Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
12 March 1998
The amnesty applications of 13 ANC members and supporters relating to attacks on Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters in the early 1990s will be heard in Ermelo between 23 and 31 March.
However, the Amnesty Committee is still trying to trace three of the victims named by the applicants. They are: Theunis de Bruyn, Christopher Masina and Remicard Myeni. They should contact Pumzo Tofile at 021- 24-5161 urgently if they wish to attend the hearings or need legal representation.
Most of the victims were members of either the IFP or of a group known as the "Black Cats" who were allegedly involved in an armed conflict with the ANC in the Mpumalanga town between 1990 and 1992. Eight of the 14 victims died in related incidents of shooting and killing, while others were injured. Some of the victims were security guards killed in armed robberies.
The applicants, some of whom claim to have been trained as Umkontho weSizwe operatives, seek amnesty for various acts ranging from murder to armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms.
The conflict in Ermelo between the liberation structures and the "Black Cats" was so severe that it became a subject of investigation under the Goldstone Commission. The Commission probed allegations that the "Black Cats" were infiltrated by IFP hitsquads trained in the Caprivi as well as by the former security forces.
The names of the applicants are: Mzwandile Hollingwood Gushu, Silas Sipho Nkonyane, Nicholas Zwane, Fanyana John Mndebele, Petros Lucky Mbokane, Paulos Pistol Nkonyane; Livingstone Lukhele, Bongani Wilberforce Khaba, Pelele Lawrence Shongwe, Jabu Aaron Mkhwanazi, David Elvis Majola, Mandlenkosi Enock Mnisi and Jacob Israel Mabena.
The hearing starts on Monday 23 March, at 09h00 am at the Ermelo City Hall in Church Street.
Media can call Christelle at 082- 458- 8461 for more information.