Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
22 February, 2000
AMNESTY DECISION
The Amnesty Committee of Truth and Reconciliation Commission has granted amnesty to four Umkhonto we Sizwe cadres for their involvement in the killing of a student activict Sicelo Dlomo on January 24, 1988.
Granted amnesty are John Dube, Sipho Tshabalala, Clive Makhubu and Precious Zungu all members of an underground MK unit. The applicants during a hearing in February last year claimed that they suspected that Dlomo was a police informer who spied on them and relayed information to the police.
The four maintained that the decision to kill Dlomo was necessary to protect under ground activists and its structures. One of the applicants who was also a commander of the unit, Dube, shot and killed the deceased said he had no orders from his superiors but acted on his own initiative.
Dlomo was an eighteen year old youth who was involved in the activities of the Soweto Student Congress and other organisations attracted the attention of members of the security police. On more that one occasions he was detained and maltreated by the security police.
The Committee found that there was no evidence that Dlomo was an informer and worked for the security police. There was also no evidence that the applicants acted for personal gain or out of malice.
On the information available to the applicants which they believed to be reliable the Committee accepted that the applicants came to the decision honestly and accordingly believed they had to take an action to protect themselves, KM and ANC from the police actions.
The Committee was of the view that the offence committed was associated with a political objective. The applicants also gave a full disclosure of the relevant facts.
The committee recommended that Dlomo's next of kin be declared victims and be referred to the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee for consideration. Also granted amnesty are Nkomana Mathabathe, George Mogapi, Sandile Ndlungwane, Linda Mntabo and Siza Ndlovu for murder, attempted murders and armed robbery of the Fidelity Guards on November 5, 1988 at Dube.
The Committee found that the applicants have made full disclosure and all offences committed by them were associated with a political objective committed in the course of the conflict of the past. All five applicants were members of the MK unit at the time they committed these offences.
Three members of the security branch were also granted amnesty for the kidnapping and abduction of Moses Morudi from Potchefstroom, Smuths Mathebula, Chenny More and Kokela Matjeni claimed to have been carrying out an order from their commander to look for Morudi at Ikageng township in Potchefstroom.
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