A further 9 people have been sentenced to death since the last edition of FOCUS went to press, bringing the total number of death sentences imposed on political grounds since the publication of the Anglo-American settlement proposals at the beginning of September 1977, to 14. Of these, 3 are known to have been officials of the African National Council of Zimbabwe (the internal political organisation of ZAPU), 7 were convicted of recruiting for guerilla training, and 7 appear to have been involved in the armed struggle as members of guerilla groups.
A total of 119 death sentences are known to have been imposed on political grounds since early 1975. In 6 cases appellants are known to have been successful in having their sentences commuted to prison terms. This leaves a total of 113 people likely to have been hanged since the regime stopped announcing executions in April 1975.
As the liberation struggle has developed, an increasing number of people who have not themselves taken up arms have been sentenced to death under the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act. 22 people, for example, are known to have been sentenced to death under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Act - recruiting or encouraging others to attend a course or undergo guerilla training. (This has carried a death penalty since 1973, made mandatory in November 1974 except in "special circumstances") All 22 were sentenced after April 1975 - the first was in August of that year - and at least ten of them are known to have officials of nationalist organisations. By contrast, all of those executed between 1968 (the year of the regime's first illegal hangings) and April 1975 had been convicted under Sections 37, 38 and 50 (possessing arms of war, arson and bomb attacks, and acts of terrorism and sabotage) or of politically motivated murder.
The first Rhodesian hangings in 1968 prompted strong international protests which, besides preparing the ground for the imposition of mandatory economic sanctions against the regime later that year, seem to have had some impression on the regime - no more executions took place for five years. Since May 1973, however, when hangings began again, the international and particularly the British government reaction has been more muted. There is a danger that history may repeat itself under the Vorster government. Death sentences imposed by South African courts at this stage of developing guerilla warfare can only set a precedent for the future where the death penalty could be imposed on an ever-widening scale. The two current trials in South Africa where the death penalty seems a distinct possibility are the Goch Street shooting trial and the trial of the Pretoria 12.
14 October: Special Court, Bindura. ISAAC GIDEON MUSANHI (23) and JOSEPH KABVURA (estimated age 21) were sentenced to death on conviction of the murder of Shamva farmers Billy Dunn and Charles Ogilvy, and of possessing arms of war. Both pleaded guilty to all charges, although pleas of not guilty were entered for them by the court on the murder charges. The two men, who each gave various code names, were allegedly part of a gang of five guerillas who attacked the Ogilvy farm, Burnleigh, in September 1977. They were captured by security forces a week later. Musanhi, who had been injured in the contact, appeared in court on a stretcher, his left leg amputated above the knee and a portion of his right leg in plaster. Kabvura was also wounded.
19 October: Special Court, Bulawayo JOEL KHUMALO (23) and NDODA NDHLOVU (20) were sentenced to death on conviction of possessing arms of war and war materials, and of the murder of Mrs. Evelyn Marion Rushmore (70) of Spring Grange Farm on the Bulawayo-Wankie road. The two men admitted the first charge but pleaded not guilty to Mrs. Rushmore's murder. According to a statement of agreed facts, Khumalo and Ndhlovu had crossed into Botswana on separate occasions during 1976 and later underwent training in Zambia. They were ultimately attached to a group of 40 guerillas commissioned to carry out urban guerilla warfare inside Rhodesia. The group split up after crossing the Zambezi into the Gwaai Mine area in August, and at the beginning of September, Ndhlovu, Khumalo and four others arrived at Mrs. Rushmore's farm. They made contact with farm employees and were harboured and actively assisted by them before the attack on Mrs. Rushmore. The two accused were arrested in Nguboyenja Township three weeks later.
31 October: High Court, Salisbury VALENTINE KUPFUYAWANZA (22) was sentenced to death on conviction of murder, committing an act of terrorism and possessing arms of war. The court heard that he was a member of a guerilla group that had attacked a security forces base camp on Makore farm near Zimunya TTL in August 1976. Four members of the security forces had been killed. The group had also been responsible for laying a landmine which damaged a bus on detonation. Kupfuyawanza, who stated in evidence that in 1973 he had applied to Epworth Theological College for training as a priest, denied having been in the country when the base camp was attacked. He stated that following training in Mozambique he had crossed back into Rhodesia in October 1976, having been instructed to make contact with guerilla groups and tell them to stop fighting pending the outcome of the Geneva constitutional talks. He had been captured in December 1976 and appeared in court with an amputated leg.
2 December: High Court, Salisbury BEVEN KONDO (20), from Umtali, was sentenced to death on charges arising out of the bomb blast in Woolworths department store in Salisbury city centre on 6 August 1977. The court heard that he was a member of a guerilla group whose leader had commissioned others to carry out the bombing. The explosion, the worst incident of urban guerilla warfare in Rhodesia to date, killed 11 people and injured 76 others. It prompted a considerable tightening up of civil defence and police security arrangements in the Salisbury area. A 'Beat the Bomber' publicity campaign was initiated by the regime and a substantial reward offered for information leading to an arrest. On 27 October the Salisbury police announced that they had arrested a man in connection with the incident. They also revealed that an unexploded time-bomb, known to have been planted on 6 August, had been found at Salisbury railway station on 7 October.
On 8 November Beven Kondo appeared at a preparatory examination before Harari Magistrates Court, charged with 11 counts of murder resulting from the bomb blast, possessing arms of war at the time of his capture by the police and committing an act of terrorism by laying a landmine in the Mtoko area. On 10 November the case was directly indicted to the High Court.
In fact, Kondo himself appears to have had no direct involvement in the Woolworths bombing. On 1 December, the Salisbury High Court heard that on 6 August the guerilla group of which he was a member had been informed by their leader that two teachers from Mtoko had been sent on a secret mission to blow up Salisbury railway station and Meikles hotel. The guerillas heard on the radio news that evening that it was in fact the Woolworths store that had been blown up. Kondo admitted that on 7 August, when the two teachers returned he and his group had escorted them to the Mozambique border. In an agreed statement of facts, he further admitted to standing sentry duty while members of his group planted a landmine near Nyamazoe Clinic. The 11 charges of murder appear to have been dropped and Kondo was duly found guilty of possessing arms of war and committing an act of terrorism.
In addition, KOKINCUBE (alias JABULANI NDIWENI) was sentenced to death by a Special Court in Bulawayo on or before 26 October 1977 on conviction of recruiting 33 youths for guerilla training, and possessing arms of war. He had been wounded and captured while escorting the youths to the Botswana border.
JOACHIM TAKARUVA was sentenced to death by a Special Court in Karoi at the end of October 1977 on recruiting charges.
FRIDAY KHUTAY! SIBANDA and TEMBA NGWENYA were sentenced to death on 28 November 1977 on conviction of recruiting three people for guerilla training.
Further information has been received on the case of TARU NGOBENI (estimated age 20), sentenced to death in the Salisbury High Court on 12 October. Ngobeni, who was charged with possessing a sub-machinegun, three rifles, grenades, mortar bombs and ammunition, left Rhodesia in 1974 to seek medical training in Botswana. He subsequently underwent guerilla training in Tanzania and the Soviet Union, and in April 1977 crossed the border from Mozambique into Rhodesia with 53 other guerillas. The court heard that Ngobeni had been involved in a "very serious attack" on the Ruda police camp in the Honde Valley, on 11 April, following which he was captured by a patrol of the Rhodesian African Rifles.
MAHLATINI SAMBULO NDHLOVU, whose unsuccessful appeal against the death sentence was reported in FOCUS 13, was executed on or about 6 December after the regime's President had rejected a petition for clemency.
An appeal against the death sentence by SIMON MPALA, an executive member of the African National Council of Zimbabwe, was dismissed on 18 November. Mpala had been sentenced to death by a Special Court in Bulawayo on conviction of recruiting four people, harbouring a guerilla and failing to report the presence of guerillas.
SPECIAL COURTS No trials before Special Courts have been reported in the Rhodesian press other than those resulting in the death sentence.
OTHER CONVICTIONS 5 October: High Court, Salisbury RICHARD MAKOTA, whose age was estimated by the court at "possibly not more than 19", was sentenced to life imprisonment on conviction of possessing arms of war. Makota, who pleaded guilty, was alleged to have been associated with a group of guerillas responsible for the murder of two "sell-outs", the abduction and subsequent killing of an African member of the Selous Scouts while the latter was on leave, and the burning and looting of a store. Makota had been captured in March 1977, after a fight between guerillas and security forces in the Weya TTL. He had lost an eye and been wounded in the foot, while some 14 guerillas had been killed. Following his capture, Makota alleged that he had been assaulted by an African police detail prior to signing a statement. He showed the court marks on his back – the result of being beaten with a plank.
14 October: Salisbury Regional Court MISHECK CHIBANDA, a kraal head in the Mtoko district, was sentenced to five years imprisonment (three suspended) on conviction of failing to report guerillas. LOIS TSIMBA and MILLION MUSODZA, also of Gwenambira Kraal, were each sentenced to five years imprisonment (two suspended) for the same offence. The court was told that a group of guerillas had told the kraal residents to collect money for "the cause". A fund raising committee had been set up on Chibanda's direction, and Tsimba had been elected chairman and custodian of the fund. He was later deposed after being accused of being a "sell-out" and replaced by Musodza. All three accused told the court that they had been intimidated and would have been killed had they reported the guerillas to the security forces.
27 October: High Court, Salisbury An unnamed youth, estimated by the court to be aged 18, was sentenced to life imprisonment for possessing arms of war. In a warned and cautioned statement, the youth told the court that he had been abducted from the dormitories of the Jersey Tea Estate school in the Eastern Highlands in July 1975. He had been taken to Mozambique, together with 50 to 60 other pupils, by two Frelimo soldiers, and subsequently underwent guerilla training at Chibawo and Tembwe camps. On entering Rhodesia with a guerilla group in January 1977 he had been captured by security forces after a battle in the Zimbiti TTL near Inyanga.
1 November: Umtali Regional Court A Roman Catholic priest, Father WILLIAM MARTIN O'REGAN, was given a conditionally suspended sentence of three years imprisonment for failing to report the presence of guerillas over the period April to August 1977. Father O'Regan, the Superior at Regina Coeli Mission, Inyanga, pleaded guilty to the charge. The court was told that guerillas had visited the mission on numerous occasions and asked for money and medical supplies which were given to them by Father O'Regan. Giving evidence, Father O'Regan said that he did not want to be associated publicly with the guerillas. On the other hand, he felt that by giving information to the police he would also be endangering the lives of the sisters, priest and children at the mission, and that it was impossible for the police or security forces to give him any assurance.
According to a letter from a Zimbabwean exile published in the magazine New African, the dormitories of the Regina Coeli mission secondary school had come under mortar and small arms fire during the last night of the school term. One student was killed and many injured. On the morning the mission was found to be surrounded by members of the security forces. The staff were ordered to close the mission down within 24 hours and were detained pending their appearance in court on charges of feeding and giving medical assistance to guerillas.
APPEALS A group of around 20 teenage girls sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to seven years on conviction of attempting to go for guerilla training, had their sentences reduced by a High Court reviewing judge in September 1977. In the case of a 14-year-old girl sentenced to four years, the whole of the sentence was conditionally suspended for five years, while the remainder had their effective prison terms cut to between one and three years each. Mr. Justice Goldin, presiding, said that since the original sentences were confirmed, the Appellate Division of the High Court had set out guidelines and appropriate sentences for young girls convicted of this type of offence. In response to a recent statement by the Chief Justice that children under the age of 16 should not be held in the regular prisons, the Director of Prisons had, furthermore, made special provision for the detention of juvenile offenders. A section of Marandellas Prison had been converted to a special juvenile detention centre.
DIKINYA MATSA, from Rushinga in the Mount Darwin area, had his appeal against an eight year prison term dismissed in September 1977. He had been convicted by a regional court for failing to report a sick guerilla who had been hidden in his grain hut, to a security force patrol.
Two 16 year old youths sentenced by a Marandellas Magistrates Court to five years imprisonment, three of which were suspended, lost their appeals on 20 September. The youths, who were at school in the Marandellas area and had been intercepted on a train to Umtali, were convicted of attempting to go for guerilla training in Mozambique.
On 27 September eight teachers from Matoranjera School, 20 km from Sinoia in Zvimba TTL, had prison sentences imposed for failing to report guerillas, conditionally suspended on appeal. The teachers, ALEXIS PHINEAS MATAURWA (headmaster), JAMES JIRIRA TANYANYIWA, STANLEY MUSHORE, WEBSTER MATSIKIDZE, PYTHIAS NHARISWA, COSMAS KASINSANTE, SIPO MURAISI AND LANGTON MAKIWA, had been convicted by a Sinoia Magistrates Court and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 20 to 30 months, 18 months being suspended in each case. Matoranjera School had been visited by a group of 13 guerillas in March 1977, but according to the appeal judge, there was no evidence that the eight teachers were guerilla sympathisers.
Prison sentences imposed on MUGUMBI ONIAS (60) and MAJONI MUCHECHETERWA (60) for failing to report guerillas were reduced to 5 years (3 years suspended) by the Chief Justice in October. A sentence of 4 years (2½ suspended) passed on DAVISON MUSURUWA (22) for the same offence was reduced to 2 years, all suspended.
CUTHBERT MUTANDIRO (23) a store-keeper in the Sabi North TTL, had an eight year prison term (three years suspended) reduced on appeal to four years (two suspended). Mutandiro had been convicted of failing to report to the authorities after guerillas had visited and bought goods at his store.
JAMES FARUKAYI MUBVAPASI, sentenced by Chipinga Magistrates Court to 10 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to preparing to leave Rhodesia for guerilla training in Mozambique, had his appeal against the sentence dismissed on 8 November. He had allegedly sold all his property to a cook at a Chipinga tea estate prior to being arrested while walking towards the Mozambique border. Mubvapasi told the trial court that once in Mozambique, he had intended to ask the Frelimo authorities to take him to a guerilla training camp.
Three members of the African National Council of Zimbabwe (ANC (Z)) have been partially successful on appeal against sentences imposed for attempting to go for guerilla training. ABEL NGIRANDE (24) and TEMBA WIWI (22) had their eight year prison terms reduced to four years, while a six year sentence imposed on an unnamed 18-year-old youth was cut to four years. Five other ANC (Z) members, however, had their appeals dismissed. NORMAN KUBENDA (29), LUKAS SUGAR SANDU (22), IGNATUS CHIBONGORE (27) and PERKINS SANDU (22) had all been sentenced to four years imprisonment for attempting to go for guerilla training. The fifth man, FERDINAND ZINYOME (26) had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment for the same offence. According to a statement of agreed facts, all eight men, who were convicted by a Marandellas Magistrates Court, volunteered for guerilla training after being addressed, together with 16 others in the ANC (Z) offices in Highfield, by Painos Zehama. Zehama, the central province organising secretary of the ANC (Z) was executed in August 1977 on conviction of recruiting.
