Issued by: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
June 12 2001
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Amnesty Committee today granted a former commissioner of police, Johannes Van Der Merwe amnesty for facilitating the escape of detainees from lawful custody. Van Der Merwe was a colonel at the time stationed in Bloemfontein when he assisted two members of the Bosutoland Congress Party to escape from lawful custody in 1987.
Van der Merwe was refused amnesty for providing employment to two members of the Transkeian police. At the time he was deputy commissioner of police stationed in Pretoria and was asked to assist the security police with employment of two members of Transkeian police who fled to South Africa after escaping from custody in the Transkei.
The two members of the Transkei police caused the death of an ANC member Sithembele Zokwe. The committee found that Van Der Merwe's actions in assisting two Transkeian police officers were in no way unlawful and the facts does not disclose any offence and application was refused.
The committee pointed out that in facilitating the escape of detainees from lawful custody Van Der Merwe met the requirements of the act. Meanwhile a former South African security police senior officer Willem Frederik Schoon was granted amnesty for his role in the killings of two Pan Africanist Congress cadres in 1982.
The two PAC operatives infiltrated into the country and were arrested by the security police in terms of the applicable security legislation. At a subsequent stage, it became apparent to the security police that the Minister of Law and Order was declining to further extend the period of detention.
At the time Schoon was in command of the security police unit branch referred to as section C. He was part of the discussion about the fate of the two operatives who were finally eliminated. Schoon was also granted amnesty for defeating the ends of justice. He was also granted amnesty for defeating ends of justice for the abduction of Joe Pillay in Swaziland and his unlawful detention in March 1981.
The committee found that Schoon met the requirements of the acts in that he made full disclosure and his political actions had a political motive. Nicolaas Vermeulen a Vlakplaas operative was granted amnesty for supplying SAM-7 to the Ciskei during the period of 1990 and 1991.
The applicant also created a arms cache for the Northern Transvaal security police and established an unlawful arms cache at his home in Pretoria in 1990.
Vermeulen was refused amnesty for unlawful training of members of Inkatha Freedom Party and Ciskei Defence Force, the supply of arms to Phillip Powell, the explosion of landmines on an unknown date and location and theft of an unidentified BMW motor vehicle in Johannesburg.
An Inkatha Freedom Party leader Victor Ndlovu was granted amnesty for giving training to certain persons in the use of throwing and detonating handgrenades. Ndlovu was refused amnesty for the distribution of arms together with Themba Khoza between 1990 and 1991.
The committee also granted amnesty to Phillipus Loots for the destruction of the vehicle of Mr Louis Khumalo at Mamelodi and a petrol bomb attack on a Lutheran Church. Loots was refused amnesty for planned action against a well known Pretoria lawyer Dikgang Moseneke.
Phila Ngqumba 021 - 4238741 / 4245161