Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
May 12, 1998
The Amnesty Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is appealing to victims of AWB 1994 pre-election bombings to contact its offices if they wish to attend an amnesty hearing arising out of the bombings, scheduled for June 15 to 26.
The pre-election bombing spree by amnesty applicants claiming to have acted on behalf of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) left 21 people dead and 46 injured in blasts in Johannesburg, the West Rand and East Rand between April 24 and April 27, 1994.
In terms of Section 19 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, any victim or person with an interest in an amnesty hearing has the right to attend the hearing, to be legally represented and to have evidence led.
The TRC has secured lists of victims from court records and is attempting to trace those for whom it has addresses. However, the court records do not provide addresses for many victims.
The amnesty applications cover attacks beginning with the placing of a car bomb outside ANC offices at Bree Street at 9.50 am on Sunday April 24, 1994. Seven people were killed and 13 injured.
On April 25, a bomb was placed in a trailer and transported to Germiston, where it was detonated in Odendaal Street at about 8.45 am. Ten people were killed and eight injured.
The amnesty applications also cover pipe bombings on the West Rand and Pretoria. On April 25, at 11.45 am, a pipe bomb detonated at a taxi rank on the Westonaria-Carltonville road, injuring five people. Earlier, at about 7.45 am, a pipe bomb had gone off at a taxi rank on the corner of Third and Park Streets in Randfontein, injuring six people. At 8.30 pm on the same day, a pipe bomb attack at a restaurant on the corner of Bloed Street and 7th Avenue in Pretoria killed four and injured four.
The final attack involved a car bomb at Jan Smuts Airport on April 27, 1994. Ten people were injured.
The act governing the TRC allows victims to attend and make statements on amnesty applications. Those who wish to make statements can contact Tania Hosking at (021) 24- 5161, ext. 2283. The evidence leader for the hearing is Ms Ramula Patel.
Media inquiries: For more information, please call Mbulelo Sompetha, at 082-452-7870.