Severinus SITEKETA, a former detainee, has been paid R30,000 by the South African Minister of Law and Order in an out of court settlement for a claim for unlawful arrest, wrongful detention and maltreatment while detained.
The payment, plus additional costs, was agreed less than two hours before the case was due to be heard in the Windhoek Supreme Court. It was said that the payment was a result of a recent finding that AG9 detainees held for longer than 30 days were entitled to make representations for their release. (See FOCUS 64 p.10)
Siteketa, a shopkeeper from the Kavango bantustan, was detained under AG9 by the police counter-insurgency unit Koevoet between 27 April and 25 August 1984. Conditions were described as 'atrocious' in the tiny cell at the Koevoet camp some ten kilometres from Rundu. He was kept in solitary confinement for the entire time, forbidden to speak to anyone except his interrogators. If a guard entered his cell he was told to cover his head with a blanket. He was given only a starvation diet with restricted supplies of food and water, often getting nothing at all between Thursday and Monday. By the time of his release he weighed a mere 38 kg. There were no toilet facilities and the slop bucket was only removed when it was full to the brim – often remaining in the small cell for up to a week despite the intense heat. An interrogator told him he would 'stay in his cell and rot'.
Siteketa's mental health was seriously affected by his detention and he suffered from hallucinations and severe depression. A psychologist's report stated that the combined deprivations had caused 'psychotic disintegration'.
Siteketa had been detained a number of times before and was only released in late 1983 after a court case alleging assault. (FOCUS 51 pp.2,3) The following April he was held again on suspicion of helping a SWAPO combatant. He has been harassed by the police even more recently – taunted by his former interrogators for being 'too fat' and needing 'to go back inside'. (WA 20/21.3.86; WM/Nam 21.3.86)
