Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The Amnesty Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will hold hearings at two separate venues in the Durban area next week.
One hearing will be at the Durban Christian Centre, Corner Warwick and Berea Road in Durban. The other will be at the Magistrate's Court in Pinetown. Both hearings will be over five days, from Monday to Friday.
A total of 24 applicants will be applying for amnesty for a variety of incidents, ranging from bomb blasts, to killings and attempted assassination. Among the applicants is Boy Vusumuzi Gwamanda who has applied for amnesty for his alleged role in a failed attempt to assassinate current Mpumalanga premier, Mr. Mathew Phosa.
An incident that shook central Durban in November 1993 will be relived at the Pinetown hearing on Wednesday morning. Three people have applied for amnesty for an incident in which a bomb prematurely exploded inside a DTMB bus in Gardiner Street, during the early-morning rush hour.
Xolani Cuba, Mfundo Peter Seyisi and Ndoda Mgengo have applied for amnesty for this incident, in which scores of people were injured, including one of the applicants who was carrying the bomb at the time.
A high-ranking Cosatu official in Empangeni, Mr. Bheki Ntuli, has applied for amnesty for an incident in August 1992, in which he threw a hand grenade at people he says were attacking his home. Three people were injured on the day. Mr. Ntuli will appear before a panel of three judges at the Durban Christian Centre.
Mduduzi Cyril Ngema a PAC member who has applied for the murder of a fellow PAC supporter, Mr. Christopher Nhlanhla Myeza whom Ngema claims was suspected to be an informer. Mr. Myeza was abducted from his home, taken to a sugar can plantation in Verulam, outside Durban, where he was interrogated, and severely tortured before being shot dead.
For more information and general inquiries please contact MDU LEMBEDE on 082 458 8464