South Africa

A Brutal Legacy

18’13 mins

Script

It was a story that flashed around the world... terrible pictures of police brutality in South Africa. But while the rest of the world joined in condemnation, it was South Africans who really had to deal with the anger and outrage.

Hello and welcome to Special Assignment.

02’38

Tonight we let the victims speak. We also visit some of the thousands of people who contacted us after last week's broadcast. And we introduce you to another victim of the same dog unit -- this time a white South African, in fact a former policeman himself. Such was the reaction to last week’s program, that we received more than 25,000 calls in the first hour after our broadcast. Hundreds of emails and faxes are still coming into our office. Let’s look at some of your comments.

03,06

V/O

This issue is not about white man attacking black man. It is about people treating other people like animals.

03,14

V/O

This incident really worries me, because I know that some people will retaliate and that is not right.

03’20

V/O

What do blacks have to do to avoid such barbarism? I cannot even finish writing what’s in my heart. I feel betrayed and ashamed of being a South African.

03’29

V/O

I implore you to do a follow up story. Do not leave people with the idea that ALL POLICEMEN are sadistic and evil.

03’37

They acted like animals. Can you imagine when you are brought up, say in a home where they tell you black people are nothing? And so we have to think of where we come from, and we must not condone what they have done. But we have to understand, and we have to, we have to, we have to keep saying to ourselves, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

04’06

V/O

As a member of the dog unit myself, it’s very it’s very disappointing to see this and I would say send these people straight to jail.

04’14

V/O

I’m a policeman for 27 years and I just want to say what I’ve seen tonight, it left me sick inside. I’ve never seen something like this, and knowing many, many, many white police officers, so dedicated, I can never think that anyone can identify themselves to this.

04’37

V/O RECAP

Last week, the victims of the so-called police dog training video were people without a voice and people without names. And that changed this week when all three of them came forward to identify themselves. Colleagues Sara Blecher, Llewellyn Carstens and Mandla Mlambo went to hear their story:

05’27

Victim

Gabriel Pedro Ntimane

My name is Gabriel Pedro Ntimane. I come from Mozambique.

I was born in Maputo Province in the Maniyisa District local hospital.

I left home in 1990 because of the war. My family was killed in the war.

We were struggling and suffering in Mozambique so we decided to flee …to a neighboring country for help. South Africa seemed the best option.

06’20

VO

But South Africa was not the Promised Land Gabriel and his brother had imagined.

As illegal immigrants looking for jobs on the East Rand policemen on patrol picked them up in Springs. What happened to them at that isolated mine dump is well known now.

06’35

Gabriel

When we arrived in the veld we thought they would kill us. People get killed in the veld and there are no witnesses. We though these people were just wearing police uniforms. But that they were in fact killers not police officers. We thought they would kill us because they were chewing us. They were biting any part they could get hold of. There was nothing we could do because they had firearms. They could have shot us. When we returned to the police station they gave us a hosepipes to wash their car. Because it was full of blood, they also hosed us down.

07’14

VO

The first time Gabriel heard his ordeal was no longer a secret was hen he saw himself on TV last Tuesday.

07’13

Gabriel Friend.

When I first saw the pictures I told Gabriel to phone SABC. And tell them that e are here. I did it because I didn’t know whether something bad could happen to these boys.

07’48

VO
While we were there officers from the Independent Complaints Commission came to take Gabriel into witness protection but he had been so traumatized by his experience that he stills mistrusts policemen. Sabc news journalist Lisa Manswamagani from the Petersburg bureau was on hand to comfort him.

Things threatened to turn ugly Gabriel his family and the community were confused to make matters worse journalists were elbowing one another to get interviews.

09’00

Sara Blecher

Let me start from the beginning when the program was put on TV these men were arrested straight away in order for the police to be successfully prosecuted the police need to talk to this man. That’s whom these men are there from the police to come and take a statement and take him into police protective custody that means they can guarantee his safety.

09’30

VO

As an illegal immigrant Gabriel’s biggest fear was that he would lose his job. He’s been working in a granite quarry next to his home.

09’38

Gabriel

I make a living it is not bad. I try and forget about the past. I have a good relationship with my bosses.

09’45

VO

So the quarry boss promised Gabriel that he would keep his job. Only then was Gabriel ready to say goodbye and leave with his uncle to Pretoria.

Gabriels’ life will never be the same again. Ironically this incident has ensured Gabriel permanent residence. He’ll have to stay to testify against his tortures. The way is also open for him and his co-witnesses to institute civil claims against the South African Police service.

10’28

Gabriel

I feel very relieved because South Africans now know everything. Even if some are not happy about it I know that here in South Africa we are all equal. I feel proud of South African society.

10’55

VO

Another victim who came forward this week is former policeman Bramm Van Brak. He was a policeman for eighteen years and worked on road and robbery cases before he left the force in 1996 with severe post traumatic stress. Dogs from the North East Rand dog unit too savaged him in the same year that the notorious training video was made. Like the Mozambicans Bramm was not a suspect.

In fact Bramm had called the dog unit in to help search for a missing gun magazine in the garden. What happened then as worse than what he had experienced as a policeman on the beat. Bramm told his story to Jessica Pickford and Pamekla Luke-Partington.

11’38

VO

Bramm Von Brak is a dog lover. He has two of his own.

11’42

Bramm

I’ve nothing against dogs. Just the way you handle them.

11’47

VO

In June 1998 he had first hand experience of how dogs can be handled. After enlisting the help of the dog unit to find a missing magazine. He made the mistake of questioning the ability of one of the dogs.

12’02

Bramm

I was just asking about after 30 mins if he has the right dog for the job to get the magazine. H e told me don’t Fuck with my dog. And he clocked me.

12’14

VO

Then they set two dogs on him.

12’18

Braam

It all happened here. I was lying on the ground. Then they just hit me with batons. They were shouting ‘Ramon Ramon Pa’. I was starting to realize they were going to kill me. I can remember this place they were even putting my jersey over my head I was just lying there they kept biting me they were just tearing me all the way. And if I tried to grab the dogs they were hitting me with batons mover my head and everything.

12’49

VO

Bram’s wife a police officer was also inside.

12’53

Braam’s Wife

I just heard “Take him! Take him!” and because I was still in the Police Service at the time I knew what that meant. It’s to encourage a dog to attack someone. As I went out the gate Braam was lying on the ground his hands covering his face saying “Stop! Stop!”

I shouted at them “Leave him! He hasn’t done anything!” Nobody even responded to me I was hysterical. It’s not a scene you can forget. Here’s your husband lying on the ground he calls in their help and the dogs are turned loose on him.

13’25

Bramm

When I grabbed the dog in the mouth when they were biting me I thought they were going to kill me. They were shouting at me ‘Nasty Fucking Cunt’ And they were hitting me with a baton on the arm soothe dog could still go on biting me. They were just protecting the dog and I don’t know from what I was trying to protect myself.

13’49

VO

With wounds all over his body Bramm was thrown into the back of a police van and taken to the cells.

13’55

Bramm’s Wife

It was terrible because his skin was in shreds. At the cells he was leaning on a desk ..blood was streaming from his leg and nobody would do a thing.

14’17

VO

Bramm was finally taken to a doctor and operated on.

14’19

Bramm’s Wife

That night after the incident the Doctor phoned him and said if Bramm didn’t return to hospital he could lose his arm and leg.

14’27

VO

Bramm could hardly watch the footage on SABC last week.

14’29

Bramm

I got up halfway and went into the kitchen. It’s as if you relive that hate that pain and you realize these people aren’t human. How can someone get a kick out of something like that? And the worst is that your program was about that behavior and more about racism. It’s not just racism it happened to him too.

15’03

VO

The policemen in that incident has apparently been promoted.

15’06

Bramm

They were promoted in this period. The memory has been opened up to me again. Two have been made Inspector, one member another transferred to Porchester. So it is all going on.

REPORTER: How does that make you feel?

It’s annoying you are fighting a war. There is no justice.

15’28

VO

Bramm had laid a charge of attempted murder against the South African police. His case number is MAS 890 6 of 98. The police tried to settle out of court but he has rejected their over of 5000 rand.

The Attorney General has failed to prosecute claiming insufficient evidence and the six policemen on the scene that night claimed Bramm attacked them first.

15’52

Archbishop Desmond Tuttu

I would hope that the last thing that I say to you and I will underscore it. Is that we must remember is that human beings are made for goodness. Human beings are fundamentally good.

16’12

Mary Robertson

Trauma Center

For us it was extremely positive people would call us from all over the country from rural, urban areas, black, white from all over the area. And every single caller that called in was expressing outrage. The first thing was to try and reassure callers because callers were calling in in tears, with anger, with shock, horror. People were saying they can’t concentrate at work, they can’t sleep they keep remembering what they saw. And what it is important to remember is that these reactions are normal. They are typical posttraumatic stress symptoms. What happens after trauma is that people feel isolated. So we encourage people to talk to other people to link into systems of social support to talk through what has happened. The fact that you responded with horror and outrage is a positive thing. It indicates your own humanity and callers were saying what could we do. A lot were saying what does this mean in terms of the future of South Africa. The whole transition is a process an incomplete process and what the video has done is triggered a lot of sentiment that is simmering in society on the one hand a lot of fear and anxiety and transition and what that means. And on the other hand a lot of anger and hurt and frustration from our past and we all are sub conscious about if we want to move to move on as a society. All of us are very self critical and non-defensive in confronting the hurt, the fear, the anger from the past.

18’13 END