DECISION
The Applicant applies for amnesty in respect of the murder of Alec Mashaba which was committed on 13 July 1986 at or near Tembisa.
At the time in question the Applicant was a supporter of the African National Congress ("the ABC") and was a member of the Tembisa Youth Congress, the chairman of which was one Peter Chauke.
On 13 July 1986 the said Chauke arrived at the Applicant’s home. He was in the company of approximately forty persons who were all "comrades". He informed Applicant that they were going to fetch a person who was a police informer and that they were going to subject the informer to a trial. He instructed the Applicant to accompany them.
They then proceeded to the house of Alex Mashaba ("the deceased"), who was the suspected informer. Some of them, including the Applicant, entered the house and abducted the deceased. He was the taken to Welamlambo Section, Tembisa, where a trial was held by the members of the Executive Committee of Welamlambo. The deceased was found guilty, it being decided that he was responsible for the death of one Sonnyboy who was killed by the police after they received information from the deceased concerning Sonnyboy.
The deceased was then taken by the group, including the Applicant, to Etafeni Hostel where he was burnt to death by the so-called necklace method. The Applicant did not actually participate in the burning of the deceased but stood by as a witness to the whole incident and associated himself with the actions of the perpetrators.
The Applicant, together with a number of other persons, was later arrested and charged with the murder of the deceased. He entreated his bail and left the country before his trial. He joined Umkhonto weSizwe when he was abroad. He, to date, has not stood trial in respect of the murder of the deceased.
The application for amnesty is not opposed.
We are satisfied that the Applicant has made a full disclosure of all the relevant facts relating to the incident. We are also satisfied that the murder of the deceased was an act committed with a political objective as envisaged by the provisions of section 20 of the promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No. 34 of 1995 ("the Act"),
The Applicant is accordingly GRANTED amnesty in respect of the murder of Alec Mashaba which was committed on or about 13 July 1986 at or near Tembisa.
We are of the opinion that Betty Mashaba, the mother of the deceased, and Lucky Mashaba, the brother of the deceased, are victims and this matter is referred to the Committee on Reparation and Rehabilitation for its consideration in terms of the provisions of the Act.
DATED at CAPE TOWN this 21st day of November 2000
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JUDGE S M MILLER
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JUDGE N J MOTATA
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ADV N SANDI
