Item Belt 2d - DB - Warrant Officer Karel Joseph Dekker / Dirker

Description

Proceedings on this day were almost entirely taken up by the further examination-in-chief and initial cross-examinations of W/O Dirker. The exception came after the first adjournment when Dr Yutar called Theodor Truter to give a brief testimony of the occasion on which he flew Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe dresses as priests out of the country to Lobatse. During his examination-in-chief on this day W/O Dirker gave evidence in regard to the raid of Liliesleaf Farm, information he knew about certain of the accused and named co-conspirators in the trial, as well as a number of sabotage acts he had been involved in investigating. Both Mr Berrange and Mr Coaker cross-examined W/O Dirker on this day, however, the bulk of both of their cross-examinations would take place on the following Monday.
It is worth noting that at the beginning of the second dictabelt recording from this day (Vol.52/4A/3d), one can hear an interesting conversation between two females assumed to be clerks of the court. The voice of these women can be heard at the beginning of many dictabelt recordings, however, the conversation captured in this instance is more discernible than most. The few seconds of recording capture a moment in which one of the above-mentioned women tells the other in a whispered voice, “Listen here. I am going to flirt with that man in the corner. His name is van der Merwe”. Thereafter there is a pause in which the second women speaks in reply to the first but he remarks are not audible in the recording. One can, however, make the likely assumption that the second women had mentioned some other man in response to the proposal made by the first woman who then audibly responded, “I think your taste [in men] is bad. He is too fat and too soft.” While this may not seem relevant in terms of the Rivonia Trial as a defining moment in the elite nationalist struggle in South Africa – intellectuals who are concerned with theoretical notions of the everyday will undoubted find such snippets of conversation scattered throughout the dictabelt recordings extremely important.
Witnesses Called
170th State Witness: Warrant Officer Karel Joseph Dirker – Security Branch, Grays. (Recalled).
Further examination-in-chief by Dr Yutar.
W/O Dirker recalled Arthur Goldreich being stopped by a police office as he attempted to reverse his car away from the Liliesleaf Farm property upon arrival at 5:00pm. W/O Dirker claimed to have searched Arthur Goldreich and his vehicle, from which he recovered and took possession of a number of documents. W/O Dirker took Arthur Goldreich around the outside rooms and noted done the explanations he was given in regard to their contents and occupants.
Hazel Goldreich, Arthur Goldreich’s wife arrived whilst W/O Dirker was searching the lounge in the main house. W/O Dirker searched and made lists of all the documents he possessed from the main house.
W/O Dirker also noticed a built-in safe in the main house which Arthur Goldreich claimed he had never seen before and did not have the keys to open. W/O Dirker left the safe alone on this day. In the kitchen W/O Dirker found three solid pieces of aluminium, the same as that he found in Arthur Goldreich’s car, which he handed to Senior Inspector of Explosives Paul Cruywagen.
Towards the end of the day Accused Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, were arrested along with Bob Hepple and a number of workers on the premises. On Friday 12th July, 1963, W/O Dirker returned to Liliesleaf Farm and continued his investigation. W/O Dirker identified the box submitted as Exhibit R.44 as an exact replica of the type of box he found in Room Two during this second search. W/O Dirker also told the court that he had ordered Paul Cruywagen to open the safe in the main house with explosives, which was done in the presence of Arthur Goldreich. From the safe W/O Dirker took possession of a paper bag with R240.00 inside it which Arthur Goldreich claimed, yet again, he knew nothing about. The bag with the notes was handed in as Exhibit R.240. Eventually during W/O Dirker’s search of the farm on this day he came across the coal shed.
W/O Dirker and another police officer inspected the coal shed and noticed pieces of cardboard sticking out from amongst the bricks and shards of charcoal. The other police officer climbed into the coal shed and handed a number of packets to W/O Dirker containing a typewriter, maps and cardboard boxes. Once again W/O Dirker compiled a list of all the articles found in the coal shed which had been searched in the presence of Arthur Goldreich.
W/O Dirker went on to claim that during the morning of this search Accused No.8, James Kantor, arrived at the farm in a car and began speaking to members of the police. W/O Dirker claimed that when he asked James Kantor why he had come there the accused had told him that he had come to feed the chickens and the dogs on the farm.
W/O Dirker said that he had told James Kantor that he could go feed the animals but he must leave immediately afterwards because W/O Dirker was still conducting his investigation. W/O Dirker then saw James Kantor go to Room Ten where the chicken food was stored and then to the chicken den. W/O Dirker said claimed to have found James Kantor’s movements strange, although he seemed to navigate his way easily around the property, and reiterated the need for him to leave immediately when James Kantor purportedly asked to enter the main house. According to W/O Dirker it was after the third time he asked James Kantor if he knew this place well that the accused left the farm in his car.
The next day, 13th July, 1963, W/O Dirker returned to Liliesleaf Farm for the third time. On this day he found a book on guerrilla warfare of the 16th Century in the passage of the main house hidden under a toilet stool for children (Exhibit R.233). On this same day W/O Dirker handed certain radio parts to Mr Shelton and certain bottles and powders, which were found in Room Three, were handed over to Mr Van Heerden for inspection.
Thereafter Dr Yutar turned attention to the raid of the Travallyn property by W/O Dirker and other members of the police force on 7th August, 1963. The owner of the property, Mr Findley, had made the report which led to the raid and was present when the property was searched on this day. The door to the cottage was locked and a window of the kitchen was broken. Mr Findley climbed through the broken window and opened the kitchen door into the cottage for the police to enter. Upon entering, W/O Dirker found that the fridge was open and empty, there were dirty dishes stacked by the sink, and there were smashed plates on the kitchen floor.
The first notable item he came across was an issue of the Rand Daily Mail dated 11th July, 1963 (Exhibit T.70). From Room One W/O Dirker took possession of a number of documents found in the draw of a desk as well as a number of books, a letter, writing materials and a pair of boots found in Room Two. After describing other items found in the cottage W/O Dirker said that he ordered for fingerprints to be taken and he took possession of a number of articles. In closing his discussion of Travallyn W/O Dirker noted that he had found an open barrel in the garden in which there was much ash and bits of burnt paper which had been pieced together and handed in to the court already.
W/O Dirker then discussed the raid of the Mountain View property owned by the Kriels on 5th September, 1963, conducted by himself and other members of the police force. Upon arrival Mrs Kriel gave W/O Dirker receipts for rent of the cottage which had been paid from April to August. W/O Dirker conducted a search of this premises and described the articles he found there and those of which he took possession. Dr Yutar then asked W/O Dirker to provide the court with a succinct summary of the documents which he took possession of in each location individually. This list will not be provided here, but it is available in the notes of the defence council and the procession’s note on the exhibits.
Court was then adjourned for a brief period after which Dr Yutar requested that the court hear the evidence of one short witness before the resumption of W/O Dirker’s examination-in-chief.
171st State Witness: Theodor Mandus Truter – Pilot, Aviation Co.
Examination-in-chief by Dr Yutar.
Theodor Truter recalled 27th August, 1963, on which he received instructions from his manager to fly two priests from the airfield in Manzini, Swaziland, to Lobatse in Bechuanaland.  Theodor Truter claimed that he did the usual security checks by phoning the superintendent of the local police station who made a report to him. The priests were at the airport already when Theodor Truter arrived at the airfield with his manager at 8:30am. According to Theodor Truter one of the men was a European but the other may not have been.
Theodor Truter took off at 9:00am and flew to Lobatse with both priests sitting in the back of the plane. Upon arrival Theodor Truter still had no idea who they were and only identified them as Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe once he read certain newspaper reports. Theodor Truter discussed the appearance of these two men as they were featured in photos in Exhibit D and said that the trip had been paid for in cash to his manager before the trip.
No cross-examination.
170th State Witness: Warrant Officer Karel Joseph Dirker – Security Branch, Greys. (Recalled).
Further examination-in-chief by Dr Yutar.
Following the brief adjournment, W/O Dirker continued to summarise the locations in which each exhibit had been found. Thereafter, W/O Dirker detailed those articles which had been seized but had not been used in court. A notable one of these was a tape W/O Dirker claimed to have listened to which was a broadcast by Walter Sisulu. Judge De Wet asked if there was evidence that it had been Walter Sisulu’s voice and Dr Yutar replied, “No. We had evidence. But it has been lost.” Thereafter, Dr Yutar asked W/O Dirker what he knew about each of the accused sitting in the dock, starting with Accused No.1, Nelson Mandela.
W/O Dirker claimed to have known Nelson Mandela since 1952. During this time he claimed to have seen Nelson Mandela addressing many meetings as the President of the Transvaal ANC. His offices were at first near the Magistrates Court and shared with Oliver Tambo but he was also often at the four or office offices held by the ANC before the organisation was banned in April 1960. A year after the banning, in April 1963, W/O Dirker claimed that Nelson Mandela “disappeared from Johannesburg” and despite W/O Dirker’s efforts to locate him, the witness only saw Nelson Mandela again on 14th August, 1962.
W/O Dirker also claimed to have known Walter Sisulu since 1952. W/O Dirker said that, like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu had been seen addressing meetings and visiting the offices of the ANC prior to its banning. At a period W/O Dirker had known him as the Secretary General of the ANC. Thereafter, he claimed that he did not know Denis Goldberg aside from what information he had gained “on paper”. In regard to Govan Mbeki, W/O Dirker claimed that he had seen him once before addressing an ANC meeting in Johannesburg and knew that he was a listed communist. In regard to Ahmed Kathrada, W/O Dirker once again claimed to have known the accused since 1952 as a member of the Transvaal Indian Congress Youth League and a listed communist, but never by the name Pedro.
Lionel Bernstein was said to have been known by W/O Dirker since the same date of 1952 as a listed communist and a member of the Congress of Democrats. W/O Roelvert had been responsible for the search of Lionel Bernstein and his wife Hilda Bernstein’s house and had handed the articles seized there over to W/O Dirker. W/O Dirker suggested that the magazine article entitled “South Africans in the Soviet Union” was written by Hilda Bernstein under her maiden name Watts. She was a listed communist as well.
W/O Dirker claimed to have seen Raymond Mhlaba before the day of the Rivonia raid but did not provide evidence of this. He merely stated that he was a listed communist. Elias Motsoaledi, W/O Dirker claimed to have known since 1954 as a speaker at ANC meetings and a listed communist. W/O Dirker similarly claimed that he had known Andrew Mlangeni since 1954 as a speaker at ANC meetings but, interestingly, no mention is made of him being a listed communist.
Having given information in regard to all of the accused, save for James Kantor, W/O Dirker went on to give similar details in regard to some of the co-conspirators. The particular co-conspirators discussed by W/O Dirker on the request of Dr Yutar were: Arthur Goldreich, Harold Wolpe, Vivian Ezra, Julius First, Michael Harmel, Bob Hepple, Jack Hodgson, Ronnie Kasrils, Moses Kotane, Arthur Letele, Makiwane, S.B. Marks, Joe Modise, Billy Nair, Duma Nokwe, Robert Resha, Joe Slovo, Oliver Tambo, Ben Turok, Cecil Williams, James Radebe, Petrus Molefe, and Indrus Naidoo.
Thereafter, W/O Dirker described the photographs in Exhibit B which had been taken on the first day of the Rivonia raid, after which the court was adjourned for lunch.
After this second adjournment, Dr Yutar asked W/O Dirker to give information regarding two additional people listed as co-conspirators in the indictment, Ramotsi and Vandeyar, both of whom were known “only on paper” by W/O Dirker. Thereafter, Dr Yutar turned his attention to three sabotage acts W/O Dirker had investigated and asked him to provide evidence thereof. Those acts of sabotage listed as Items in Annexure B, evidenced by W/O Dirker, were as follows:
Item No.69: On 7th October, 1962, the concrete base of a power pylon in Noordgesig, Johannesburg, was damaged by a dynamite explosion. W/O Dirker and Inspector of explosives Van Dyk investigated the scene the following morning and no arrests had been made.
Item No.70: On the same night as above, a chemical bomb exploded and damaged a Sasol petrol deposit tank in Langlaagte, Johannesburg. W/O Dirker and Inspector of explosives Van Dyk investigated the scene the following morning and no arrests had been made.
Item No.72: On the same night as both previous Items, a dynamite explosion destroyed the base of several electric power line poles at the Johannesburg Municipal Power Station in Orlando. Once again the scene was investigated by W/O Dirker and Inspector of explosives Van Dyk and no arrests had been made.
Following the discussion of these three acts of sabotage Dr Yutar asked no further questions.
Mr Berrange informed the court that it was his intention to have this witness stand down for cross-examination until Friday as there were matters raised in his evidence which were completely unexpected by the defence council. Mr Berrange continued to say that he would put just a few questions to the witness at this stage.
Cross-examination by Mr Berrange.
W/O Dirker stated under cross-examination that all the documents at Rivonia, Travallyn or Mountain View, had been found and examined in his presence. At first W/O Dirker claimed that he had made his list of what had been found whilst standing in the rooms themselves. However, he quickly corrected himself and said that he had actually compiled the lists from his notes on the night of the 11th and updated it a few days later in his office. Each room’s documents were stored in separate, marked containers but W/O Dirker said that not all of these containers were available for the defence to inspect because some of the cardboard boxes had been damaged.
W/O Dirker claimed that on the night of the 11th he made a list of all the documents which had been seized at Rivonia except those found in Room One, the Thatched Cottage, which he placed in a separate paper bag which was submitted as Exhibit R.234. Mr Berrange asked W/O Dirker to produce the notes he made at the time of the raid from which he had compiled his list. W/O Dirker submitted his notes made on the 11th and Mr Berrange began to take him through the notes on the documents found at Rivonia as well as those in regard to the documents and articles found at Travallyn.
There was much discussion between Mr Berrange, Judge De Wet and Dr Yutar concerning the defence council’s access to the containers storing these documents and the potential that the defence may wish to study and submit certain other document as evidence. The state made the commitment to insure that these containers and all the lists of articles seized would be made available to the defence council at their soonest convenience.
The final issue raised by Mr Berrange was in regard to W/O Dirker’s search of Lionel Bernstein.  W/O Dirker stated that he did not find documents of any importance on Lionel Bernstein and claimed he was only carrying his cheque book and some money in his pockets. W/O Dirker said that he recalled that Lionel Bernstein had been wearing a suit at the time of his arrest but was unsure whether his shit had a pocket on it or not.
Cross-examination by Mr Coaker.
Mr Coaker began his cross-examination by putting it to W/O Dirker that, “This was one of the most important pieces of police work ever done in this country, the raid on Rivonia”. W/O Dirker said he couldn’t say that but admitted that it was important and that he had played an important role in this work. He tried to downplay the significance of his role in the investigation and said he was mostly just responsible for the documents. Mr Coaker insisted that W/O Dirker had been closely involved in this entire investigation in Johannesburg and was aware that statements had been taken in regard to the firm James Kantor and Partners.
Mr Coaker referred W/O Dirker to statements taken from several employees of the firm, some of which he recalled and other which he could not recall but would not deny had been taken. W/O Dirker then stated that, although he was not entirely sure, but he believed James Kantor had arrived at Liliesleaf Farm at about 11:00am the day after the arrests at Rivonia. Mr Coaker mentioned a number of newspaper articles which had reported details of the Rivonia raid on that morning and W/O Dirker said that he was aware of these reports.
Mr Coaker asked W/O Dirker how many children had been present on the night of the 11th when the raid took place. W/O Dirker hesitantly recalled that there had been two children. Mr Coaker interrupted him and said, “Let me put you right, there were two children with Mr Goldreich and there was another child who was spending the weekend with them”. W/O Dirker confirmed that there was another child who was a visitor as well as “some Bantu children”. Mr Coaker said that he was only interested in the Europeans for now and asked where those children had slept that night. W/O Dirker answered that before he left the property the children were in their usual room and Mrs and Mr Goldreich both spent the night in police custody. The Rivonia staff were removed immediately and as far as W/O Dirker only the “Bantu female servant” had spent the night with the children at the farm.
Mr Coaker then asked W/O Dirker if he was aware of the fact that Hazel Goldreich’s mother was Mrs Burman and her uncle was Dr Morris Fine. W/O Dirker said that he had never met her mother but he had met Hazel Goldreich’s uncle when he came to the police station to ask questions in connection with the case. W/O Dirker also admitted that a member of the police may have put questions to Dr Fine during his visit to the station. Mr Coaker then asked W/O Dirker to identify the type of car James Kantor had arrived at Rivonia in on 12th July, 1963. W/O Dirker could not provide more than a few vague details about the appearance of the car and then admitted for the first time that he was aware that Mrs Burman and Dr Fine had also arrived at the farm by car on that morning.
Mr Coaker asked W/O Dirker if he denied having seen these two people on the morning of the 12th and W/O Dirker, on the grounds that he had not personally seen them, did deny this. Mr Coaker asked if he was going to deny anything and everything which had not seen and W/O Dirker replied that this would be the case. W/O Dirker only admitted to having seen one women entering the main house and attending to the children but he had not seen this women remove them from the farm. Mr Coaker asked in W/O Dirker would deny that the children's grandmother came and removed them on the 12th, to which W/O Dirker replied that he would not deny it although he did not see it himself.
W/O Dirker estimated that there had been between 10 and 15 police officers on the property on the morning of the 12th. Mr Coaker put it to W/O Dirker that there was,
One tall, thin detective, whose name [he did] not know, with fair hair and who was armed with one of those thin canes that are used by the police sometimes on raids.
W/O Dirker claimed that he could not say if there had been such an officer present that morning and denied that he had been in charge of the investigation and said that Lueit. Van Heerden had been the senior officer in charge as far as he could recall. W/O Dirker also claimed that he had had no part in the arrangements for the removal of the children nor had he answered the telephone at any point during that morning.
James Kantor, according to W/O Dirker, was first seen by him when he climbed out of the driver's side of his vehicle and spoke to another member of the police force. Mr Coaker then put the following suggestion to W/O Dirker:
You know perfectly well that the police have interviewed both Mrs Burman and Dr Fine… And I want to suggest to you that you know, not necessarily of your own knowledge, that these two persons told the police that they had engaged Mr Kantor on the 12th and at their request he accompanied them to Liliesleaf to help them remove the children.
W/O Dirker once again claimed that he could not deny or confirm that this was the case. He said that he had no knowledge of the telephone call Mr Fine wanted to make at Liliesleaf Farm either. As far as he could remember James Kantor had left the farm in the car which he had arrived in. Mr Coaker then suggested that James Kantor had in fact arrived with Mrs Burman and Dr Fine and had also left with them in Mrs Ardenstein's car because Dr Fine's car had been loaded with all of the children's clothing and bedding. W/O Dirker maintained that James Kantor left in the same car he had arrived in and denied Mr Coaker's suggestion that Mrs Ardenstein had driven James Kantor away.
Mr Coaker put it to W/O Dirker that he was so busy with his investigation that he had not paid much attention to these events being discussed following which he asked, “Mr Dirker, do you seriously tell the court that when you went up to Kantor and asked him what he was doing there, the first thing he said was I have come here to feed the chickens?” W/O Dirker confirmed that this was correct with the addition of the fact that he also wanted to feed the dogs. With a clear note of calm irritation in his voice Mr Coaker said, “Mr Dirker, didn't Mr Kantor tell you and other members of the police force before you appeared on the scene that he had come there with the grandmother and great-uncle of the children to remove them?”
W/O Dirker maintained that he did not say that and confirmed that James Kantor had not arrived with any food for the animals, he had simply told W/O Dirker that he had come to feed them. W/O Dirker insisted that his recollection of this morning was clear but could not deny Mr Coaker's suggestion that a member of the police force had raised the question “what is going to happen to the poor animals here?” in conversation with Dr Fine and James Kantor. Mr Coaker went on to suggest that it was at that stage only that James Kantor began to concern himself with the feeding of the chickens. W/O Dirker repeated yet again that this had been the whole purpose for James Kantor's visit to the farm. Mr Coaker asked if he had found this suspicious and W/O Dirker replied that he had not found it suspicious nor had he thought of arresting James Kantor on that morning.
Mr Coaker put it to W/O Dirker that when James Kantor went to find the fowl food he was shown were it was by one of the children Nicolas Goldreich and was accompanied to the chicken den by a detective. W/O Dirker did not deny that this could have been the case. W/O Dirker confirmed that he had received a report that James Kantor wanted to use the telephone in the main house and, having been refused permission, and officer made the call to James Kantor's offices on his behalf.
Further cross-examination by Mr Berrange and Mr Coaker reserved.
Court was then adjourned until 10:00am the following morning.
Sources
Dictabelts: (Vol.52/4A/2d) (Vol.52/4A/3d) (Vol.52/4A/4d) (Vol.52/4A/5d) (Vol.52/4B/6d) (Vol.52/4B/7d) (Vol.52/4B/8d) (Vol.52/4B/9d).
Percy Yutar Papers:
Handwritten notes from the prosecution for 26th February, 1964 (Ms.385/36/7).
Wits Historical Papers:
O – O50 Notes of State Witnesses evidence (AD1844.A10).
Key Words
Key State Witness, W/O Dirker, Rivonia Raid, Travallyn Raid, Seized Documents, Liliesleaf Farm, Lionel Bernstein, James Kantor.