The appeal of three young men from Cape Town convicted of arson in 1978 and sentenced to five years' under the Sabotage Act was dismissed in the Supreme Court on 19 November.
Joseph Mxolisi PANTSHWA (23), Mziwake Solomon JACK (19) and Sipho SINGISWA (20) were convicted of setting fire to Sizamile High School, Nyanga, on 24 August 1977, causing damage estimated at R1000. They appealed against conviction and sentence on the grounds that 'too much weight had been given to evidence by state witnesses.
Two members of the Young Christian Worker organisation in Kroonstad who were convicted under the Terrorism Act in February 1979 were freed by the Orange Free State Supreme Court on 19 November when their sentences were set aside.
Petrus MOKAE and Jacob TLELIMA had been sent to Robben Island after being sentenced to five years' under the Terrorism Act. The Catholic Bishops Conference of South Africa expressed its joy at the decision, saying "the successful appeal is a vindication of our belief, expressed at the time when harrassment of the YCW began in May 1978 that these young men had been taught nothing else by the YCW than to stand up for the rights of workers in our country". Mokae and Tlelima were detained in June 1978.
Elias Jimmy MABASO (23) of Sebokeng, who was convicted of sabotage with five others in May 1978 and jailed for five years, had his sentence set aside by Pretoria Supreme Court on 30 November.
The court agreed that there had been "gross irregularities" during the proceedings before the regional magistrate, who did not explain the charge sheet to Mabaso and his co-accused. Mabaso also claimed that he had pleaded guilty because the police promised to release him. He has served part of his sentence in Leeuwkop Prison.
Following his conviction for sabotage, Mabaso was charged and acquitted of arson and murder.
On 20 December the Supreme Court heard an appeal against conviction and sentence of two Cape Town men convicted of recruiting youths under the Terrorism Act in February 1978.
Mountain QUMBELLA (48) had his sentence of ten years reduced to six on the grounds that he had not encouraged some of the youths to leave the country nor assisted them to do so. The ten year sentence of Qumbella's co-accused Mathews Lumko HUNA (27) also of Guguletu, was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
