DECISION
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Jerome Joseph Maake (the 1st Applicant), Piet Mohlamme Mathebe (the 2nd Applicant, Chakie Edison Mathebe (the 3rd Applicant) and Charles Doctor Mathebe (the 4th Applicant) were all members of the African National Congress (the ANC) and of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). During 1987 they, together with a person known as Mike, operated together as an MK unit in the Moutse area. The unit was, from time to time, assisted in its operations by an MK cadre known as Johnny. The 1st Applicant was the commander of the unit. He received military training in Angola. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Applicants were all trained internally by the 1st Applicant. Both Mike and Johnny received their military training out of the country.
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Applicants apply for amnesty in respect of five incidents which took place during 1987. The 4th Applicant applies for amnesty in respect of one of such incidents. The incidents may be briefly described as follows:
1. The attack on Mr Elias Mmusi (also known as Elvis Mishi) at Saniesloot.
Mr Mmusi was believed to be an informer who assisted the police. It was suspected that he participated in the abduction of one Khala who was an ANC member. It was decided by the unit that Mr Mmusi was a legitimate target who should be attacked. All of the Applicants drove to Mr Mmusi's place of residence at Saniesloot. On arrival, Mr Mmusi was seen standing outside his house. The 1st Applicant, who was armed with an AK-47, fired several shots in the direction of the house. The rifle was in semi-automatic mode. Mr Mmusi ran towards the house and was seen to fall to the ground. The Applicants do not know if Mr Mmusi was injured in the attack.
It is apparent from the documentation before us that Mr Mmusi was in fact injured during the attack, he having received a gullet wound in the leg. Mr Mmusi died during 1998. There is nothing in the documentation to suggest that his death was linked to the aforesaid attack upon him during 1987.
2. The murder of Lieutenant Johannes Petrus Fourie and his son, Sergeant Mark Fourie, at Moteti on 11 September 1987.
The unit received information through reconnaissance that police vehicles were often present at the T-junction of the Dennilton and Marble Hall roads at Moteti. A meeting was held which was attended by 1st, 2nd and 3rd Applicants. It was decided that a police vehicle should be ambushed at the T-junction. None of the said Applicants could recall when such meeting was held, stating that it could have been on the day of the incident itself as even up to a month prior to the incident.
The operation was carried out by the 1st Applicant, the 3rd Applicant, Mike and Johnny. The 3rd Applicant acted as driver. He drove the others to the T-junction and was instructed to wait for them at a specific place some distance away. The 1st Applicant, Mike and Johnny waited at the T-junction. They were all armed with AK-47 rifles which were kept in bags. Other people were also waiting at the T-junction which was a place where taxis stopped.
After approximately 30 minutes a car stopped at the T-junction. They recognised it to be a police car by its registration number and the fact that it had a blue light on the roof. Johnny produced his rifle and fired at the vehicle. The 1st Applicant and Mike provided cover fire. Several shots were fired. Both Lt. Fourie and Sgt Fourie, who were the only occupants in the car, were killed in the shooting.
The 3rd Applicant, upon hearing the firing of shots, decided to go and pick up the others rather than wait for them to come to him. He did so and they departed from the scene.
At the time of the shooting none of the unit members knew the identity of the policemen they were shooting at. They only learnt after the event from press reports that Lt. Fourie and Sgt. Fourie were their victims.
Lt. Fourie was a member of the KwaNdebele police. He was the commanding officer of the watch unit at Dennilton. Sgt Fourie was a member of the South African Police and worked at the police college in Pretoria. At the time of his death he was visiting his parents for the weekend. Lt Fourie had gone to the T-junction at Moteti to meet a colleague, Warrant Officer Kekane, to assist him in an investigation. Sgt Fourie had gone with his father to keep him company.
The 4th Applicant was not in any way involved in this incident.
3. The attack on the Dennilton Police Station.
It was decided by the unit to launch an attack on the Dennilton Police Station. On a Friday night during 1987 the 1st Applicant, 3rd Applicant, Mike and Johnny proceeded to the police station. They arrived there at approximately 20h00. The 3rd Applicant, who was the driver of the vehicle which transported them there, dropped the others off near the police station and then took the vehicle to a pre-arranged spot to await their return.
The 1st Applicant, Mike and Johnny, who were armed with AK-47 rifles, hid themselves and watched the police station. They noticed that civilians were present. They waited until the early hours of the morning when the station was only occupied by policemen. They went to the fence at the perimeter of the premises and from there fired randomly at the building.
Policemen in the building returned fire. The 1st Applicant and his two comrades then ran to the vehicle in which the 3rd Applicant was waiting for them. They got to the vehicle without incident and drove away.
The two policemen, Freddy Sepogwane and Ferry Motloung were injured in the attack.
4. The planting of a limpet mine at the Moutse Magistrates' Court, Sempururu.
After reconnaissance work had been done by the 1st Applicant at the Moutse Magistrates' Court, he, together with the 3rd Applicant proceeded there and planted a limpet mine in the building. The mine was planted on a Friday afternoon and set to explode after working hours. However, the detonating mechanism was defective and the mine never exploded as planned. On the following Monday morning the 3rd Applicant anonymously telephoned the police and advised them of the mine. This was done as they did not want the mine to explode and injure civilians. The mine was then defused by the police.
The 2nd Applicant was involved in the planning of this operation.
5. The planting of explosive material at the Kwaggafontein Police Station.
A booby trap was made by placing explosives in a large three-legged cooking pot. A stick with a flag on it protruded from the lid and a message to the effect that MK is operating in the area was attached to the pot. If the stick to which the flag was attached was pulled it would detonate the explosives in the pot. The pot was then taken to and placed next to the Kwaggafontein police station. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Applicants were present when the pot was placed in position.
It is not known whether an explosion occurred.
We, after careful consideration of the evidence before us, are satisfied that the offences committed by the Applicants were acts associated with a political objective as contemplated by the provisions of Section 20 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995 ("the Act"). There was, at the time in question, political conflict in the Moutse area.
We accept the evidence of the 1st Applicant that when he infiltrated back into the country in 1986 after having attended a refresher training course in Angola, it was with the object of forming a unit to operate in Moutse. Members of the police force, informers, police stations and Magistrates' courts were regarded by MK operatives as being legitimate targets.
Save for Elias Mmusi, who the Applicants believed to be a police informer, all the victims of their attacks were policemen whose identities they did not know at the times of the attacks. There is nothing in the evidence to suggest that the attacks carried out by them were motivated by personal malice, ill-will or spite or were carried out for personal gain. On the contrary, the only reasonable conclusion that can be arrived at on the evidence before us is that the attacks were carried out bona fide in furtherance of the political struggle waged by the ANC against the State. The evidence of the 1st Applicant that he reported all the operations to his superiors in Lusaka some months later is corroborated by the fact that both the attacks on the Dennilton police station and the attack on Lt Fourie and his son, Sgt Fourie, are reflected as MK operations by the ANC in its submissions made to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on 12 May 1997.
We are also satisfied that the Applicants have made a full disclosure of all relevant facts pertaining to their aforementioned operations. The 1st, 3rd and 4th Applicants all gave their evidence in a satisfactory manner. The evidence given by the 2nd Applicant was not entirely satisfactory. He testified before the Human Rights Violations Committee of the TRC on 2nd December 1996. It is apparent from the transcript of his testimony that he played down his knowledge of the role played by MK in Moutse during 1987 and thereafter and also that he was not open and frank to that Committee about the Fourie incident. His explanation made to us about these discrepancies was unimpressive. We accordingly approached his evidence in this matter and are, despite this unsatisfactory feature of his evidence, satisfied that he has made a full disclosure of the role played by him in all the incidents.
In the result, all the applications succeed and:
1. Jerome Joseph Maake is GRANTED amnesty in respect of
a) the attempted murder of Elias Mmusi (also known as Elvis Mishi) at Saniesloot during 1987;
b) the murder of Johannes Petrus Fourie and Mark Fourie at or near Moteti on or about 11 September 1987;
c) the attack upon the Dennilton police station and the attempted murder of Freddy Sepogwane and Jerry Motloung during 1987;
d) the placing of a limpet mine at the Moutse Magistrates' Court, Sempururu, during 1987;
e) the placing of explosive material at the Kwaggafontein Police Station during 1987.
2. Piet Mohlamme Mathebe is GRANTED amnesty in respect of:
a) the attempted murder of Elias Mmusi (also known as Elvis Mishi) at Saniesloot during 1987;
b) the murder of Johannes Petrus Fourie and Mark Fourie at or near Moteti on or about 11 September 1987;
c) the attack upon the Dennilton police station and the attempted murder of Freddy Sepogwane and Jerry Motloung during 1987;
d) the placing of a limpet mine at the Moutse Magistrates' Court, Sempururu, during 1987;
e) the placing of an explosive device at the Kwaggafontein Police Station during 1987.
3. Chakie Joseph Mathebe is GRANTED amnesty in respect of:
a) the attempted murder of Elias Mmusi (also known as Elvis Mishi) at Saniesloot during 1987;
b) the murder of Johannes Petrus Fourie and Mark Fourie at or near Moteti on or about 11 September 1987;
c) the attack upon the Dennilton police station and the attempted murder of Freddy Sepogwane and Jerry Motloung during 1987;
d) the placing of a limpet mine at the Moutse Magistrates' Court, Sempururu, during 1987;
e) the placing of an explosive device at the Kwaggafontein Police Station during 1987.
4. Charles Doctor Mathebe is GRANTED amnesty in respect of the attempted murder of Elias Mmusi (also known as Elvis Mishi) at or near Saniesloot during 1987.
We are of the opinion that Mrs Anna Johanna Willers (previously Fourie), Mrs Jacci Cathy Peter (nee Fourie), Mr Paul Hannes Fourie, Mr Freddy Spogwane and Mr Jerry Motloung are victims and this matter is referred to the Committee on Reparations and Rehabilitation for its consideration in terms of the provisions of the Act.
SIGNED at CAPE TOWN this day of 2000
_________________________JUDGE S MILLER
_________________________ADV N SANDI
_________________________MR W MALAN
