DECISION
The applicant filed two applications for amnesty. They were both registered under the same number 10/96. The first application is dated 27 March 1996 and was received by the Amnesty Committee on 9 April 1996.
The second application was received during July 1996 and was signed during July 1996 the applicant but not dated.
In the first application the applicant seeks amnesty in respect of:-
1. The illegal possession of explosives.
2. Culpable homicide.
3. Attempted murder.
He was convicted in respect of the three offences and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. He denied guilt at the hearing and still maintains that he was wrongly convicted and that he as well as his co-accused were innocent.
Amnesty cannot be granted on the first application because the applicant maintains that he did not commit any offence or delict.
In the second application the applicant only applied for amnesty in respect of the illegal possession of explosives, namely a hand grenade. In this application he confessed that on 25 May 1993 he had a hand grenade in his possession. He stated that this hand grenade was indiscreetly handed to him by MK Commander Lawrence Mbatha and was returned to him.
It is common cause that a hand grenade exploded on 25 May 1993 after a protest march to the offices of the representative of the Bophuthatswana government in Kimberley, killing one person and injuring 40 others. There is no evidence that the hand grenade which caused the explosion was the same hand grenade which the applicant had in his possession and which according to him he handed back to MK Commander Lawrence Mbatha.
After considering both applications the Committee concluded as follows:-
Amnesty is REFUSED in respect of the following offences:-
1. The killing of Manne Mokone on 25 May 1993 at Kimberley.
2. The attempted murder on an unknown number of persons on 25 May 1993 at Kimberley.
Although the third offence, namely illegal possession of explosives, was also included in this application, the Committee concluded that the fact that he denied guilt in that application, did not include a denial for the possession of the hand grenade. That also explains why he later filed a separate application in this connection.
In the result amnesty is GRANTED in respect of the illegal possession of a hand grenade on 25 May 1993 at Kimberley.
SIGNED AT CAPE TOWN ON THIS THE
: DAY OF
: 2000.
