 

&#9;And also blockade the streets on Van Riebeeck Road and Klein Drakenstein Road and also near the swimming-pool, just sort of prevent further problems. That was basically what I - myself and my unit did.

MS GOBODO:

One last question. Could you describe to us also how the riot squad operated. Where - where was the main operation base and where was it commandeered, can you just give us a picture of how that was structured?

CAPT CLAYTON:

They, at that stage, were stationed at the old Police Dog Unit in town - that’s where they were stationed. Their offices were there and that’s where they operated from to Paarl East.

MS GOBODO:

Thank you, my colleague Denzil has asked me to found out from you it you know what happened to Lieutenant Oosthuizen?

CAPT CLAYTON:

I think he has retired.

CHAIRPERSON:

We admire your bravery and your courage and I think one would have said that one of the witnesses - what one of the witnesses said was that they think that the policemen who shot these people had a firearm like - like this was used in this case people would have thought they were - they were lying.

And we appreciate that you have come here, to come and affirm what Mr Faas has said. We - our appreciation is even more so because we are trying to form a new system with our police but the relationships between the police and the community so that that could also change. And we would like to express our gratitude towards you for having taken the [indistinct] to advance this process. 

We - we are very grateful and - and we hope that one day we will see you Commissioner 

CAPT CLAYTON:

I would like to just put one last point as why I am doing this - my reason is because it has bugged me ever since that day and every time I see Mr Faas he reminds me there - about that. I saw him in CAN two weeks ago and I looked and I hesitated for two minutes whether I should speak to him or not and I decided I will speak to him.

&#9;And I thought this is the best way in which way to do it, to do it here and I would also like to say to you that up until 1987 I compiled a report in which I asked certain - for certain things that are taking place. My report is dated the 20th of February 1987 where I named a few things as to how the police force should be and that such things should happen - like what was happening today and who was going to protect who, thank you. 

