BC 1110 NEIL AGGETT PAPERS Donated to the University of Cape Town Libraries by Mr J A E and Mrs J N Aggett 1997; amended 2007 and 2008 ii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Biographical note iii The Collection iv A. PERSONAL 1 B. CORRESPONDENCE 1 C. THE INQUEST 2 D. NEWSCLIPPINGS 3 E. VARIOUS REPORTS AND ARTICLES 3 F. DETAINEES PARENTS SUPPORT COMMITTEE (DPSC) 4 G. MEDIA COVERAGE 4 H. TRUTH & RECONCILIATION COMMISSION (TRC) 4 J. PHOTOGRAPHS 4 K. MISCELLANEOUS 5 Additional material: received 2006. L. LETTERS TO AND FROM MRS JOYCE AGGETT 5 M. TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION (TRC) 5 N. RECORDS RELATING TO DEATH AND DETENTION OF NEIL AGGETT 5 P. ATTEMPTS TO OBTAIN ACCESS TO SECURITY FILES 5 Q. VARIOUS 6 Additional material: received 2008 R LETTERS TO HIS PARENTS 6 iii INTRODUCTION BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Neil Aggett was born on 6 October 1953 in Nanyuki, Kenya. At the age of 10 he immigrated to South Africa with his family. He attended school at Kingswood College in Grahamstown from where he matriculated with a 1st class pass and a distinction in Maths. He went on to study Medicine at the University of Cape Town. He did his internship at hospitals in Umtata (Transkei) and Tembisa in the Transvaal. It was here that he became aware that his patients’ medical problems stemmed mostly from “social problems such as poverty, unemployment and poor living conditions.” On completion of his internship he worked at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. During this time he also did part-time work for the Industrial Aid Society helping workers with Workman’s Compensation problems, as many of the patients he treated were injured at work. Often these workers received little or no compensation or even lost their jobs leaving them destitute. This probably led to his gradual involvement in other labour issues such as unfair dismissals, labour contracts etc. In 1979 he joined the African Food & Canning Workers Union (AFCWU) as secretary of the Transvaal branch. He kept his links with the medical profession by working 1 or 2 nights a week in the Casualty Dept. at Baragwanath Hospital. He was detained on the 27 November 1981 together with Liz Floyd, his girlfriend and former colleague in the Industrial Aid Society, under Section 22 of the General Laws Amendment Act. After 14 days this was changed to Section 6 of the Terrorism Act. He died after 70 days in detention on 5 February1982. iv THE COLLECTION The Neil Aggett papers were donated to the University of Cape Town Libraries in 1997 by his parents, Mr. J A E & Mrs. J N Aggett. The collection contains mainly material relating to the events which followed the death of Neil Aggett while held in detention under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act. A large part of the collection contain details of the inquest into the circumstances of his death. This is in the form of correspondence between his family and their lawyers Bell, Dewar & Hall. There is also a large collection of newsclippings in the form of scrapbooks, covering Neil’s death, political detainees, security laws etc. The collection also contains some material relating to the Detainees Parents Support Committee (DPSC); media coverage in the form of videos and tape recordings, as well as material on the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. There are also personal papers such as school reports, diaries and a book of poems. The correspondence consists mainly of letters of sympathy and support for the family. The collection gives an insight into the experiences of political detainees while held under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, which allows the security police to hold a detainee for an indefinite period without recourse to lawyers, personal doctors or their families. Additions to the collection received in 2006 record the TRC hearing on Neil Aggett’s death and the attempts by the Aggett family to gain access to the Security Police files on his detention. Note: There is also a collection of material in the UWC-Robben Island Mayibuye Archives. This includes interviews and copies of radio news reports and documentaries. 1 A. PERSONAL A1 School Reports: Kingswood College Grahamstown, 1964-1970. Afrikaanse Taaleksamen Certificate, 1967 General Certificate of Education 1968, First Aid Certificate, 1969 Senior Prize Distribution list featuring Neil Aggett’s name. A2 Diaries, 1969 & 1970 A3 Journal, 1971 contains newsclippings, poetry, and writings of various philosophers such as Kant; Hegel etc. on loose cards. A4 “Neil’s Poems”, nd. A5 Notebook on “Applied Psychology”, 2nd year medicine, 1972. A6 Biographical note A7 Tributes and a funeral programme. A8 “Statement of Assets & Liabilities in the intestate estate of the late Neil Hudson Aggett...., 12/3/1986.” A9 George Meany Human Rights Award - received by Neil Aggett’s father and sister Mr J A E Aggett and Mrs Jill Burger on Neil’s behalf. (audio cassette recording) A10 School and professional certificates (oversize) Matriculation certificate, 1970. UCT: Degree of Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery, 1976. Registration certificate as intern, 1976. Registration certificate as medical practitioner, 1978. [Note: Baptism and Confirmation Certificates are in B3] B. CORRESPONDENCE B1 Letters of Sympathy, 1982-1983 (arranged in alphabetical order) B1.1 Letters & cards sent to Mrs. Jill Burger (nee Aggett) B1.2 Letters sent to Mr. & Mrs. J A Aggett B1.3 Sympathy cards B1.4 Donations offered by organisations and individuals towards the costs of the inquest B1.5 Draft letters from the Aggett family to Mr. & Mrs. Philip and Mrs. Bishop, 1984 & 1986 respectively B1.6 Miscellaneous B2 Messages of Support from Trade Unions, organisations and individuals. B3 2 flip files containing correspondence relating to Neil Aggett’s death in detention. contain:- 2 baptism and confirmation certificates newsclippings letters from Helen Suzman (parliamentarian); Hawa Timol (mother of Ahmed Timol who died in detention); KAIROS- Christians against apartheid, Holland; Senator Harold Young & Sir Billy Sneddon of the Australian Parliament and Victoria Mxenge (attorney), 1982 letter from Yvonne Biller (nee Aggett) to Louis le Grange Minister of Police, 1982 memorials to Neil Aggett:- - commemoration meeting programme at Wits University, 5/2/1983 - interview with Liz Floyd “One year later” by Learn & Teach. - George Meany Human Rights Award. B4 Copies of correspondence between the Aggett family and various newspapers and extracts from newspapers relating to the death of Neil Aggett. Includes a letter from A. Heard, 8/10/1989. B5 Letter from the Aggett Family to Dr. S J Saunders offering the University of Cape Town a donation to honour Neil’s memory. C THE INQUEST C1. Summaries & Updates of the Legal Position of the Inquest, Feb. 1982-June 83 includes correspondence between attorneys Bell, Dewar & Hall and the Aggett family. C2 Psychiatric Reports by: Jan Adriaan Plomp Louis Jolyon West (includes a Curriculum Vitae & correspondence with attorneys Bell, Dewar & Hall) Bell, Dewar, & Hall: a “note on psychological aspects as at 25 June 1982” C3 Break-in at the Aggett’s Somerset West home by the Security Police. contains:- Affidavits by - Michael Joseph Richman (lawyer) - John A E Aggett - Joyce N Aggett - William Anderson (the Aggetts’ neighbour) - Sarah Isaacs (housekeeper) - Isak Isaacs (housekeeper’s husband) typed pages of the “Sequence of Events” from 14/3/1982 - 21/3/1982 and “Questions we would like asked” Lawyers letters to the Attorney General and the Divisional Commissioner of the South African Police with a transcript of a tape recording of the incident. correspondence between lawyers and Mr. J A E Aggett re: the court case against Lieutenant Whitehead & Sergeant Erasmus, 1983. a newsclipping from the Rand Daily Mail, 9/2/1982. C4 Statements & Affidavits (includes some correspondence with the attorneys and an outline of an opposing affidavit.) Neil’s statements while in detention marked: FF2 - 25th to 28th Jan. 1982 FF3 - 28th to 31st Jan. 1982 FF4 - 28th to 31st Jan. 1982 3 FF5 - 1st to 4th Feb. 1982 Aggett, John A E Ames, Francis R Anderson, Dr. Neil (a reference letter) Breytenbach, Yvette Cachalia, Firoze Chikane, Frank Coleman, Keith Floyd, Elizabeth Hogan, Barbara Lerumo, Thabo Lodge, Tom Maphato, Akila Marcus, Gilbert J Mntonga, Eric M Momoniat, Ismail Naidoo, Pramanathan Nanabhai, Shirish Narsoo, Montgomery Ndou, Samson Njikelana, Sisa Smithers, Maurice Theron, Jan Pierre van Heerden, Auret C5 Judgement - a printed copy of the Inquest proceedings and the final judgement. C6 File containing the record of the Inquest by Bell, Dewar & Hall. C7 Video Cassette of a recording of the London Thames TV programme “TV EYE” taking a satirical look at the Inquest proceedings. D. NEWSCLIPPINGS D1 February 1982 to 1983 D2 “South African Pressclips” titled:- “The Aggett Inquest” “Repression Focus” - Part 1: Detentions - Part 2: Bannings & Trials D3 Scrapbooks numbered 1-14 for the years 1982 - 1996 (1 scrapbook unnumbered and undated.) E. VARIOUS REPORTS & ARTICLES re: Detention, Solitary Confinement & Torture in South Africa. articles on detention in the St Martin in the Fields parish magazine The Mustard Seed & UCT News, 1982. 4 “Any Hope for Detainees?” Lawyers for Human Rights Bulletin No. 2 “Report of the Rabie Commission on Security Legislation,” a press statement. “Deaths in Detention” PFP COMMENT Sept,. 1977. “Solitary Confinement” rough draft of an article? The Biko Inquest. - a report by Sir Davis Napley “A Study of Detention & Torture in South Africa” a preliminary report by Don Foster & Dianne Sandler. F. DETAINEES PARENT SUPPORT COMMITTEE (DPSC) letters from attorneys Bell, Dewar & Hall to Jill Burger (nee Aggett) re: visitation rights? to Neil Aggett while in detention., 14 - 21/1/1986. “Proposed Study Programme” by DPSC letter from Yvette Breytenbach to Jill Burger, 18/1/82 enclosing DESCOM LETTERS. article from “The Star” 25/01/1982 titled “ Reaching.....Universal Justice” Public Protest Meeting Notice re: Detentions Programme of play “Four Paces By Two” presented by DPSC.