: DECISION
The Applicant applied for amnesty in respect of 6 incidents (see decision AC2000/194) where they are referred to and Applicant's background has been dealt with. In this decision the Committee will deal with the kidnapping of Bomber/Peter Thabuleka in Mamelodi; and the kidnapping of an unknown man in Mabopane.
Applicant was an MK soldier who had been kidnapped and became an askari. He was ordered to identify members of MK who came back to the RSA after they had received training abroad. His commander at Vlakplaas was Captain De Kock.
1. The kidnapping of Peter Thabuleka
Applicant and other askaris were ordered to patrol the streets of Mamelodi and to be on the look-out for an MK known as Bomber. According to Applicant, Simon Radebe, a member of the SAP under whose command they operated in Mamelodi, spotted Bomber and they kidnapped him. It transpired that the Applicant made a mistake about the name of the person kidnapped. The person kidnapped in Mamelodi was in fact Peter Thabuleka and not Bomber. The latter was a victim in another incident.
After kidnapping Peter Thabuleka during June 1988 he was tortured during interrogation to obtain information about the whereabouts of other MK members. The Applicant himself did not assault Thabuleka but witnessed the assault on him which included the so-called "tubing" - the near suffocation of a person by pulling a tube across his mouth and nose.
According to Applicant the torture was stopped when De Kock arrived on the scene. De Kock ordered them to leave and he then presumably proceeded with the interrogation. The Applicant did not see the victim again and does not know what happened to him afterwards.
2. The kidnapping of an unknown man in Mabopane
The Applicant also applied for amnesty in respect of the kidnapping of an unknown man in Mabopane. This was also an operation carried out under the command of Simon Radebe. The Applicant, Eric Sefadi and Radebe acted under instructions of Colonel Prinsloo. After the kidnapping the man was left in the company of four other policemen and they assaulted the victim.
The Applicant was at the time a member of the Security Forces acting on orders of his superiors. The offences were associated with the political objective of detaining MK members and interrogating them.
The Committee is satisfied that the incidents fall within the ambit of Act 34 of 1995 and that the Applicant has met the requirements laid down for amnesty.
Amnesty is GRANTED to the Applicant in respect of:
1. Offences and delicts directly linked to the kidnapping of Peter Thabuleka (to whom the Applicant had mistakenly referred to as Bomber) and the assaults on him during June 1986 in the district of Pretoria.
2. Offences and delicts directly linked to the kidnapping of an unknown person in Mabopane and the subsequent assault on him round about 1986.
SIGNED AT CAPE TOWN THIS THE 11TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2000
JUDGE S MILLER
A/J C DE JAGER
ADV S SIGODI
