Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
June 18, 1997
STATEMENT BY THE AMNESTY COMMITTEE OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION
The Office of the Attorney-General of kwaZulu-Natal has agreed to a request from the Amnesty Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the judge presiding at the trial of Dirk Coetzee, Almond Nofomela and David Tshikalange be asked to postpone the case to a date to be arranged.
Section 19 (7) of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, under which the Commission operates, enables the Amnesty Committee of the TRC to request a presiding officer at a trial to postpone proceedings pending the consideration and disposal of an application for amnesty.
The Amnesty Committee's request became necessary in order to enable the Committee to make its decision on the amnesty application brought by Coetzee, Nofomela and Tshikalange insofar as the application relates to the murder of Mr Griffiths Mxenge.
The Committee has completed hearing evidence in the amnesty application and has received heads of argument from counsel for the applicants. Counsel for the Mxenge family have asked for more time within which to submit their heads of argument, and we have agreed to give them an extension until the end of June.