decisions AMNESTY DECISIONS 2000-11-23 Cape Town WILLEM JOHANNES MOMBERG, ERIC GOOSEN, PHILLIP RUDOLPH CRAUSE, WILKUS JOHANNES LOOTS, JOHANNES VELDE VAN DER MERWE AM4159/96; AM4158/96; AM4125/96; AM4149/96; A GRANTED https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/hearing.php?id=59195&t=&tab=hearings https://sabctrc.saha.org.za/originals/decisions/2000/ac200214.htm DECISION _______________________________________________________ This decision relates to an incident which became known as the McKenzie Car Bomb incident. The applicants applied for amnesty in respect of all offences and delicts arising out of and directly connected with the explosion of a bomb in a Hi-Ace motor vehicle in Gaberone, Botswana during April 1987 including murder, attempted murder and damage to property. All the applicants were members of the South African Police serving in the Security branch. Momberg and Goosen acted as handlers of Mr McKenzie ("McKenzie"), who at the time supplied information to the Security Forces. Although Mr McKenzie initially applied for amnesty in respect of this incident, the Committee was informed by the Evidence Leader that he had withdrawn his application and his application was accordingly not considered. McKenzie had been in the service of the Security Police since 1983 and managed to infiltrate uMkhonto weSizwe ("MK") in 1985. He became a courier for MK and smuggled weapons and explosives into the Republic of South Africa ("RSA") on their behalf. The security police thereafter controlled these weapons. Towards the end of March 1987 Brigadier Cronje called a meeting in the vicinity of Broederstroom. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a possible operation in Botswana with the objective of eliminating MK leaders Victor Hannes Mnizi, Ernest Pule and Lester Dumakude. Mnizi was believed to be one of the chief planners of the Church Street bomb explosion in 1983, Pule was a member of the MK Special Operation group and Lester Dumakude was a member of the same group operating from Lusaka and responsible for the smuggling of weaponry into the RSA. After this they returned the vehicle to McKenzie who would then proceed to the RSA. They decided that they would use a light sensitive detonator to ensure that the explosives would detonate once the compartment was opened. As this would happen when the weapons were being loaded, the victims would in all probability be the targeted MK members or other trusted operatives who would be aware of this compartment and how to open it. As a secondary measure the explosive could also be detonated by a remote device which was to be operated manually by a member of the SADF Special Forces Unit who operated in Botswana. This was to be used if one or more of the targeted victims would be seen in the vicinity of the vehicle or in it. Goosen testified that he was told by members of the Special Unit that the person who had to control the manual detonator device searched for days to trace the Hi-Ace. Approximately five days later he saw the vehicle parked in a built up area and then detonated the bomb. Three innocent civilians were injured and another three were killed. The roles of the other applicants can be summarised as follows: Loots was present at the meeting at Broederstroom because he was the area commander, Crause had to make sure that the vehicle would cross the border at Kopfontein without the bomb being detected. Van der Merwe authorised the operation after he was informed of the plan the reasons for it. The Special Forces Unit of the SADF would have been in control of the operation as far as the cross-border aspects of it were concerned. That would have resorted under Charl Naude and the applicants were not aware who the operative or operatives tasked in the operation had been. No member of the SADF has applied for amnesty and it was stated that this is because of legal advice furnished to them about cross border operations. The applicants confirmed the facts set out above insofar as it feels within their personal knowledge. Hechter did not attend the follow-up meeting at Broederstroom, was not informed of the second plan which was adopted and in no way took part in the operation. It is common cause that the operation was associated with a political objective, that it related to the conflicts of the past and that it was directed at political opponents. It was also conceded that the fact that the explosives were used made it foreseeable that people other than the three targeted MK leaders or other MK soldiers assisting in loading weapons into the vehicle could be killed or injured including civilians in the vicinity of the vehicle. It was also foreseeable that property could be damaged. These are risk inherent in the using of bombs or land mines in the war situation that existed. In the result all the applicants are GRANTED amnesty in respect of any offences and/or delicts flowing from and directly connected with the explosion of a car bomb in a Hi-Ace motor vehicle in Gaberone, Botswana during April 1987 in which explosion people were killed and injured and property was damaged. Signed at Cape Town on this the 23rd day of November 2000 ________________________ JUDGE S KHAMPEPE ________________________ ACTING JUDGE C DE JAGER ________________________ MR IAN LAX