DECISION
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This is an application in terms of Section 18 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995. The applicant was a supporter of the African National Congress ("ANC"). He was sentenced to five years imprisonment at the Botshabelo Magistrate District Court in 1988, having been found guilty of the following offences:-
1. Theft of election materials of the Qwaqwa Dikwankwetla Party;
2. Attending and participating in an unlawful political gathering;
3. Causing damage to Property and
4. Assault on members of the Qwaqwa Dikwankwetla Party.
The conviction arises from the events of 1986 to 1988 when residents of Botshabelo were opposed to the proposed incorporation of the town into the then self-governing territory of Qwa Qwa. Widespread acts of violence and civil strife were engendered by the proposed incorporation. There was a general state of social commotion and havoc in the area. At the relevant time the applicant was also a member of the Botshabelo students Council and took part in some of the activities around the popular campaign to oppose the move.
On the day in question the applicant and several other ANC supporters entered a house belonging to a member of the Botshabelo Council that supported incorporation. There they confiscated election materials propagating acquiescence to incorporation. They disrupted classes, caused damage to the school property and security guards of Councillors were manhandled. It is as the result of his participation and role in the demonstrations that the applicant was convicted, as already mentioned.
After considering the matter and the political context in which the crimes were committed, we are of the view that the applicant committed "acts associated with a political objective" and has complied with requirements of the Act.
It is well-known that the ANC which was an exiled mission at the time of the instigated its members and supporters inside the country to render the apartheid system unworkable. There can be no doubt that the applicant sought to effect that instruction by committing the acts which he did. He says they feared that the move was intended to strengthen the policy of separate development. This is what has fortified our view in the matter. The applicant appears to have given a full disclosure of the relevant facts and is therefore entitled to amnesty.
Amnesty is accordingly GRANTED for all the offences.
Signed at Cape Town on............... day of ........................1999.
