Despite elaborate preparations and publicity by the authorities, there has been minimal response to the "amnesty" programme launched in January 1980. The proposals were formalised in a proclamation promulgated by the Administrator General (Proclamation AG3 of 23.1.80). In an official statement the Administrator General, Dr Viljoen, announced that the amnesty period would extend to 30 April 1980, and that he had appointed Mr Lourens de Kock, a regional court magistrate who had held a key position as Chief Registration Officer and Chief Electoral Officer during the internal elections in December 1978, as director of amnesty. Mr de Kock would be responsible, under the direction of the Administrator General, for putting into effect the whole amnesty programme, Dr Viljoen said. Two reception points have been set up in Ovamboland and Caprivi to deal with the expected influx. Tents, beds, blankets, mattresses, eating facilities, baths and showers are being provided. When asked how many returning guerillas could be accommodated, Mr de Kock said preliminary arrangements had been made for 100. However, he emphasised that overnight this could increase to any amount, and that he was prepared for more if necessary.
Pamphlets setting out the conditions for guerillas wishing to give themselves up are being distributed, and plans exist for broadcasting appeals over loudspeakers from aircraft flying over Ovamboland and Caprivi. As an extra "inducement", guerillas who surrender are to be paid for arms and ammunition handed over to the authorities, according to a senior official. A sum of money has reportedly been voted by the authorities for this purpose.
However, by mid-February 1980, only three people were reported to have given themselves up. They were named Clayton MATENGU, Johnny MAILA and Bernard MUCHEKA, all from Caprivi. They claimed that the amnesty programme is well publicised, and that they received clear broadcasts over the radio in Zambia and had also seen some of the leaflets. They were held for questioning about SWAPO activities in Zambia and subsequently taken to Katima Mulilo in northern Caprivi for "integration into the community". A fourth man, a 23-year old East Caprivan, was reported to have surrendered on 5 March and to be held in police custody at Katima Mulilo.
The poor response to the "amnesty" offer bears out SWAPO's suspicion of the whole exercise. A SWAPO spokesman pointed out that while the amnesty proposals are being publicised, members and supporters of the movement inside Namibia are being detained or placed under virtual house arrest. For that reason, SWAPO has rejected the amnesty offer "with the contempt it deserves". The administrator General would first have to prove that he was sincere by releasing SWAPO members from detention, the SWAPO spokesman said. In a commentary, the Windhoek Observer noted that "the response to the amnesty has not been enthusiastic on the part of SWAPO guerillas. What the financial outlay on the part of the State for the amnesty is, is not known, but at present it certainly appears as if the whole effort was a waste of time, and the Administrator General has achieved little or nothing on extending this amnesty to SWAPO insurgents".
