MATLALA and THARASIMBI David THARASIMBI of Atteridgeville, sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment under the Terrorism Act said in evidence that he had recruited people for military training as a member of the PAC. He had joined the organisation after the Black People's Convention to which he had belonged since 1969 was banned in October 1977. He had believed in peaceful negotiation but after the mass bannings last year he resorted to violence as he had no other alternative. The judge in the Pretoria Supreme Court accepted that Tharasimbi believed his cause was right, that he had no previous convictions and was married with one child; however he had recruited 27 persons for military training abroad.
Tharasimbi's co-accused, William MATLALA (given as Matsala in FOCUS 18) was acquitted.
SILLAH A 20 year old youth from Kwa Thema, Tyson SILLAH, was convicted and sentenced to 20 years and 6 months' imprisonment in August in Springs Regional Court. The effective sentence will be 15 years.
Sillah was charged and sentenced on four counts: sabotage (seven years) harbouring a terrorist (six years) conspiring to go for military training (six years) and escaping from prison (19 months). He pleaded guilty to the last charge only.
The sabotage charge related to the burning of a school in Kwa Thema in October 1976, when Sillah received burn scars to his face and head. It was alleged that he had harboured Petrus Bushy Molefe, described as a trained terrorist in hiding from the police since June 1976. Molefe was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment at an unreported trial sometime in March. Sillah was arrested on 3 March in Soweto and held at Dacel prison near Bethal, from which he escaped on 29 March. On 4 April he was re-arrested at Emdeni. It was alleged that he had asked his girlfriend to accompany him to Botswana in March and April (i.e. conspired to leave the country for military training).
GERALD and PIET THEBE Cousins Gerald THEBE (20) from Atteridgeville and Piet THEBE (23) from Soweto, charged in Pretoria Regional Court under the Terrorism act were convicted and sentenced on 25 August to five years' imprisonment each.
Charged on five counts relating to 'terrorist activities' in October 1977, the Thebes were convicted on one count only, that of attempting to go for military training. According to evidence they were arrested near Mafeking in October close to the Botswana border. According to the Thebes, they had left the Reef for Vryburg but on hearing that the security police were pursuing them decided to go to Botswana instead. During the trial the judge refused a defence request for evidence to be obtained from witnesses in Botswana who were members of the Soweto Students Representative Council and South African Students Movement.
MORAKE and GAMBU David Sonny MORAKE was convicted in Johannesburg Magistrates Court in July under the Terrorism Act and sentenced to seven and a half years' imprisonment. Charged with possession of arms, ammunition and explosives, Morake was freed on R200 bail pending an appeal; sentences on two of the three charges (not specified in the press report) were suspended for five years.
Co-accused Wright GAMBU, who faced the same charges, was acquitted on all counts.
MDINGI FREED Soweto taxi-owner Mbube MDINGI had his conviction and sentence set aside by Bloemfontein Appeal Court on 29 September in a successful appeal. Mdingi was convicted in November 1977 under the Terrorism Act of taking recruits to the Swaziland border. Allowing the appeal, the court said the state's evidence was not sufficient or reliable beyond reasonable doubt, although Mdingi's own evidence had been unsatisfactory.
JEFFREY KLAAS A former policeman Jeffrey KLAAS (22) was convicted in Grahamstown Supreme Court on 27 October of being a member of and participating in the activities of the banned African National Congress.
When the trial opened on 24 October Klaas pleaded not guilty to this and two other charges — one under the Terrorism Act and one of obstructing the course of justice. He changed his plea to guilty of membership of the ANC under the Unlawful Organisations Act, and his not guilty plea to the other two charges was accepted by the court. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment (3 years suspended).
Klaas was alleged to have become a member of the ANC in 1976 and to have joined the police in East London in September of that year, with the aims of recruiting black police-men, obtaining arms and warning other members of possible arrest. Former colleagues Const. E. Mgidlana and Const. E. Zavla gave evidence against him.
TAKANE and 12 OTHERS Thirteen persons from Queenstown appeared in Grahamstown Supreme Court in August charged under the Terrorism Act (alternatively sabotage, alternatively public violence). The charges related to violent unrest in Queenstown in September-October 1977, after which the accused were arrested. All pleaded not guilty.
The accused were Aubridge TAKANE (43) Jameson MBENGO (63) Mrs Ebenzress MBENGO (55) Sipho SONDLO (50) Glen THOMAS (23) Bubele MFENYANA (22) Audile KOTI (18) Vusimuzi MJILA (18) Phanbili NTLOKO (18) Zandisile WINDVOEL (20) Esdras NTLOKO (23) Mcendi MBILINI (21) and an unnamed 17-year-old.
The initial weeks of the trial, from 24 August to 20 September were occupied with disputes relating to statements allegedly made by three of the accused, (P. Ntloko, M. Mbilini and Z. Windvoel), handed in by the state, and to allegations that accused and witnesses had been assaulted by the police.
Four state witnesses said they and others had been beaten and trampled on by police and that their statements had been obtained by force and were false. Four security policemen and one CID officer gave evidence regarding the detention of the accused and Magistrate A.C. van Heerden testified that Windvoel had shown him moons on his back when brought to make a statement on 16 November.
The charges concern attacks on the homes of two black policemen on 30 September and 1 October in Queenstown. On 24 October, six of the 13 accused were found not guilty and discharged. They were Takane, Mbengo, Mrs Mbengo, Sondio, Thomas and Mfenyana.
At the beginning of the eighth week of the trial the defence applied for the discharge of all accused but the judge ruled that there was a case against the remaining seven, who were convicted on 26 October.
These were jailed for the minimum of five years - KOTI, MJILA, E. NTLOKO, WINDVOEL, MBILINI, P. NTLOKO and the unnamed 17-year-old. The court took into account the fact that they had already spent a year in detention.
