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These two Applicants were members of the African National Congress (ANC) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). The Applicants have already applied for an been granted amnesty in respect of their participation in the attack on the Osizweni Police Station on the 10th October 1986 and the explosion at the Glencoe Railway Station on the 20th September 1986.
The second Applicant (Msibi) was the Unit Commander, MK-Northern Natal. He received orders and instructions from the command structure as to targets to be attacked in Northern Natal and passed them on to the first Applicant (Tshika). Msibi himself only participated in the attack on the police station.
The two Applicants are now applying for amnesty in respect of the explosion at the Newcastle Magistrate's Court and an explosion at Newcastle Game Centre. They both gave evidence and Msibi explained in detail what the ANC policy in the region was, what he was doing to promote it and why these two venues had been targeted.
The Magistrate's Court was an arm of the Government and many trade unionists were being tried there. The Game Centre was chosen because the Wimpy bar there was being made extensive use of by members of the Special Branch, so much so that they apparently advertised the fact in the Citizen Newspaper. He discussed these targets with the MK leaders in Swaziland and then passed on the instructions to the first Applicant. The first Applicant had already given evidence as to these instructions. He stated that he in turn passed off the instructions onto one Themba Nkosi Khosi, on of his cell members, to set off a limpet mine at the Court at lunch time when no members of the public would be there. Owing to some apparent defect in the fuse timing device it went off at about 3 p.m. His evidence confirmed that of the second Applicant as to why the Wimpy Bar at the Newcastle Centre was targeted. In this instance he told one Bail Sithole to place the limpet mine.
We are satisfied that both Applicants were active members of MK at the time and were carrying out instructions from their seniors in Swaziland at the time.
The first Applicant also applied for amnesty in respect of three incidents described as Incidents 9, 14 and 15 in the list of incidents set out in our decision relating to Operation Butterfly (Ramlakan and 8 others). We do not propose setting out the facts again; suffice to say that we have decided that the persons taking part in these operations were acting on behalf of a liberation movement, the ANC and meet the requirements of the Act.
The same applies to the applications in regard to the Newcastle incidents. We are satisfied that these were acts committed by members of a liberation movement on the command of that movement in furtherance of the political struggle then in progress. We are also satisfied that the Applicants have met all the other requirements of the Act.
Amnesty is accordingly GRANTED to Thuso Tshika and Basil Msibi in respect of all acts, omissions or offences committed by them relating to:
1. Their participation in the bombing and subsequent explosion at the Newcastle Magistrate's Court on the 23rd November 1986; and
2. their participation in the bombing and explosion at the Wimpy Bar, Newcastle; Newcastle Game Centre on the 11th November 1986.
Amnesty is GRANTED to Thuso Tshika in respect of all acts, omissions and offences committed by him relating to:
His participation in the bombing and subsequent explosion at:
1. The Game Discount World, Durban on the 27th September 1985 (Incident 9).
2. The Mobeni Post Office on the 8th December 1985 (Incident 14); and
3. the intersection of Pine and Albert Streets where a VW kombi was damaged on the 21st December 1985 (Incident 15).
On the information at present available to us, the victims are:
1. In respect of the Newcastle Magistrate's Court, Vusumuzi Jacobe Nene, Johannes Simelane and Magistrate Stander.
2. In respect of the Mobeni Post Office incident, the Nair family, that is Narain, Audrey and Rajendran Nair, Gregory Naidoo, Dawn Dudley Loots and Anthony Dexter van Heerden.
3. In respect of the VW incident and Ina de Jong and her two daughters.
The Committee is of the opinion that the relatives and dependants mentioned above are victims and they are referred in terms of Section 22(2) to the Committee on Reparation and Rehabilitation for consideration in terms of Section 26 of Act 34 of 1995.