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The Congress of the People has noted with concern the developments around the issue of the purported pardons that the President is considering granting to some current prisoners. While the granting of pardons is in itself not an unusual occurrence, a number of issues of public interest arise in relation to the current alleged pardon applications that are said to be being considered by the President. COPE will monitor this situation very carefully and is ready to respond should decisions that are clearly not in the public interest be taken.

In the first instance, the regulations governing the granting of pardons is clearly inadequate and should be revised to ensure that the President is not given complete carte blanche when it comes to exercising this prerogative. There have to be agreed processes and guidelines in place to ensure that when a pardon is granted, a number of issues are taken in to consideration, including the public interest, the rights of those who have been affected by the actions of the prisoner in question and the possibility of a conflict of interest in terms of the President determining the outcome of such an application.

In the second instance, the individuals over whom there has been the most speculation have all been involved in different types of offences. De Kok was a contract assassin for the apartheid regime. Derby-Lewis acted on behalf of political conspirators of which he was a leader, to kill a political leader, essentially an act of terrorism. Both of these convicted criminals had the opportunity to make full disclosure to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on their crimes. De Kok did not disclose all and Derby-lewis has disclosed nothing. They should therefore serve out their sentences.

Shabir Shaik on the other hand is a fraudster and there is no political reason or motivation for what he did. Comparisons between Allan Boesak and Shaik are therefore inappropriate, as Boesak was acting on political instructions when he made whatever mistakes he had. There is therefore no reason to consider a pardon for Shaik, unless all criminals are given the same opportunity of a pardon.

Should any application for a pardon be received by the President, this should be made known to the public. Currently, the President himself is either not sure whether an application for a pardon has been received by his associate, friend and funder, Shabir Shaik, or he is misleading the public. His claim on television in this regard, where he denied that a pardon had been requested, speaks volumes. Similarly, the fact that the President has visited Clive Derby-Lewis and Eugene de Kock requires a full and proper explanation. These offenders have committed crimes that included the use of calculated and even indiscriminate violence, aimed not only at former combatants in the liberation struggle, but civilians and family of these cadres. The public must surely be given an answer as to why the President has prioritised such individuals, rather than the many young offenders, women in prison who have children and those who are genuinely ill and on the brink of death.

The continued arbitrary and even capricious actions of the current government are of grave concern. These individuals, Clive Derby-Lewis, Eugene de Kock and Shabir Shaik have all been found guilty in a court of law after a fair trial. This happens to countless prisoners every year. The only difference seems to be that the class or political position of such prisoners is such that it does not allow them privileged access to the President or they do not have information at their disposal that could compromise the President and the current government. For that reason they are consigned to prison for their full term. This new category of prisoner, one that has access to information that the President is either interested in or has an interest in, seems to be one that places them in a privileged position. The Constitution states that all South Africans are equal before the law. This includes prisoners and Presidents. COPE will make sure that this is the case in practice.