&#9;TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

&#9;UWC HEARING - DAY 1 - MONDAY 5 AUGUST 1996



CASE NO:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;CT/00666

VICTIM:&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;FARIED MUHAMMAD FERHELST [son]

NATURE OF VIOLENCE:&#9;&#9;SEVERE ASSAULT

TESTIMONIES FROM:&#9;&#9;FARRIED MUHAMMAD FERHELST

&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;MINNIE LOUISA FERHELST



MR FERHELST: Ja.

CHAIRPERSON: You are both you and your mother.

MS FERHELST: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much indeed.

MR FERHELST: Ja.

MS FERHELST: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: Ms Burton is going to lead you in a moment and she'll discuss with you who should speak first. But before I ask her to take over from me, would you both please stand for the taking of the oath.

FARIED MUHAMMAD FERHELST&#9;&#9;Duly sworn states

MINNIE LOUISA FERHELST&#9;&#9;&#9;Duly sworn states

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, will you please be seated. Now you are going to tell us about detention and torture. It's not an easy thing to talk about, it's sometimes difficult to relive those moments. But I am very grateful to you for coming and doing that because it's very important. If we are going to have any kind of future in this country, that we understand what has happened so that we can built a better future. Thank you, and I'll hand over to Ms Burton. 

MS BURTON: Thank you Chairperson, good morning again Ms Ferhelst. Ms Ferhelst are you going to speak first.

MS FERHELST: I was at home, Donovan was in standard 9 at Spes Bona High School and it so happened that the police were looking for him. And they would come every week at least once a week. My children were still very small at the time. I had one daughter who was working and the others were still at school. And they would come and knock in the early morning hours. The policeman that came were mostly Captain Van Brakel and others, and they would search my house, uncover the children who were sleeping and look through my house and my property with torches. We never had any peace, because they would come every week. I didn't know what to do, Donovan never stayed at home, he always had to sleep outside, elsewhere and I was always worried about him. There was a stage where Donovan was at home and I sent him to the shop with my twin daughters and when he came back the police arrested him. And I wanted to know why they were arresting him, he hadn't done anything and they said they were taking him for questioning him. They kept him and we went there the evening to take him a change of clothes. And the next day he was released. Donovan had to sleep around at other people's homes once again and they discovered him at somebodys home at some stage and charged him with public violence. But then the people came to tell me that he had been arrested. I did not know what to do, I contacted an attorney and I had been to all the police stations, Athlone, Mowbray and was told that he wasn't there. And I was told that Bishop Lavis policeman had arrested him, but none of the policeman knew where he was. He was arrested at about ten o'clock the morning and by three o'clock I had still no idea where he was. I was extremely desperate and I didn't know what to do. I contacted the attorney and he told me that I should phone Cape Town and speak to a Mr Smit or Swart and he said that I should again contact Bishop Lavis and by four o'clock the afternoon we got an explanation and established that he was in Bishop Lavis. I spoke to Captain Van Brakel, I went to try and establish why he had been arrested and was told that he was being charged with public violence and he was custody. The morning on which he was suppose to appear in court, I went there at seven o'clock to take him a change of clothes to the police station so that he could look decent because he had been in custody for two days. And when I got to Bishop Lavis police station, I asked if I could give him clean clothes and they refused saying that they couldn't take it. I asked if I could speak to the captain, and I was sent to captain Van Brakel's office, I was given the office number. And Donovan's younger brother was with me. When I knocked on the door, I was told to come inside and Captain Van Brakel and a Mr Strydom were there. Captain Van Brakel then said maam we have been waiting for you for a long time I am happy that you have come. I then told him that I just want to give my child these clean clothes because he is due to appear in Court. He then said please come inside and I sat there and he said to me you are not going home, we are going to lock you up. I then wanted to know what I had done and he said I told you, you are not going home. He took out some files and showed me some photo's asking me to identify some of the children. I said that I don't know anybody, he then said to me you are lying you know them, they are use to coming to your house, we have taken pictures of them near your yard. And I then said I don't know them. And then asked me why are you lying like this, your son and another boy are the two gunmen of Bonteheuwel. I then said to him Mr Van Brakel you have been to my house and you've searched my yard hundreds of times, how come you haven't come any weapons there. And he then said to me, while I was talking to him, he was writing. And when he was writing I saw -Strydom the other policeman said to me ma'me you must remember play the game with us and we will release your son, but if you do not play the game, we will keep him here for six months and will not let him come out again. My heart was very sore because Donovan was a school child who had never been in jail. And I didn't know what to do, so I asked them please tell me my child is not familiar with this - with this kind of thing. And they said to me tell us the truth and the more I said that I do not know anything, the more they yelled at me and this is from seven o'clock the morning until about eleven o'clock. He then said to me - you know you look so nice and clean on the outside, but on the inside you are as dirty and rotten as your son. I asked them if I could please smoke a cigarette because my nerves were shattered. And he banged on the table and shouted you are not going to smoke in my office and we will lock you up until tomorrow. And I must say that I went through hell that morning. They took me out of that room into another room where there was another policeman who was suppose to watch over me. I then sat there and they told me that they were not going to grant my son bail and I then burst into tears. And they said that there was nothing of Donovan. I was then crying and I was told that you are still going to cry much more and I was told that the attorney - the attorney you have is a crook, but we will - who robs poor people, he is a crook he robs poor people. And I was put in this room, and the police were told to watch me. Fortunately I knew this policeman and he felt very sorry for me and he said that I could smoke and I could sit there. And they gave me a piece of paper which they wanted me to sign. The words he had written there - there was an opening below what he had written and he wanted me to sign below that opening and I knew that if I signed that they would fill something in there. And I refused to sign and they wanted to lock - they threatened to lock me up. I refused to sign and they then took me out of this room and wanted to know if I had signed, I said no and they shouted at me and said take her, lock her up and I cried and I got so angry and I said I am not afraid of you, take me, lock me up I am not afraid to go to jail. And I couldn't stand it any more. And they took me towards the cells and at the cell door they took me back and took me out. It was very hot that morning and Van Brakel's car was outside and he ordered another policeman to watch over me and that I should get into that car and sit outside that police station and it was so hot. I spoke to this policeman and asked him why are these people like this, why do they have to go on like this, can't I just go, and he said no ma'me I have to keep you in this car as prisoner, I cannot let you go. They eventually let me - let me go but I couldn't go to far and I went back into the police station. I just felt that they had - rather had to lock me up. Then Van Brakel and Strydom came and I had to get back into the car and from there we left. At Court they stopped and I wanted to know please my child is appearing can't I go in, and they said no-no go. And Strydom had to take me home and when I got home, Strydom searched my house looking for a match box with a telephone number. From there on I didn't hear from them again, but a while later Donovan appeared again and outside Court there were policeman sitting there and the Magistrate said you are free to go, the case against you is withdrawn and when we got outside, Donovan was walking in front and I was walking very slowly and I looked back and I saw the Magistrate walking in a certain direction and it seems strange to me that the Magistrate should walk in that direction and he still turned around to look at us. The policeman was sitting one side and there was a policeman sitting there who I knew and I saw him pointing to my son and then took my son and I shouted Donovan. They took him and I screamed, I said you are not going to take him he has just been released, I said I am going with my son and they said no maam you may not go with him, it is a State of Emergency. And they took him, he was locked up at Brackenfell police station. We couldn't get to him, I went to the attorney and they assured me that they would do all that they could to see him, but we couldn't due to the State of Emergency. And on a certain day I went to the police station at Brackenfell taking a change of clothes for Donovan. And when I got there the morning I pleaded with them to please just let me see him and give him these clean clothes. There was a coloured person there I am not sure if he was the Commander or whatever but I pleaded with him to please allow me to give my son these clean clothes and he wouldn't take it. Two white policeman then said to me maam give the clothes here and they then took the clothes and cigarettes and gave them to Donovan. I was very happy and I said please give me his dirty clothes and they then gave me the - his dirty clothes and said to him, allow her to see her child just for a few minutes and they - this - they were saying to this coloured policeman, but he wouldn't. I left there very heartbroken and when I got home, when I opened up the clothes, I saw that there were - the clothes were bloodstained although it had been rinsed. I cried that day, I phoned the attorney, I just couldn't stand it any more and he said to me come in immediately. The following morning I went in with the clothes and showed it to him and all the attorneys came closer and confessed that it was blood and I knew that my child was being tortured. And he said to me you are not going to leave here even if it means you have to sit here all day, we are - and we have to go to the Supreme Court, but today they must allow us to see this child. And I spent the whole day there until we got to see him.

&#9;Thank you very much Ms Ferhelst, you've given a very clear illustration of the kind of anxiety and pressure that the families of young activist had to go through at the time. And like many other families you were very strong through that time. We'll go on now to hear from Mr Ferhelst there may be some questions that people want to ask you though afterwards, so you can move the microphone.

FARIED MUHAMMAD FERHELST:

MS BURTON: Thank you Mr Ferhelst, you have told us - told our statement takers about your years as a student activist and your involvement then when you were recruited with MK and about the number of times that you were arrested and questioned. So please tell us about your experiences. --- My involvement started in 1984 late 1984. I came home from school one day and the 'cops' were looking for me, why up till today I don't know. 1985 in the beginning I joined like SRT's on the schools, BISCO and like we were on the run. I was still young and I like any child I was afraid what this people was going to do and the information we got from other children who were caught is they going to kill us. Like we didn't know what to do, in 1985 we like basically had nowhere to go, nobody to turn to in fact. At night we don't - we didn't have places to sleep because we afraid, sometimes we went without food for days, three - four days. And the climax, the struggle started to climax. We formed a group, a group of us came together and we started forming an organization to protect ourselves from the 'cops' because for some of us it was like they were shooting on sight, whenever they saw you in Bonteheuwel, they started shooting and we thought well what can we do to protect us against this people. Then we formed BMW, Bonteheuwel Military Wing. From there it just went on - on a day to day basis like we met with MK cadres who trained us, we went out of the area, came back into the areas and then you recruit other people to help with this defence unit structure we built. It went on for '85, '86 till 1987 the 'cops' caught me on a Friday morning. That was about ten o'clock I was like still sleeping, actually I wasn't sleeping but I got back into bed. I heard cars pull up - at that time your senses are so developed you can hear a car a mile when it brakes, like your senses everything becomes - you become suspicious of everything and everybody. On a Friday morning yes, when I heard the brakes of a car I stood up, I went to the back window to see what was going on, what car it was, whatever, but it was too late, all the houses were surrounded by 'cops', sitting on the walls with guns. In the yard was about something like 25 to 30 'cops' in the yard. Two sharpshooters were sitting on the roof, Casspirs and stuff were parked say three or four blocks away. I thought all this people is coming for me, and what did I do wrong. What did I do so badly that these people want to know, I then realized that well all the threats we got from all the information we got from other children who were caught, well this people are going to kill me, that's what they said. And I got into bed and laid, I heard a knock on the door like I heard a bang on the door and there was this a commotion in the dining room. There was approximately 20 to 30 'cops' in the dining room and this Captain burst into the room where I was laying, I was till in a shorts. He pulled me up, he said can I use the exact words because like it's hard for me to forget what that man said today and like I tried to forget, but it's always there, this Captain his name is Van Brakel. He came into that room, he and about 4 or 5 other SB's, he said to me, jou slym etter gemors, ons het jou, ons gaan jou nou vrek maak you piece of trash, we have you now, now we going to kill you. And like there was one of the other guys who was with me in the room his name is Mymoona Begg, but he doesn't know, he wasn't politically active or anything like that. They took him out of the room and then they started to hit me, smacked me around. They closed the door and like, he reckons to me why didn't you run, so I said why must I run, I did nothing wrong. What he then did [intervention]

&#9;Can I just stop you one moment, you were staying in the house of Mymoona Begg is that right? --- Excuse me?

&#9;You were staying in the house of Mymoona. --- Ja.

&#9;That's why he was there with you? --- Ja, he then cuffed me, he didn't want me to put on clothes or anything he just cuffed me there. So I asked him if I can put on my clothes, he said no you can put it on at the police station. Then they put me in the van, took me to the police station and 'throwed' me in a cell. That Friday afternoon and they also took Mymoona like I protested I said he doesn't know anything about me, I am just sleeping here, why you taking him. He said, ag hou jou bek donner and he pushed me into the van and whatsoever, took me up to the police station. At about if I can judge it was about two hours later they threw in somebody I knew Christofer Routledge his - and say about four o'clock they started calling us out one at a time, taking us into the cell for interrogation. When it was my turn two SB's I can't remember the names but Van Brakel was in that room and two of the SB's stood next to me, one on each side. He started asking questions well I denied everything he asked and I said I don't know what - anything what - how can I tell you these things. They went out of the room, the two SB's tied my hands with a belt behind my back and then a third one he came into this room. They also took off his belt, put it around my neck and started to whenever one of the others asked a question, he started to pull the belt like choking me, pulling it stiffer and stiffer every time like. When they saw they couldn't get any information out of me, they took me back to the cell. Later on they came to fetch me again, it was about seven or eight o'clock. Started hitting me, asking questions again, well then they took me back to the cell. The next day the same thing happened, the day after the same thing happened, then I went to Court. I was denied bail for a ten days I can say I was like interrogated for say about seven days. Then I got bail, before we got bail, the day before we got bail, our Section 29 papers were there, this Captain reckons to me he is going to detain me under Section 29, so I said well you must do whatever you want to. But as soon as I walked out of the Court I started running because I know what - what were on their minds. Luckily I got away but and I got a date for - to appear later. When I - at the later date I came to Court, the charges were dropped against me, but a 'cop' which I know his name is Gary, I know this cop his name is Gary Harris, he stood in front of the Court as soon as I left the Court, he said here is he, I was detained, taken to Goodwood police station where they just put me in a cell and about half past four, five o'clock if I can judge, two SB's came to fetch me. From there they took me to Bracenfell police station, they booked me in, threw me in a cell. At about seven or eight Van Brakel came, he started asking me questions, smacking me around what and then he left again and he said ons maak jou nog vrek, voor jy uit die tronk uit they told me they would kill me. I thought everything was okay for the night, half past two at night, I think it was about two o'clock half past two, the first night in Brackenfell, I heard all the doors opening. Well I was laying in a shorts, there was about seven SB's. They rushed into the cell pulled a black bag around my neck, tightened it, cuffed my hands behind my back and took me out, out to the car. In the car they started hitting me. They drove, I don't know where they drove, past fields, but they drove for about an half an hour or so, when they came to a place, they took me out again, it sounded like it was in a shack. There I was put in a shower, cuffed to a shower. They started hitting me continuously until I were conscience, then I - threw water on my to regain my conscienceless and like they gassed, tear gassed the shower, put me in some bin and they tear gassed this bin and start to wet you all over again. Like the majority of the time when they hit you, you didn't even feel the pain because you passed out or something. It went, as I can say that went on for that period, after that night, it was every night, half past two, three o'clock every night they came to fetch me. I can't remember for how long that went on, but to me it felt like it went on for - it felt like almost a couple of years, just that short period because of what the people, the way they handle you, the way they hit you. After that, they took me to Victor Verster, where I was originally detained. Later on I was released on bail with the other fellow comrades who was with me. I think that's about it.

&#9;Thank you very much, so you were several times detained under Section 29. --- Excuse me?

&#9;You were detained two or three times under Section 29? --- No just that one time, when as I - when I left the Court, I was 

detained. 

&#9;And that time when you left the Court you were charged with arson and then they found you not guilty is that right? --- Ja they charged me for bombing up a Post Office and then he said, they erken that I am not guilty.

&#9;And it was while you were going out of the Court, that they detained you.

--- Excuse me?

&#9;It was while you were going out of the Court that they detained you. --- Ja - ja that's when they detained me.

&#9;Well thank you very much for telling us all about your experience. Can you tell us what effect this had on you? --- Basically when I came out of prison I was withdrawn from everything, everybody I know. Like I had no friends, I was my own friend, then you come out, the other guys who I recruited like they were with me, but when we came out of prison it was a whole different game here outside, like we were thrown away. Nobody like nobody stood up for us. We were called gangsters and that kind of [indistinct] like we had no support. That's why I can say my life was never the same.

&#9;Thank you very much, I have no further questions at the moment Mr Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Ms Burton, Dr Orr.

DR ORR: During the times that you were detained under Section 29 and being interrogated and tortured almost every day, did you see a doctor? --- Ja they took me to a doctor once, I can still remember the doctor was somewhere in Bellville, my whole body was bruised. I had marks on my face and I came to the doctor, the doctor just took out a stethoscope, put it against my heart and he reckons to the SB, die doner makeer fok all, vat hom hier weg. 

CHAIRPERSON: Sorry could I just continue where Dr Orr left off, this one doctor you saw can you recall his name? --- No sorry I can't recall his name. But if I am - if I am not mistaken I think it was the District doctor from Bellville whatsoever.

&#9;Okay, thank you very much, we'll try and follow that up thank you. Mr Potgieter.

MR POTGIETER: Thank you chairperson, just two issues, two issues Mr Ferhelst, when you taken away with the bag over your -over your head, right. --- Okay.

&#9;With the bag over your head that you spoke about, you were taken and you were handcuffed in a shower. That - that incident that you spoke about, did you have that bag over your head the whole time, whilst you were tortured? --- Like - in the first and second evenings the bag was over my head but on the third night one of the policeman took off the bag. I was virtually unconscious and he then took the rifle and gave it to me and said why don't you pull the trigger because we going to kill you anyway. And when they interrogated me - I am talking now of the first ten day period Van Brakel made a statement that - he said that if you caught comrades like Ashley Kriel people like that, they would kill him. He also said that they knew where Ashley was and that they would find him and kill him. If I remember correctly I use to visit Ashley's mother, we still joked about the fact that Ashley said, that Van Brakel said that he would kill Ashley, and that is in fact what happened they shot Ashley and I realized that these people were indeed men of their word, if they said something they actually carried it through. And during interrogation you make sort of peace with yourself and you - you realize that what must be, must be. To - if I can put it this way, you - you actually prepare yourself for the worst.

&#9;I am just trying to find out, on that day when you were in the shower cubicle, could you recognize any of the voices? --- Yes, Van Brakel's voice, he was the one person's who's voice I could recognize, because the kind of a language that he used, like communist rubbish, he was always terribly rude, and I recognized his voice, but the other's no, I couldn't recognize their voices.

&#9;Would you say that Van Brakel was present most of the time during your interrogation [indistinct] the treatment that you described to us. --- No not most of the time, I would say, maybe during the first couple of days, whilst I was interrogated, he was present.

&#9;Were you asked about Ashley Kriel during your interrogations? --- Yes, the questions they asked about Ashley were like - where was he and that kind of thing, that was after they shot him. And they wanted to know what the connection was between myself and Ashley, and were the other members of his family were also terrorist and that kind of thing.

&#9;So they were very interested in Ashley Kriel. --- Pardon me.

&#9;They were very interested in Ashley Kriel. --- Yes, they were very interested in him, his whereabouts, his activities and so on.

&#9;Can you remember which policeman put the most questions to you about Ashley? --- I am sorry but I can't remember. 

&#9;That's not a problem if you can't remember. And lastly did you lay any complaints against the policeman who assaulted you.

--- Did I lay charges, well not really. At the time you know what could we really do, nobody could really do anything, the police could do whatever they wanted to. Who will I make the charge to, to the police. Who could I tell what was happening to me, the same thing would happen the day - the very next day -nothing would happen, there was nobody to investigate my complain.

&#9;And at this stage how do you feel now? --- Firstly I would have like to ask the Captain personally what motivated him to torture me, beat me, he couldn't get information out of me, what - what really drove him to assault me like that. And secondly what I would like to say is that our people outside, I was not alone, we were a military wing, there was a whole group of us. If I look at them, I recruited quite a few of them, and I taught them how to defend themselves and now, now that we have won the struggle, nobody is looking after them. They've become gangsters, and really hurts not the fact of the interrogations so much but the fact that nobody is actually taken care of my colleagues and my comrades, that really hurts me. I recruited a lot of them, I am responsible actually for their - for their welfare, I am responsible for the fact that they sacrificed their lives for the struggle. And I think that it will be good if I can speak on their behalf and that somebody could care for them.

&#9;I understand you very well Mr Ferhelst, and I take note of the fact that you say that many of your comrades have become gangsters as a result of the circumstances we know for instance what happened in the early hours of the morning in Woodstock today. So thank you very much for your evidence, and we've taken note of what you've said. Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you before I - I express the appreciation of the Commission just one final question Mr Ferhelst, what are you doing now, are you employed. Do you have a job, what do you do? --- I've got a job, but like I don't know how long I am going to keep that job. 

&#9;Order please, can you be as quite as possible please. --- I've got a job but as I say, I don't know how I am going - how long I am going to keep the job, because it's this hatred I got inside for this people. If I explode who knows what I am going to do in the factory.

&#9;Thank you very much, first of all may I say to Ms Ferhelst we really appreciate your being alongside your son. This is very important that he has support in the same way as I am sure it's important that he supports you, both morally and in every other way. I want to thank you both for coming, and Mr Ferhelst I want to thank you for speaking up on behalf of your comrades. You didn't talk about yourself, you talked about them. But really and truly it's about all of you. And I think that the terrible cost of what took place for so long is what we are paying for now. Not only then, but now. I am not sure what the Commission can do, but the very fact that your voice will be heard, I hope will stir those in charge and in authority and responsibility that we cannot forget people who were trained to defend themselves and then in many instances were just left on their own and therefore started to use the very defence in order to attack. The struggle is not over, the work is not over there is a huge amount to do and you've reminded us of that and we are grateful to you. We grateful to you for your courage to undergo the torture that you've undergone is a very-very heavy thing to do. And I am quite sure you carry that with you, I hope you won't explode. I hope that you will use the courage that you have demonstrated today, as a creative force to built and try to reach out to the very people you've been talking about and perhaps together as from today there can be a new start. Thank you very-very much indeed both of you for coming. Thank you.





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