Since the beginning of 1978, 19 people are known to have been convicted under security legislation in South Africa, and they have been sentenced to a total of 194 years imprisonment.
On 8 April the ANC trial of the eleven men and one woman in the Old Synagogue in Pretoria ended with six acquittals and six convictions. The six sentenced men received relatively light sentences compared to the 1977 ANC trials in Pietermaritzburg and Springs.
There had been a world-wide campaign to secure the release of the "Pretoria 12". At a meeting of the United Nations special committee against Apartheid on 4 April, over 87,000 signatures calling for their release was presented to the special committee's chairman Ambassador Leslie Harriman. The largest number came from Britain and totalled 27,000.
MAHLANGU TO HANG As was briefly reported in the last issue of FOCUS, Solomon MAHLANGU (21) of Mamelodi, Pretoria, was found guilty and sentenced to death in the Kempton Park Circuit Court on 1 March. He was found guilty on nine charges, including two of murder and three under the Terrorism Act, arising from a machine-pistol and grenade attack in Goch Street in central Johannesburg last year, when two civilians were killed.
The other man originally charged with Mahlangu, Mondy MOTLOUNG (20) had earlier been declared unfit to stand trial due to brain damage resulting from a head injury, apparently sustained in an assault on him at the time of his arrest.
In his judgement, Justice Theron accepted that it had been Mahlangu's companion, Motloung, who had actually done the shooting, and thrown the hand grenade in the garage after the two men had fled there after being confronted by a policeman in the street. However he said that Mahlangu was guilty of the murders through "common purpose" even though he had not fired any shots. Mahlangu gave a clenched fist salute and shouted "Amandla" ("Power") after sentence was passed.
Earlier in the trial, giving evidence in his defence, Mahlangu said that he was not present at the scene of the shooting, and had already run through John Orrs garage (where the shooting took place), had climbed a back wall into a bottling company premises and hidden among some crates. He said he then heard shots and an explosion. He said he only returned to the garage when he heard Mondy Motloung screaming.
After the death sentence was passed, the British Anti-Apartheid Movement announced that it would campaign internationally to save Mahlangu's life. From London, the African National Congress said that by its action, "the apartheid regime is challenging the decisions of the international community and the UN which has recognised the right of our people to take up arms against the racist regime."
The statement continued "... it is the Vorsters and Krugers and not the freedom fighters who have to be put on trial. On the eve of the launching of the international year against Apartheid — we say to the international community, this is the time to act and Solomon Mahlangu's life must be saved."
PRETORIA 12 TRIAL ENDS The marathon trial of the 12 alleged members of the African National Congress ended dramatically, on 7 April in the Supreme Court, Pretoria, with six of the accused being sentenced to between seven and 18 years imprisonment. Two days earlier the other six accused in the trial were acquitted.
The 11 men and one woman had been in detention for 16 months, and on trial (and re-trial) for nearly a year.
The sentences were: Mosima SEXWALE, 18 years; Naledi TSIKI, 14 years; Lele MOTAUNG, 12 years; Simon MOHLANYANENG, 10 years; Martin RAMOKGADI, 7 years; and Jacob SEATHLOLO, 14 years.
Joe GQABI, Elias MASINGA, Petrus NCHABALENG, Nelson DIALE, Michael NGUBENI and Paulina MOHALE were all acquitted.
The six men were convicted of conspiring to overthrow the government, Mosima Sexwale, the number one accused, was found guilty of throwing a grenade into a police land-rover and seriously injuring two policemen, and Naledi Tsiki was found guilty of sabotaging a railway line in the Northern Transvaal. The judge found Lele Motaung guilty of having been in possession of arms and explosives, including Czechoslovakian machine pistols, and Hungarian automatics. All three were found to have undergone military training in the Soviet Union. Simon Mohlanyaneng was found guilty of entering South Africa illegally from Swaziland and of trying to recruit someone into the ANC. Martin Ramokgadi had received money from the ANC in Swaziland to buy two vans for the use of the ANC. The judge said the State had not proved though that he was a key member of the 'main machinery' of the ANC in Johannesburg. Jacob Seathlolo was found guilty after his fingerprints were found on a bottle of glycerine. He had been charged with, inter alia, being in possession of arms, ammunition, explosives and chemicals.
Paulina Mohale had made copies of an ANC pamphlet at the request of her mother, who wanted to see it, but her action was "a borderline case" the judge said, "in which the benefit of the doubt must go to the accused".
Joe Gqabi, accused of being the head of the ANC in Johannesburg, was the first to walk out of the court to freedom after his acquittal. He was greeted with cries of joy by friends and relatives and then spoke briefly to journalists.
Although most of the evidence in the re-trial was given in camera, the acquittal of six of the accused would suggest that the State was not able to obtain the evidence from witnesses that it wanted. This would seem to indicate that the police were unable to get key witnesses who had retracted their evidence to give evidence again in the re-trial. It is significant that whereas the original trial lasted 6 months, and was still not completed, the re-trial took less than three months. Three men who refused to give evidence in the re-trial were re-retained under the Terrorism Act.
After sentence was passed on 7 March the six convicted men turned to the crowded gallery and gave the clenched fist salute, and shouted "amandla". The cry was taken up by the people in the gallery. The six men then sang freedom songs before leaving the dock. As they were driven out of the Supreme Court building, crowds of waiting blacks sang: "We don't mind if they make us prisoners, we unite to get our freedom".
The previous day the State asked for the death penalty for all six men found guilty, and particularly for Sexwale and Tsiki. Arthur Chaskalson, for the defence, appealed to the judge to avoid the "dubious distinction" of becoming the first judge to impose the death penalty in a Terrorism Act trial in which no-one was charged with murder.
Three of the six men made statements from the dock, and Bishop Desmond Tutu, General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, gave evidence in mitigation.
In his statement the first accused, Mosima Sexwale (25), told of his impoverished childhood in Soweto and how it led him to become a member of the banned ANC, to "counter the voilence meted out against us." According to the Guardian, he told a hushed court: "I cannot honestly say that I believe the decisions I took were wrong. What I regret most was that it was necessary and inevitable that those decisions had to be taken."
He continued: "When I joined the ANC I realised that the struggle for freedom would be difficult and would involve sacrifices. I was and I am willing to make those sacrifices. I appreciate the seriousness of my actions and accept whatever sentence may be imposed on me."
Naledi Tsiki (22), spoke of "limited violence" by the ANC as the only way out of South Africa's political impasse. "It would be unacceptable to me to go out and shoot children and their unsuspecting parents simply because they are white. That would be sheer terrorism, to which both I and the organisation to which I belong are opposed." Tsiki continued: "I wish to make it clear to the court that what I did, I did with my eyes open. By so doing, I was merely trying to make by contribution towards a free and democratic South Africa..."
Giving evidence in mitigation Bishop Tutu said: "I am aware that people may strive to bring about change by peaceful means because it is what they are committed to; and I under stand when others feel they have exhausted all avenues of non-violent means".
In rejecting the State's request for the death penalty, the judge, Justice Myburgh, said justice could be done without the use of a sledgehammer. He described both Sexwale and Tsiki as men dedicated to the cause of the African National Congress, not to personal gain. Both committed violent acts, but had refrained from killing. The judge said Sexwale had two injured policemen at his mercy after the grenade attack. He could have killed them but he did not, the judge said.
Justice Myburgh referred to a statement from the dock by the oldest of the men, 68-year-old Martin Ramokgadi. The judge said he (Ramokgadi) had given him the "greatest problem in determining what should be an appropriate sentence".
Denis Kuny, counsel for Ramokgadi, had earlier pleaded with Justice Myburgh not to sentence Ramokgadi to prison for the rest of his life. Mr. Kuny recalled that Mr. Ramokgadi had even won the admiration of people who had given evidence against him for the state.
