DECISION
The applicant was at all material times hereto, a member of the African National Congress (the ANC) and Umkhonto weSizwe (MK).
On or about 15th June 1977 he and two other members of MK, namely, Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motlaung proceeded to the Diagonal Street taxi rank in Johannesburg. They were armed with firearms and handgrenades and it was their intention to catch a taxi to Soweto where they were, in the words of the applicant, "to engage in acts of sabotage on economic targets as well as symbols of apartheid and to attack the police who were in defence of apartheid".
When at the Diagonal Street taxi rank they were approached by a policeman who had been following them. They scattered. Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motlaung ran in one direction and the applicant in the other. The applicant successfully eluded the police and was not arrested. Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motlaung took refuge in the John Orr's warehouse at Gogh Street where a skirmish broke out and shots were fired. Two persons were killed and three, including Monty Motlaung were injured in the shooting. The two deceased persons and the two other injured persons were all civilians. Both Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motlaung were arrested.
Solomon Mahlangu was subsequently tried and sentenced to death. He was executed on 7th April 1979. Monty Motlaung was declared unfit to stand trial because he suffered brain damage apparently as a result of police brutality. He was declared a State President's patient.
After the incident the applicant went abroad where he actively participated in a campaign which was undertaken for the release of Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motlaung. He states that he featured prominently in media interviews and also in a documentary film in which he took full responsibility for the Gogh street incident "with the hope that eventually blame would not be on my comrades".
The incident which took place in the John Orr's warehouse at Gogh Street was neither planned nor performed in execution of an order. It was a case of soldiers using their own initiative when confronted with an unexpected situation. They acted on the spur of the moment and in reaction to the circumstances they found themselves in.
It was not the intention of the unit to attack the John Orr's warehouse or to kill or injure civilians. While we are satisfied, on the papers before us, that the action of Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motlaung were acts associated with a political objective committed in the cause of the conflicts of the past as contemplated by the provisions of section 20 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No34 of 1995, (the Act), we are of the view that no liability or responsibility for their actions can be ascribed to the applicant. The incident at the warehouse, which has been described by the ANC in its further submissions to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on 12th May 1997 as an "unplanned action/skirmish with SAP", was not part of the unit's mission to perform acts of sabotage in Soweto. When the unit was prevented from embarking on its mission and its members scattered when fleeing from the police, each one of them was on his own and, as a trained cadre, had to do what he saw fit in the circumstances.
It is therefore, in our opinion, not possible to extend any culpability to the applicant who was neither present nor aware of the incident when it took place. Consequently, amnesty cannot be granted to the applicant for acts committed by Solomon Mahlangu and Monty Motlaung in the John Orr's warehouse.
We are however satisfied that the offences committed by the applicant on or about 15th June 1977 were acts associated with a political objective and also that the applicant has made a full disclosure of all relevant facts.
We are also of the opinion that the offences committed by the applicant do not constitute a gross violation of human rights, that there is no need for a hearing and that this matter can be dealt with in terms of section 19 of the Act.
The applicant is therefore GRANTED amnesty in respect of being in the unlawful possession of a firearm and handgrenade/s and of conspiring to commit acts of sabotage on or about 15th June 1977.
SIGNED AT CAPE TOWN THIS THE 5th DAY OF APRIL 2000.
