DECISION
______________________________________________________The Applicant applies for amnesty in respect of the following offences:
(a) The killing of Thoba Naphtali Mokudubete alias Rufus during January 1984 at Vienna in Angola;
(b) attempted murder;
(c) unlawful possession of an AK-47 machine gun;
(d) unlawful possession of an AK-47 ammunition; and
(e) unlawful possession of a handgrenade.
The Applicant testified that he got involved in student politics at the age of 14 years in 1980. He was aligned to COSAS and when their teacher, who was an underground ANC member, was arrested, he organised class boycotts in protest of the arrest. During 1980 the Applicant left the Republic of South Africa (RSA) through Lesotho and was trained as an uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) cadre in various countries abroad. He also held various positions within the MK command structures.
On 4th January 1984 he escorted the late Chris Hani on his way to Lusaka via Luanda. On arrival at the Vienna Camp near Luanda in Angola, he remained there whilst the late Hani proceeded to Lusaka. At the time the ANC was experiencing mutiny within its ranks. This was a weekend when they had celebrations of the anniversary of the ANC. Some of the MK cadres were having drinks served by the deceased. At some stage he entered the tent occupied by the deceased when he heard a lively conversation taking place but on his entry the conversation ceased. Upon realising that, he went to his tent to sleep.
Around midnight he was awoken by a combat alarm and immediately went to the gathering point. Six of them responded. The armoury officer, Moffat, informed them of the SWAPO camp which was approximately 700 metres away. They armed themselves and his group consisting of Moffat Taylor, Mr Bigson and Santana moved in the direction of the skirmish. After taking position he saw a figure carrying a net sack on his back moving across their direction. He shouted in Russian, Portuguese and English to stop, but the figure instead turned around and opened fire towards them. He fired in his direction aiming at the figure which he believed to be a Unita soldier and only stopped when he heard screams of agony.
The person was identified as Rufus who had sustained serious injuries. His hand was shot off, hanging through threads of flesh, shot through the thorax and the bullet went through and damaged his testicles. He was immediately taken to hospital, but died at casualty because of non-attendance by the doctors since the casualty area was full of injured soldiers.
During August 1990 he was instructed by Lombard Moli and the late Chris Hani to infiltrate RSA to form Self Defence Units in the Vaal area and Free State.
On his way to Bloemfontein he noticed police in a mini bus. He recognised the driver as Booysen. They called him but he reacted by throwing a handgrenade at them. It exploded near the motor vehicle and he ran away. He was eventually arrested and charged for the crime. He was sentenced to eleven years imprisonment and was released on parole after serving five years.
The applications are not opposed. The family of Mokudubete attended the hearing and their counsel posed questions which only sought clarity. American Petrus Booysen and Letshaba Johannes Sekaleli filed affidavits which corroborated the Applicant's version of how the incident occurred. The Committee is satisfied that the application complies with the requirements of the Act. We are accordingly satisfied that the offences were committed with a political objective as envisaged by the Act and that the Applicant has made a full disclosure of all the relevant facts.
In the circumstances the application succeeds and amnesty is GRANTED in respect of all five offences and all delictual liabilities that flow from such offences.
The Committee is of the opinion that Solomon Mokudubete, Tseliso Mokudubete Azaxiel Mokudubete, American Petrus Booysen and Letshaba Johannes Sekaleli are victims as contemplated by Section 22 and are referred to the Committee on Reparation and Rehabilitation to be dealt with in terms of Section 26.
DATED at CAPE TOWN this day of 2000
____________________________JUDGE JOHN MOTATA
____________________________ADV F BOSMAN
____________________________ADV S SIGODI
