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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

DAY 4 - 25 APRIL 1996

 

CASE NO:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;CT/00618 

VICTIM:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;PAUL MANUEL WILLIAMS

VIOLATION:&#9;&#9;&#9;SERIOUS INJURIES 

TESTIMONIES FROM:&#9;PAUL MANUEL WILLIAMS

 

DR BORAINE:

I call now Paul Manuel Williams and Marilyn Javens. Good morning nice to see you. I would like to welcome you on behalf of the Commission, we are very-very glad that you have decided to come before this Commission.

Because once again you’ll be revisiting the time of deep pain, sorrow and anguish, injury and death and we appreciate it enormously because it is very important we think that the country should know the complete picture as possible as to what happened and the extent of the effects of violence on a community as well as on individual.

Mr Williams, I would ask you please to stand, if you would like to remain seated please do so, just for the oath.

 

PAUL MANUEL WILLIAMS&#9;&#9;Duly sworn states

DR BORAINE:

Thank you very, you can be seated and finally the Reverend Cameron, I understand you’ll be participating. Can I ask you therefore then. Thank you very much indeed again. A very-very special warm word of welcome to all of you. Violence is abhorrent in any circumstances, any circumstances. But somehow there is a special abhorrence when it takes place at - when people are worshipping.

It just seem such a total utter contradiction and I can imagine not only the deep sadness and hurt and loss. But also the just sheer bizarre character of these two coming together. The one is a commitment to peace and love and reconciliation and apparently another totally contradicting that.

So we are - feel for you very deeply and in order to try and help in some small way to tell your story, Mary Burton is going to lead you, and we’ll start with Mr Williams, thank you.

MS BURTON:

Thank you. I’d like to add my welcome and thanks to you all for coming this morning, I know it’s one more step in the ordeal you’ve been facing over the period since the attack in July 1993 but I hope it would also help to be a step in the process of healing and recovery for both of you. 

Mr Williams would you like to tell us about the event as you remember it on the 25th of July 1993.

 

MR WILLIAMS

Certainly, firstly thank you to the panel for this great opportunity of being part of this. I was with an aunt of mine, my family and I, we attended a birthday party, it was her 80th birthday and we left there rather late. And I decided that - or suggested to my wife she rather stay home with the kids and I go through to church end of Tape 18, Side A … [indistinct] it was rather quiet you know it was a winter evening and light drizzle and nothing seemed very suspicious to me.

I entered the church and became part of the Congregation and participated up to the point where two young persons had rendered a duet. Now they were close to finishing this song when suddenly the doors where the perpetrators entered - when suddenly these doors just flung open. And nobody could - I myself I couldn’t imagine that it was a possible or imminent attack.

At first I heard a gun shot and immediately thereafter for the first time, now, I’ve seen in - I am in the Post Offices you know - they have these models of hand grenades but for the first I actually see - saw a hand grenade hurling towards a live audience. And while this hand grenade was still airborne the other gentlemen - there were I saw about three - three people and there was possibly a fourth person.

The second person while this hand grenade was still airborne, he opened fire with what I will call a very heavy machine gun. I say a heavy machine gun because the explosions were extremely loud, extremely powerful and I know it was a machine gun because of the type of firing. And he was just spraying bullets you know randomly just across the Congregation and I was sitting on the end - on the end f the pew and that pew was rather full.

And you know everything seem like very slow motion, you just cannot imagine. But when I really realised that it was an attack when I saw the explosion coming from the loop of the - of the rifle. You could actually see it the smoke and the fire - the explosion. And we tried to take cover and the pew was full and we went down rather slowly but I managed to get on the - on the floor and I managed to get down on the - between the pews.

I curled myself up to sort of hide my face from the gun firing. I curled myself up and just prayed and hoped that I’ll be okay but soon after I just felt the thud of the bullet hitting my lower back and it was like - it was like a tension wire snapping and with that went a lot of pain. I just - I had stretched my body and my lower body just became very numb.

Now I don’t know much - too much about ammunition and arms but I heard from guys that went to the border that ammunition can be rather lethal and they can actually rip your body apart and that is what I thought happened to me, that my lower body was ripped from my upper body because it was totally numb.

Nevertheless I was on the floor and in severe pain. Help did come to me immediately in the form of my fellow brethren. What they did was they took off the jersey I was wearing and they actually stuffed the sleeve of the jersey into the hole where the bullet actually went through. I lost a lot of blood in the process and became extremely weak.

And fortunately the ambulance arrived fairly quickly to give further attention and medical help. That is basically what the attack looked like from my perspective because that’s all I could see because I had to go down between the pews and I couldn’t witness what happened sort of after going down into them. But it seem like a day because I thought these guys were actually moving up the pews and trying to gun down each and every person - it was absolute horror. But thank God I came out of it - not too okay but I’m grateful for my measure of health I’m enjoying at the moment.

My injuries I think were - are pretty severe for a young man of 40 in the prime of my years I guess - my injuries are pretty severe. I have total paralysis of the left foot, my left leg muscles have collapsed and I have numbness in a lots of places in my body. And also right foot especially my three small toes.

My one seat has collapsed completely and there’s no chance that it will recover because I was given a year for it to mend and it did not mend after the year. And doctor feels that there’s no chance of a recovery as far as that is concerned. I still suffer severe pain, thank God for medication of which I use a lot and that helps me - helps me through the day, thank you.

MS BURTON:

Thank you very much Mr Williams thank you. I know you’ve come a long way since that time and we are grateful to hear the details of it horrific as they are and share your thankfulness that you are - you have the measure of health that you do. Could you tell us perhaps what you think that the TRC can achieve, what it can help you - in what way it can help you.

MR WILLIAMS

Help ja well personally I - I would like these guys to - I would like the TRC to establish who the real perpetrators are. I’d love to know why they did it because I do feel their timing was completely out. I tell you why because the democratic elections was a reality, it was just about in place.

And just all of a sudden out of the blue here - here come this attack. I feel it really wasn’t necessary. And I feel a lot of innocent people have suffered as a result. I think especially of the Russian fathers and those families who lost their dear ones ja.

MS BURTON:

Thank you, questions?

CHAIRPERSON:

Thank you very much. Any questions, yes Pumla Gobodo.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

Thank you, Chairman, Hi Paul.

MR WILLIAMS

Hi.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

In South Africa churches were - have always been and so have they been in other parts of the world as places of safety where nothing of the sort you have described could ever been imagined to happen and yet we have heard quite a few experiences by people in churches who were chased out of church, shot in church.

So suddenly the image of the church in South Africa seems to have changed and surely for you the day it was unbelievable and it’s unimaginable that a place where everybody use to run to for safety suddenly now becomes a target.

I would like to know from you, Paul how - I know you can feel that you are in pain, I would like to know how has the fact that you are a Christian assisted you in dealing with your pain?

MR WILLIAMS

Thank you, Pumla. Yes for me as committed a Christian it’s always been important to - to attend the church where biblical teaching is very sound.

Now I’ve - I’ve learnt from my teaching and also I’ve discovered for myself from my readings in the Bible that this wasn’t a unique event. The church has suffered throughout the years but for you question, how did I cope with the pain. For me it was important to come to terms with my situation and you know the Bible teaches me that I must not only love my neighbours but I must also love my enemies.

The Bible also teaches me that I must if I want people to show compassion towards me, I must be able and willing to show compassion and then I think for me the cherry on the top is what Jesus said on the cross when he said:

Father forgive them for they know not what they doing.

And I must have a loving spirit, I must have a forgiving spirit and I think that greatly helped me and assisted me in coping with my situation.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Has the teachings of the Bible - have the teachings of the Bible being able to - how have you related to the teachings of the Bible in reality? Did you find this easy to do what were your struggles, can you share with us what your struggles were in relating that teaching of the Bible to what the reality of experiencing the pain was for you?

MR WILLIAMS

Okay can - can - will you set that question a little easier please.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Did you struggle or did you not struggle with what the teachings of the Bible are and the reality of the experience of the pain and the hurt that you felt.

MR WILLIAMS

Okay no I don’t think I - I didn’t struggle like I said I had fairly sound teaching and that helped me to cope with - with that situation. We as Christians many times people think that Christians are - they are immune from suffering but it’s not like that. You know we are ordinary people like everybody else.

People maybe think that nothing wrong should happen to them, to Christians, but we are ordinary people, you know, the disasters and tragedies that strike everybody else also strike Christians and that helps me to cope with it.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA:

Thank you Paul.

MR WILLIAMS

That’s my pleasure.

CHAIRPERSON:

Thank you, Dr Randera.

DR RANDERA:

[indistinct] have become injured in the process of the struggle that is taking place. I just want you perhaps to tell us whether you think our health system has coped adequately with your needs both at the time of your injuries and since.

MR WILLIAMS

Well I was in a very fortunate position Dr Randera I don’t know if you remember that a relief fund was established soon after the massacre and a substantial amount was collected. I was also fortunate that I did belong to medical aid so I was pretty well covered as far as medical expenses is concerned. But I do feel that for the ordinary man, well ordinary when I say people that don’t belong to medical aids and maybe where there ain’t funds availabe. I think we can do a lot more to - to secure their positions. I do also think that we are working towards that, thanks.

CHAIRPERSON:

Advocate Ntsebeza.

ADV NTSEBEZA:

Paul I just want to ask a question related to your answer to the very first question relevant to perpetrators. I don’t know if you have been following events in Courtrooms since then. And in the process of the arrest and trying to bring the culprits to book.

You are aware that a 17 year old member of the PAC from Khayelitsha, Mr Maqoma, was sentenced to 23 years effective - 23 years effective imprisonment in this regard.

You are aware of that - you are also aware that since that three other persons have been arrested in connection with this attack and they are awaiting trial.

MR WILLIAMS

Ja.

ADV NTSEBEZA:

Now in view of that what - what would you like the Commission to establish in view of the fact that it appears that there is a process in place that has already sentenced one of the people alleged to have been involved and is in the process of charging others.

 

MR WILLIAMS

Ja okay - well from my - from my level as human being my personal level, I feel I have forgiven them. And when I say forgiven them I bear no grudges against them. There’s absolutely no bitterness within my heart towards them. If I come face to face with them I’ll be prepared to hug them out of Godly love.

But I also feel that - but on the other hand I would say that there is also a justice system in the country and over that I don’t have control and I will leave that in the - those capable hands.

ADV NTSEBEZA:

And finally I would like to ask a question I’ve asked to lot of people who have been at the receiving end. If Maqoma for instance who is serving a period of imprisonment for this attack - were to apply for Amnesty and in the view of the Amnesty Committee it could be found after all the various tests have been applied to his case that he deserves to be granted Amnesty and he were to walk the streets as a free person as a consequence of that process. What would your reaction be?

MR WILLIAMS

Like I said advocate, it is beyond my control that him being granted Amnesty, but should he go free and walk on the streets, my duty as committed Christian should be I think to reach out to him. And that is what I would like to do.

 

ADV NTSEBEZA:

You are very rare person, Mr Williams.

MR WILLIAMS

Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON:

Thank you very much.

