DECISION
INTRODUCTION
This is an application for amnesty in terms of Section 18 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act No. 34 of 1995 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") in respect of the following offences
Count 1:
Murder of Mtaziwa John Khanyile on the 29th of September 1992.
Count 2:
Robbery with aggravating circumstances as defined in section 1(b) of Act No. 51 of 1977.
Count 3:
The murder of Christopher Nhlanhla Myeza on the 1st of October 1992.
The applicant was sentenced to an effective 30 years imprisonment.
FACTS IN BRIEF
The applicant joined the Pan Africanist congress (PAC) and Azanian Peoples Liberation Movement (APLA) in 1989 and 1992 respectively. After undergoing military training in Tanzania he returned to South Africa and became an organizer.
In relation to the first count he was given an instruction by a certain Thompson to kill a fellow PAC and APLA member who was believed to be a police informer as he had been observed in the company of policemen. The deceased was also heard talking to a policeman promising to report about a meeting that the PAC had had. The killing took place at a sugarcane plantation in Verulam. The applicant and a certain Innocent shot the deceased 5 times and twice, respectively, in the presence of Thompson.
With regard to the second count the applicant was charged and convicted of robbery for assaulting and removing with force, a motor vehicle, a Mazda 323 Sedan, from Mtaziwa John Khanyile on the 29th of September 1992. The vehicle was the property of Swift Taxis. The applicant needed transport to accomplish a mission in Port Alfred at a bar frequented by whites. Later the vehicle was found abandoned after it was damaged during the robbery. The windscreen was shattered.
Count three relates to the killing of Mtaziwa John Khanyile, the driver of the motor vehicle mentioned in count 2. The applicant wanted to threaten Khanyile with the fire-arm in order to induce submission to the taking of the vehicle and a shot went off unexpectedly. He was not aware that the gun was cocked. During this operation, the applicant was accompanied by people he only knew as Daizer Xaba and John Gumede.
The evidence leader, Adv. Mpshe, argued and raised a question as to whether the killing of Khanyile can be regarded as an act in furtherance of a political objective in view of the fact that the applicant testified that he did not have direct intention of killing him, but that the gun went off accidentally.
After thorough consideration the Committee is satisfied that the killing fell under the ambit of a political object as it is part and parcel of taking the motor vehicle by force.
Another issue which was raised by Adv. Mpshe in argument, was whether the application for amnesty should not be refused on the ground that the applicant and his victim, in count 1, were both members of the PAC and APLA, that is the victims was not a political enemy. Evidence submitted before the TRC by Liberation Movements, including the PAC, show that people who worked as police informers were regarded as enemies and thus as targets for elimination (killing).
All things considered, the Committee is satisfied that the application complies with all requirements of the Act and consequently the applicant is
GRANTED: amnesty.
The Committee finds that the next of kin of Mtaziwa John Khanyile and Christopher Nhlanhla Myeza are victims in terms of Section 26 of the Act and the matter is referred to the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee for consideration.
SIGNED ON THE 14 DAY OF DECEMBER 1998.
JUDGE S. MILLER
MR. ILAN LAX
MR. J.B. SIBANYONI
