The Applicant applies for amnesty in respect of the unlawful possession of a limpet mine and the unlawful detonation of such mine.
The incident occurred on 1 December 1989 at the Ibhongo Senior Secondary School, Soweto. The Applicant was at that time a member of the Soweto Youth Congress, an ANC supporter and an uMkhonto weSize (MK) operative. He was employed as an assistant teacher.
He, together with a number of other person, believed that the principal of the Ibhongo School was collaborating with the Security Branch and that she was an opponent of the student movement. The Applicant, together with other persons, including a teacher at the school and an MK cadre, decided to plant and detonate a limpet mine at the school. Their objective in so doing was, according to the Applicant, to support the student movement, to demoralise the State security machinery, to create a revolutionary climate and encourage a spirit of defiance amongst students and to eliminate opponents of the student movement.
The limpet mine was placed under the principal's motor vehicle. The explosion severely damaged her car and also caused damage to two nearby motor vehicles as well. The front door and various window panes of the school's administration block were also damaged. Nobody was injured by the explosion. Nobody was prosecuted in respect of the incident.
We are satisfied that the Applicant has made a full disclosure of all relevant facts and that his application complies with the requirements of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No. 34 of 1995 ("the Act"). We are also satisfied that the actions of the Applicant were associated with a political objective committed in the course of the conflicts of the past.
In the result, the Applicant is
GRANTED AMNESTY: in respect of
1. The unlawful possession of a limpet mine on 1 December 1989; and September/October 1988; and
2. the unlawful detonation of a limpet mine on 1 December 1989 at the Ibhongo Senior Secondary School, Soweto.