144 people were convicted under South African security laws in 95 trials to a total of 898 years' imprisonment during the eleven month period between 1 January and 30 November, 1977, according to figures issued by the South African Institute of Race Relations.
In the Springs Six trial, the judge stated that he had come close to imposing the death penalty on one of the accused. This raises the very real possibility of the death penalty being imposed on some or all of the Pretoria 12, and on the two young men accused of the Goch Street shootings. Both these trials are due to re-commence in early 1978.
The two men in the Goch Street trial are particularly at risk — they are accused of murder as well as "terrorism", and are charged with killing two whites. In Zimbabwe the death penalty was first used against guerillas convicted of both murder and carrying arms of war, but as the war developed, it has become common for people to be sentenced to death merely for allegedly recruiting for military training. If the death penalty is imposed in the Goch Street trial, it seems likely that it will open the way for ever-increasing use of the death penalty against political opponents in South Africa.
SPRINGS SIX Six members of the African National Congress were sentenced to prison terms of up to 30 years after conviction of charges under the Terrorism Act in a Springs Special Court on 29 November.
Mawhidi John PHALA, 50, a messenger of Klipspruit, Soweto received a 30 year sentence for the part he was alleged to have played in the placing of a bomb on a railway bridge on the Johannesburg-Vereeniging railway line. Of the five other men, John THABO, 37, was jailed for 30 years, Solomon MUSI, 25, for five years, Philip KHOZA, 55, for 15 years and Letsie Ben MASHININI, 34, and Befana Vincent NKOSI, 20, were each jailed for 12 years.
The trial lasted four months. Evidence was led of bomb training schools at Khoza's home and at a Nancefield hostel room, and of the discovery of a cache of ammunition, Russian plastic explosives and a Russian automatic rifle in houses in Soweto. The men were charged with taking part in "terrorist activities" between 1 June, 1976 and 31 January, 1977.
The judge said that had Phala played a more active part in the attempted derailment of a train, the death penalty might well have been imposed. Phala was found to have driven three men to the railway line, where a bomb was placed. It was later discovered by a Railways employee, and removed by him. Two of those with Phala at this incident were reported to be the men who escaped from detention in John Vorster Square, Johannesburg in April 1977. Pascall Moloi (25) escaped on 7 April and Patrick Mabinda escaped three days later. It was later reported that the men had left the country. Mabinda was described in the trial as a "trained terrorist" who had infiltrated back into South Africa. The court was also told of five explosions in Khoza's Soweto home which partly demolished his house and killed one person during what was alleged to be a bomb training session.
MASUKU AND TWO OTHERS Three men were sentenced to a total of 47 years imprisonment under the Terrorism Act in the Pretoria Supreme Court on 22 November. Thomas MASUKU (26), was sentenced to 20 years, Temba NKOSI (19), was sentenced to 16 years and Richard GAUKE (25) to 11 years.
Evidence was led that Masuku and Nkosi had left South Africa and had received military training in Angola and Mozambique. In June 1977 they re-entered South Africa and were arrested with a Scorpion machine pistol, hand grenades and explosives in their possession. Gauke was found guilty of helping Blacks undergo military training by giving them instructions on how to cross the Mozambique border.
ZIMU AND THREE OTHERS The case originally dubbed "the fifteen-minute trial", the first Terrorism Act trial to be held in terms of the new Criminal Procedure Act, finally ended after a complex series of adjournments on 2 November, in the Supreme Court, Pietermaritzburg, with three of the accused receiving sentences of 13 years' imprisonment each. The judge refused applications for leave to appeal against conviction and sentence.
Isaac Sithemlaiso ZIMU, Veli Sandile MTHEMBA, 22 and Thema KHUMALO, 18, were sentenced for attempting to leave the country for military training and for inciting others to do so. The fourth defendant, Walter Buhlebyea MTSHALI, 29, whose trial had been separated from the others when he was sent for psychiatric observation, was finally declared unfit to stand trial because of mental illness on 14 November. The judge ordered that he be held in prison pending certification by the State President.
The four accused were originally found guilty on 2 August, after a fifteen-minute hearing conducted under the new Criminal Procedure Act on the previous day. The four had pleaded guilty. However, they made application on 3 August, before pleading in mitigation, to change their pleas and also their defence counsel. This led to a series of adjournments. They were allowed new defence counsel, but the judge finally rejected their application for a change of plea.
One of the extraordinary aspects of the case was the appearance as a state witness of the men's original pro deo defence counsel, W.O. Menge, who the men alleged had initially persuaded them to plead guilty. Later Menge gave state's evidence that the men had told him they wanted to go for military training. He had advised them to plead guilty, but denied an allegation by Veli Mthembu that he had said they should do this because the judge would become "fed up" if they continued denying the charges.
When the new defence council first heard that Menge might give evidence, he unsuccessfully requested the judge to recuse himself from the trial, because of communication he had had with Menge.
Defence counsel also accused the court translator, H.J. Havemann, of not having an educated knowledge of Zulu and of being unable to give the accused a clear understanding of the charges they were facing.
Two Zulu linguists gave evidence that the translator had made mistakes in translating the charges into Zulu.
One of those who gave evidence about Walter Mtshali's health was part-time district surgeon, Dr. Thomas Hetherington. He recommended that he should be seen by a psychiatrist. He said Mtshali had a few superficial bruises on him, but denied any knowledge of Mtshali having been assaulted.
JOSEPH MATI Joseph MATI, 44, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment after conviction on a charge of being a member or office-bearer of the ANC and for taking part in ANC activities, in the East London Regional Court on 9 November.
Mati, of Zone Nine, Mdantsane, had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was found not guilty of the third charge of allowing his premises to be used for ANC activities.
The magistrate said that Mati was an important person in the underground organisation: "you were the kingpin who played a key role here in the East Cape".
Evidence was led that Mati had received ANC literature from persons in Swaziland, that he had visited Swaziland on four occasions and that he had received R17,000 from ANC members in Swaziland. The magistrate commented, "there is further evidence he brought pamphlets calling for a strike and issued by the ANC into the Republic, and that these were distributed on a country-wide basis."
Joseph Mati served 10 years on Robben Island after being convicted for sabotage in February, 1964. He served two years under a banning order after his release.
MBUBE MDINGI A Soweto taxi owner, Mbube MDINGI (38), was jailed for five years on 25 November in the Rand Supreme Court after conviction under the Terrorism Act.
He was alleged to have knowingly helped three men leave the country for military training, by driving them to the Swaziland border in November, 1976. One of the three men, Lucas Radise, gave evidence for the State. Radise said that in Swaziland he and the other two men met a member of the ANC. Radise said he refused to undergo military training and returned alone to the Republic. He also alleged that the accused told them that he recruited people for military training.
TSELE & XULU Two men, Bongani Emmanuel TSELE (23) and Themba Samuel XULU (25), were sentenced to five years imprisonment each for recruiting eight youths for military training outside South Africa in the Durban Regional Court on 15 December.
Both men had pleaded not guilty to the charge under the Terrorism Act.
SABOTAGE TRIAL Patrick NKOPODI (18), a former student at Thabo Nchu's Moroka High School, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for sabotage in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on 18 November.
He pleaded guilty to the charge of setting fire to the staff room at the school on 15 September. Evidence was led that the accused and two other students wrote letters to the principal and vice-principal of the school threatening that considerable damage would be caused if the school were not closed.
JAIRUS KGOKONG Jairus KGOKONG, who gave evidence in the trial of Molokeng and other NAYO members was sentenced to two years' imprisonment on 7 December after being convicted of obstructing the course of justice by giving contradictory evidence in court. Kgokong was the chief witness in the Molokeng case and was arrested after he told the court that his original statement had been dictated by the police. In his own trial he was also convicted of stealing a document from the security police for which he was fined R10 or 10 days.
ABDUL SAYED FREED The publisher of 'Muslim News', Abdul SAYED (27), was found not guilty of charges under the Terrorism Act in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on 28 November, after two witnesses refused to testify against him.
The charges related to the distribution of pamphlets on 13 June and 16 August. After the witnesses Danielle Landingwe and Zalilie Ndangwa had refused to give evidence the prosecutor announced that the Attorney General had given him the permission to "cease prosecution". The magistrate then found the accused not guilty.
NKABINDE & SIMELANE Andrew Amos NKABINDE (19) and Simon Zenzele SIMELANE (21) both former pupils from Mamelodi, Pretoria, appearing under Terrorism Act charges of attempting to leave the country for military training, are believed to have been acquitted on 3 October.
RE-TRIAL FOR PRETORIA 12 The twelve accused in the ANC Terrorism Act trial in Pretoria were remanded on 7 November at the Old Synagogue Court House for a complete re-trial, commencing on 16 January.
The remand followed the death, shortly before the trial was due to re-open on 7 November, of the presiding judge, Justice Davidson.
The accused – 11 men and 1 woman – are to remain in custody, which means they will have been held for over a year in custody when the trial begins. Since the beginning of the trial on 21 June, a total of 2,690 pages of evidence have been given. The State had closed its case and the defence case was due to open on 7 November.
The 12 pleaded not guilty in the original trial – widely described as the most important political trial in South Africa since Rivonia – to charges of alleged subversion and revolutionary activity over a 15 year period between 1962 and 1977.
Those on trial are: Mosima SEXWALE (24), Naledi TSIKI (21), Lele MOTAUNG (23), Simon MOHLANYENG (23), Elias MASINGA (24), Martin RAMOKGADI (67), Joe GQABI (48), Petrus NCHABALENG (50), Nelson DIALE (41), Paulina MOHALE (26), Michael NGUBENI (42), Jacob SEATHLHOLO (47).
GOCH STREET The two men accused of the Goch Street shootings in Johannesburg on 13 June 1977, re-appeared at Kempton Park Circuit Court on 7 November, charged with murder and with offences under the Terrorism Act. They had earlier appeared at Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on 23 September.
Mondy Johannes MOTLOUNG (20), and Solomon MAHLANGU (21), are alleged to be members of the ANC who left South Africa for military training in various African countries, and are alleged to have been in unlawful possession of explosives and arms at several centres in the Transvaal.
At the hearing on 7 November, the judge ordered that Motloung be sent for mental observation. A psychiatrist told the court that Motloung had suffered head injuries and there was strong evidence that he had brain damage. He apparently received these injuries from assaults on him at the time of the shooting incident. A district surgeon's report stated that he had sustained fractures of the jaw and skull. The judge appointed three psychiatrists to determine whether Motloung had a mental defect and if he was capable of conducting his own defence.
The two accused were apparently surprised in the street while carrying concealed arms and they then ran into a warehouse with guns and hand grenades. Two white men were killed and two injured in the warehouse. On 29 November the case was postponed to 13 February. The State Prosecutor told the judge that Mondy Motloung was still under psychiatric observation.
MALEPANE & MOEPHUDI Samuel MALEPANE (21) and John MOEPHUDI (20) both of Soweto appeared on 7 November in the Supreme Court, Krugersdorp, charged with contravening the Terrorism Act, alternatively the Sabotage Act. Both men pleaded not guilty.
They are alleged to have formed an organisation called the South African Freedom Organisation and to have taken part in 'terrorist activities' between June and December, 1976. The aims of the organisation were to overthrow the Government by violent means, to destroy and damage the police and business centres, to send people out the country for military training, it is alleged. The accused are said to have trained certain persons in the use of bombs, to have 'persuaded and acted in collusion' with certain persons to bomb or to damage the Mzimhlope hostel in Soweto, from which Zulu migrant workers last year launched an attack on other Soweto citizens during the uprisings.
When the trial opened on 14 November, the judge ruled that State witnesses could not be named. Witnesses gave evidence alleging that the accused intended to plant bombs in the Carlton Centre, in an explosives factory, and in a branch of the O.K. Bazaars. On 17 November a witness told the court that he was taken to John Vorster Square police station and was beaten with belts until he made a written statement. The following day two witnesses told the judge that they had been beaten up by the police in connection with statements. The judge refused to grant one of the witnesses indemnity from prosecution after he told the court his allegations in the statement were lies. A later witness spoke of preparations made to bomb Mzimhlope hostel, after Malepane had said "the Zulus were killing the Black people". The witness said he had been assaulted by the police and that he had decided to tell the truth to stop being assaulted.
PULE, MHLEKWA & GXEKWA The trial of three men, alleged to be members of the Pan-Africanist Congress, continued in the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court in late November, after initially being held in the Maritzburg Regional Magistrate's Court and later at a Special Supreme Court at Camperdown.
Stanley Thabo PULE (33), Isaac Nontsenwana MHLEKWA (49) and Nogaga Morgan GXEKWA (47), are charged under the Terrorism Act with undergoing military training outside South Africa, and returning with intent to endanger law and order in South Africa. Pule and Gxekwa are further charged with having given military training to one or more persons at Ingwawuma (on the Swaziland/Zululand border) between July 1975 and May 1976.
Defence counsel had initially challenged the court's right to try the men contending that they had been apprehended outside the Republic's borders. The defence was later reported to have withdrawn its contention.
On 28 November a State witness told the court how he and others were given lessons in shooting with air guns by Stanley Pule. The judge refused to grant an application for another State witness to give his evidence in camera. He did however make an informal request to members of the Press to withhold his name. The prosecutor said the witness feared reprisals. He mentioned the death of Security Police Sergeant Leonard Nkosi, gunned down in his home with an automatic weapon in KwaMashu township near Durban recently. Sgt. Nkosi had given evidence in the ANC trial of Harry Gwala and nine others in Pietermaritzburg.
The witness, a former PAC member, told the court that he had undergone military training abroad with the three accused. On 12 December, it was reported that the trial was to be adjourned for several weeks as a vital witness could not be traced.
QUMBELLA & HUNA Two alleged ANC members, Moutain QUMBELLA (47) and Mathews Lumko HUNA (26), both of Guguletu township near Cape Town, appeared on 15 November at a sitting of the Malmesbury Regional Court on charges under the Terrorism Act and Internal Security Act. Both pleaded not guilty to aiding and encouraging others in Guguletu between 1 August, 1976 and 26 May, 1977 to undergo military training in ANC camps outside South Africa.
Evidence was given by a 17-year-old Guguletu pupil that he had bought train tickets under false names for nine of his friends who intended leaving for military training camps supervised by the ANC. The youth said he had done this after money had been given him by Moutain Qumbella. Qumbella had told him and a friend that they could choose between joining Umkhonto we Sizwe, the army of the ANC, or furthering their studies, he said.
