MR JACA
Thank you.  What I would like to submit in front of the Commission or to the Commission is that being a traffic officer in Alexandra, I started in 1988.  Things were just fine, but they started to change since from 1990 where black on black violence started in Alexandra.  We had a problem as traffic officers to do our work there.
 One of the main problems is that we had 13 officers including our Chief Traffic Officer and we had only six patrol cars.  What happened is that from 1990 people were shot along Roosevelt Street and people were sniped just like that as they were passing innocently going to work or to shops, just like that.  Unfortunately, we were supposed to be there as first people to come and assist them.  Our patrol cars were used as ambulance services to transport the injured to the clinic.  What is funny is that the police, especially from the riot unit, they were trying to discourage us from doing that and I do not know why.
 Firstly we would see that if people were being shot, we would close the roads, the street at Roosevelt and Eighth Avenue so that people must not go up the hostel, use that road to First Avenue or to any indian shops there.  The police would come with their Casper and tour there whilst we have closed we are there and just go in.  People would go there innocently and more people would be shot.  
 Then one day whilst we were busy loading people who were shot there we received a call from our office.  Our office received a call from Q-Base.  That is the riot police ALEXANDRA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
3 P JACA
station base.  A certain Captain van Heerden phoned our office telling them that we should not pick up the people who were shot there.  We should just leave them there.  Then I replied through the radio to our office that they should tell the said Captain van Heerden that I am not one of his men and he has no right to give me orders to do what I am doing.  So I am doing what I am prepared to do here.  After that day we went to our office to try and trace Captain van Heerden.  Unfortunately there was no such person at the police, at that police station.  
 Due to our work, a bomb was placed at our office one night and unfortunately in that office we have people who left the area which they call Beirut area who were staying in our offices there.  A bomb was placed there and people spotted the bomb that night and then called the bomb squad to diffuse that bomb.  Our patrol cars were attacked from our office by the people from the hostel and this made our job more difficult, but we had no choice because we had to serve our community.  
 In 1992 there was a special incident which happened and that amazed me that if this thing can happen in front of the police, what will be our next shade or something to hide with.  What happened is that in 1992 we were called to a scene at Roosevelt and Fourth that someone was shot.  I was driving the motor vehicle.  I was travelling with Officer Sibiya.  We went to the scene.  When we arrived at the scene at Roosevelt and Fourth we were shot at.  Then we stopped.  We radioed our office that we cannot pass through there because we were shot.  The people are shooting us from the hostel.  There came a police Casper who went in front of that person.  Then he went in there to try and assist 
ALEXANDRA HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
4 P JACA
that person.  Whilst we attended to the person they started shooting.  It means they were now killing that particular person.  Then the police closed their vehicles so that that person or shielded that person.  Then we took that particular person, put him into our patrol car.  Then we took him to the clinic, but these people went on shooting.  Then the police returned fire.  In about two to three hours after the police started to search the hostel, but unfortunately the could not find firearms.  Not even a single firearm was found on the same day.  That amazed us all.  Unfortunately after three or four days Battalion 21 came into that hostel at night and more firearms were found.  Even the gunsmith was found at that hostel.  So I am surprised what was happening and this made our job more difficult.  Thanks.