: DECISION
The applicant applies for amnesty for the murder of Hlakaniphani John Mbeko, for which crime he was sentenced on 13 April 1993 to imprisonment for fifteen years. Applicant admitted that he had taken part in the killing of the deceased in the Umgababa area on 25 January 1991.
The applicant was an active member of the ANC in Umgababa. For some time before the unbanning of the ANC he had been a member of the United Democratic Front (UDF). The deceased was also a member of the ANC. There was evidence of ongoing armed clashes between the ANC and the IFP in Umgababa area resulting in the death of many people. These conflicts increased in intensity during 1990. The applicant lived in an area which was predominantly IFP. He said that ANC members and supporters in that area resisted being dominated by the IFP. Applicant said that some ANC people felt safer by joining the IFP.
Before dealing with the reasons for killing the deceased, it is appropriate to briefly deal with the background against which the offence was committed. Towards the end of 1990 the ANC became concerned by the absence of Sitofu Ngcobo from their meetings. He had been a member of the ANC for some time and had attended their meetings regularly in the past. His absence from the meetings seemed to coincide with the frequency of IFP attacks on ANC members. It appeared that the IFP knew about the secret hiding places of the ANC. Some members expressed the view that Sitofu was the one who was giving information about the ANC to the IFP. It was decided that the applicant should look for Sitofu and bring him to a meeting.
At about the beginning of January
1991, the applicant found Sitofu and brought him to a meeting of the Self Defence Unit of the ANC at a place called Ziko. The deceased, who was a brother-in-law of Sitofu was also present at that meeting. Sitofu was interrogated about his absence from meetings and was pointedly asked on which side he was. The applicant says that Sitofu confessed to the meeting that he was taken by the IFP people by force. This angered some of the members who were convinced that Sitofu had became an informer of the IFP and should therefore be eliminated. The deceased said that Sitofu should be given a chance because this was his first mistake. As a result of the intervention by the deceased the meeting decided not to take any action against him and allowed him to go. The deceased took him away from the meeting.
Later that day there was another attack by the IFP in the area where the applicant and some of the ANC people lived. The applicant and his friends thought of defending themselves but as they were hopelessly outnumbered, they fled from the area. The applicant said that Sitofu was among the attackers. As a result of the attack some people were killed and many were injured.
This attack by the IFP and Sitofu's participation in it was discussed at a meeting. It was decided that it had been a mistake to give Sitofu a chance and that he ought to be caught and eliminated. They realised that it would be difficult to get hold of him as he resided in an IFP area. Questions were then asked about the deceased who ceased to attend ANC meetings. Messages were sent to the deceased to come to ANC meetings but he could not be found in the area. The ANC came to the conclusion that the deceased had also become an IFP informer. After the meeting the applicant discussed the matter with Joe Ngema who was the leader of the ANC and it was decided that the deceased and Sitofu should be eliminated as they were a danger to the ANC.
On 25 January 1991, the applicant accompanied by Themba Elic Manci, Themba No Luthuli and Boy Raymond Khoza, set out to look for the deceased. The applicant says that he was armed with a gun which had been given to him by Joe Ngema and his companions were armed with spears and pangas. They went to a shebeen run by one Mtshali and waited there for the deceased who was known to frequent that place. When the deceased arrived there he was led away by the applicant and his companions and some distance away from the Mtshali home the applicant hit the deceased on the head with a gun and his companions Manci and Khoza then stabbed the deceased with their spears. The applicant says that he also joined in the attack by hitting the deceased with a panga. As a result of that assault, the deceased died.
It was argued on behalf of the applicant that the only reason why the deceased was killed was because the ANC were convinced that the deceased and Sitofu were informers of the IFP. They had been used by the IFP to intensify and increase the attacks on ANC members. The ANC wished to safeguard its members from being killed by the IFP. The killing of the deceased was part of the political conflict between these two organisations and that the offences was quite clearly related to a political objective.
On a reading of the evidence as a whole and the submissions made on behalf of the applicant, the Committee has come to the conclusion that the applicant has made a full disclosure of all the relevant facts and that the offences was in fact related to a political objective. The applicant is accordingly GRANTED amnesty for the murder of Hlakaniphani John Mbeko.
Signed at Cape Town on the day of 6 December 1999.
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MALL, J. ADV S. SIGODI
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ADV. C. DE JAGER
COMMITTEE : Mall, J; Adv C. de Jager; Adv. S. Sigodi
DATE OF HEARING: 11 February 1999
VENUE: Marian Centre, Pietermaritzburg
EVIDENCE LEADER: Ms Ramula Patel
FOR THE APPLICANT: Mr S. Samuel
P.O. Box 56002
CHATSGLEN
4012
(031) 4021236 (office)
0827774041
FOR THE VICTIMS: Ms Ramula Patel
