Human Rights Violation Hearings

ADV POTGIETER

Can I ask for some order before we start - [indistinct] - thank you very much. Mr Opperman will you rather give you evidence in Afrikaans. We welcome here is that Ms Opperman with you?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes that is indeed so.

ADV POTGIETER

Ms Opperman we welcome you here. Just before you take your testimony Mr Opperman, we need you to do the oath. Would you please rise.

KAREL JAKOBUS OPPERMAN Duly sworn states

ADV POTGIETER

Mr Opperman, your testimony also has to do with an event in Ashton that occurred during 1990 is that correct. Would it be possible for you to tell us broadly what happened, who you are, where you live, what you personal circumstances are.

MR OPPERMAN

I am from Ashton. My name of Karl Opperman. I live in the location there. I lost my eye because of events that I can’t entirely remember on a particular day. I suddenly felt a burning feeling in my eye when they shot at me and I ran into my house and I ran into the back of my yard so I could wash my face. I then passed out at the back of my yard.

I was then taken to hospital at the back of a bakkie and in Montagu I felt that I could not be helped, I had to go to the Tygerberg Hospital. The ambulance then took me to the Tygerberg Hospital. And at the hospital the police van saw me and then I was taken into the hospital and a women there through a coat over me but the policeman still followed me and then eventually the people who worked in the hospital said that a month earlier they were striking and if the police would not leave me alone, they would strike again.

ADV POTGIETER

Mr Opperman sorry to interrupt you but would it be possible for you to speak slightly slower, the interpreters have some difficulty keeping up so that everyone will be able to understand you. Would you please try and just speak a little slower - sorry for the interruption.

MR OPPERMAN

Then I saw a doctor I asked for painkillers. I did not receive any painkillers. Then on the Sunday morning early a doctor came. I then asked the doctor whether I could first get some painkillers. Then Gerry Johnson, a lawyer, came to see what the circumstances were and then I asked the lawyer, Gerry Johnson, whether I could be placed under some sort of protection since the police continued to threaten me.

Then Gerry spoke to the doctor and asked the doctor to provide me with security staff which they did. I then stayed in the hospital. The problem that I have is that if my other eye gets damaged in future what will happen of me and my children. I have heard nothing from the attorney that I have appointed. This attorney just keeps telling that he will phone me again and then he never eventually phones me. I do not know who to go to except this Truth Commission.

ADV POTGIETER

Is there anything else that you would like to add to your testimony before I ask you questions?

MR OPPERMAN

No, you can ask.

ADV POTGIETER

I want to go back to the event itself that you are giving testimony on where you were shot. What day of the week was this?

MR OPPERMAN

It was on such a day the 30 June 1990.

ADV POTGIETER

Where exactly did this occur?

MR OPPERMAN

It is exactly in the street where I live at the moment, in Bloekom Street, in Ashton.

ADV POTGIETER

What was the exact situation in Ashton at that time?

MR OPPERMAN

On that particular day there were women who marched from town and those people were locked up by the police. But then it was very calm that afternoon in the location. There was no indication that there was any kind of event going on at that time.

ADV POTGIETER

Do I understand you correctly, were there women who were locked up on that day.

MR OPPERMAN

This is true but it was in the town itself that these women were locked up.

ADV POTGIETER

You said that these people were busy with a march.

MR OPPERMAN

It was on the Saturday morning. And these women were still locked up and I

was then shot between 2 and 3 o’clock in that afternoon.

ADV POTGIETER

What was the reason for this march?

MR OPPERMAN

I don’t have any idea. I do not know why this march happened. It was very quite there in the location. I was there in my yard. I saw the police van and the next thing I saw I was shot.

ADV POTGIETER

What was the feeling of the community with regards to the women who were locked up?

MR OPPERMAN

There was no particular uproar in the location. A lot of people tried to collect their families at the police station and the people went and asked for their family members, but the location was very quite. There was no particular uproar or noise or anything with regard to this event.

The people were in the main road of the town. The only people who were doing anything.

ADV POTGIETER

Were the police driving around in the township in their police vans.

MR OPPERMAN

No, I did not see a lot of police vans. I only saw one police van and then I was shot. It all happened very quickly.

ADV POTGIETER

Were you in the street when you were shot?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes, I was in the street.

ADV POTGIETER

When you were shot, was there any sort of problem or uproar in the street itself.

MR OPPERMAN

No, I heard nothing, no noise, nothing that indicated that there was any sort of uproar or event taking account or unrest going on in the township.

ADV POTGIETER

Were you a member of any political organisation at the time?

MR OPPERMAN

No.

ADV POTGIETER

You are a family man. Where were you on your way that afternoon?

MR OPPERMAN

I was on the way from a friend’s home. I was walking up the hill towards my own home and then I was suddenly shot.

ADV POTGIETER

Were there people meeting together there in your area when you were shot?

MR OPPERMAN

There were a couple of people sitting across the road but they were not doing anything particular that would have given an indication that there was unrest or anything else, just suddenly I was - I went to wash my face when I had this burning feeling in my face. I noticed that there was blood. And so then I was taken to the hospital in a bakkie after I had fainted and I only recovered consciousness at the hospital.

ADV POTGIETER

Were there any warnings before you were shot?

MR OPPERMAN

No, I received no warning before I was shot.

ADV POTGIETER

Who shot you do you think?

MR OPPERMAN

It was Roy and Braaff.

ADV POTGIETER

Are these police officers?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes, they are two police officers from Ashton.

ADV POTGIETER

Would you think there was any reason why someone would shoot you?

MR OPPERMAN

No, I have had no argument with these people earlier. I had no personal disagreement or any other reason why they should want to shoot me.

ADV POTGIETER

Due to this shooting incident you lost your left eye.

MR OPPERMAN

Yes, this left eye was removed

ADV POTGIETER

For how long were you for treatment in the hospital?

MR OPPERMAN

I initially went in for a week. And I asked the hospital if he could fix my eye up so that could continue to use it, but when I came back a week later, the doctor told me that sadly he would have to remove my eye. He was very unhappy about it and I was very unhappy about it.

ADV POTGIETER

Did you have work at that time?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes I had work.

ADV POTGIETER

Would the loss of your eye have had any impact on your ability to work?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes, it was a difficult for me because I am a mechanic, I always work under cars and so on and I have had some consequences because of this.

ADV POTGIETER

What was the state of your health before the incident.

MR OPPERMAN

No there was no particular reason but I did suffer consequences from this event.

ADV POTGIETER

How is your other eye at the moment?

MR OPPERMAN

I do not know what will happen to my eye in future.

ADV POTGIETER

How do you feel about the police officers who shot you?

MR OPPERMAN

We have never actually spoken to one another, we just avoid one another. I try and avoid this person because I would not mind hurting this police officer myself.

ADV POTGIETER

Did you make any claims?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes, I made contact with an attorney, but this attorneys never comes back to me with regard to a possible claim.

ADV POTGIETER

Were you ever charged for doing something wrong?

MR OPPERMAN

No, when I left the hospital, a police officer tried to get a statement from me, but then Gerry Johnson, my attorney, told me to not give any statements to the police. And then Father Wheeler was told to take me away. He took me away to Cape Town. And then I stayed with family members of mine in Cape Town for a week until Gerry came and saw me there.

ADV POTGIETER

Do you have any children?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes, I have four children.

ADV POTGIETER

Does your wife have work?

MR OPPERMAN

Yes, she works.

ADV POTGIETER

Are there any request you would like to direct to the Commission, Mr Opperman? Is there any way in which you think that the Commission could particularly be of help to you? Any particular way?

MR OPPERMAN

If I think about the future, if my other eye looses something. How am I going to take care of my family. Who will I be able to ask for help for my wife and children.

ADV POTGIETER

What do you think will happen if you no longer able to work? If your eye looses it’s ability, your remaining eye, what would happen to you?

MR OPPERMAN

There is a lot one can say in this regard. My children are used to receiving what they need, but if I eventually get in darkness, what will I be able to do for my children in the future. These children will just see me as burden which will be unnecessary thing because of the work of someone else’s hands.

ADV POTGIETER

Thank you Mr Opperman. I just want to hear if my colleague has any question. Do you have any questions?

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

[indistinct] Chairperson - I just want to put things into perspective a bit. But first I’d liked to say that it must be extremely difficult for you to suddenly loose sight or loose the use of one of your - of your eyes for nothing - which -for something which you do not understand.

And it seems that you were not the only one who suffered the consequences of senseless shooting in Ashton. During the month of May and June through to July 1990, which is the year when you lost the use of your eye, there were a series of events in Ashton. One of them was a march by women, both from Ou Kamp, the Coloured township and from Zolani. Do you know about that?

MR OPPERMAN

Nee.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

You do not know about that. Do you know Mr Jakobus Daniels and Lukas Jantjies?

MR OPPERMAN

Nee.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

They were residents in Ou Kamp who also got injuries and they did not know what was happening, like yourself. Do you know Mr Jan Gertse?

MR OPPERMAN

Jan Gertse?

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

Ja.

MR OPPERMAN

Nee.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

Do know Mr Karl Opperman?

MR OPPERMAN

Dis ek persoonlik self.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

Are you the Karl that is noted in our research notes. Now ,can you tell us what happened to Mr Jan Gertse.

MR OPPERMAN

I was already in hospital and then on either the Sunday or the Monday morning, he arrived in the hospital. I am not exactly sure what happened myself that he landed up in hospital.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

[indistinct] - but his condition now just in terms of his vision, what is his condition?

MR OPPERMAN

Jan Gertse and his wife and his children were burned out.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

[indistinct] - a few days before you were shot or along during the same period that you were shot?

MR OPPERMAN

Is this about Jan Gertse death. About a year later Jan Gertse was only burned up with his wife and children.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

[indistinct] - there was a consumer boycott during May, that was launched in May, do you know about that?

MR OPPERMAN

No.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA

We have information from our research department that during May there was a consumer boycott in Ashton which was joined by people from Ou Kamp and people from Zolani as well. As result there was a lot of activity in Ashton and many conflicts between the police and the resident of Ou Kamp and Zolani.

I am just trying to understand why the police would be roaming about in the township and from what we have heard in our hearing since we started, there is - there are many stories from people who were shot under circumstances that they themselves could not explain, except to say that people - police were just shooting indiscriminately. I am trying to place what happened to you in a context for us to understand the action of the police at the time.

You were shot by people for something that you knew nothing about but I would just like to explain to you that it seems from what we have heard from our research department that police were shooting around townships during that period and you were one of those people who were shot at, one of the victims of that senseless shooting that seems to have taken at the time, according to our research.

ADV POTGIETER

Thank you Pumla. Mr Opperman you can take off the ear pieces. We have listened to your testimony. As my colleague indicated to you, our office has looked into the matter and has done their investigation of the circumstances in Ashton in that time and the various different meaningless, senseless activities that happened at that time. It is very disquieting to listen to your testimony.

You were just walking down the road, you did nothing wrong, suddenly you shot, it was a totally senseless act. You lost your eye, you experienced the anxiety of a father and a breadwinner, a man who is worried that you might loose the use of your other eye and that you will just be in the way of other people, that you will be useless to them and a burden to them.

We have many cases like this, that as my colleague pointed out to you, where we listened, specially people who lost their eyes, and where those people who were supposed to bring law and order, and those very people became a threat to the community.

We have heard about the anxieties that you have mentioned to us. The Commission has limited abilities, and within those limited abilities and with the limited resources we have, we will try and see how we can help people. We thank you for the time you have spent to come and tell your story for us. We thank your wife for supporting you here and we hope that you will not come into the situation that you fear. That you will turn out to be useless to your family because of the senseless acts of others and we wish you the very best. Thank you.