decisions AMNESTY DECISIONS SIMON KHAKHA NGUBENI AM 3128/96 GRANTED https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=59127&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/decisions/2000/ac200145.htm DECISION This is an application for amnesty in terms of the provisions of Section 18 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act No. 34 of 1995 ("the Act"). The application relates to an incident which occurred on 18 December 1993 at Leeuwhof Prison, Vereeniging. Pursuant to the incident Applicant and a number of other persons were charged and tried in the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court on various counts under case no. CC71/95. Applicant was convicted of a number of offences which are more fully set out later in this decision. Pursuant to his said conviction, Applicant was sentenced to an effective 32 years of imprisonment. Having carefully considered the matter, we are satisfied that the incident in question arose to Applicant executing a plan to escape decided upon jointly with his commander. There is no serious challenge to the version of the Applicant, which we accept as true in the circumstances. We are accordingly satisfied that the Applicant had made a full disclosure of all relevant and material facts as required by the Act. Moreover, we are satisfied that the incident constitutes an act associated with a political objective as envisaged by the Act. We accept that the original intention was not to use the handgrenade to kill anyone. The detonation was not directly caused by the Applicant, whose actions therefore cannot be said to be disproportionate in the circumstances. We are accordingly satisfied tat the applications complies with all of the requirements of the Act and amnesty is hereby GRANTED to the Applicant in respect of all delicts and offences which resulted from the explosion of the handgrenade at Leeuwhof Prison, Vereeniging on 18 December 1993, more particularly all of the offences of which Applicant was convicted under case no. CC71/95 in the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court on 20 March 1995, including: 1. three counts of murder; 2. nine counts of attempted murder; 3. assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm; 4. common assault; 5. possession of a handgrenade in contravention of Section 32(1)(b) of Act 75 of 1969; 6. attempted escape. In our opinion all of the victims and the next-of-kin of the deceased in respect of the incident for which amnesty is hereby granted, are victims for the purposes of the Act and are accordingly referred for consideration in terms of the provisions of Section 22 of the Act. DATED AT CAPE TOWN THIS ___________ DAY OF ________________ 2000. ___________________ D. POTGIETER, A.J. ___________________ J. MOTATA, A.J. ___________________ ADV. N. SANDI