Two South African Broadcasting Corporation clerks, Zinyusile MANTEWU (24) and Mlulami BUYANA (28), were found not guilty in the King Williams Town Regional Court on 29 October 1981 of being members of the ANC, or of participating in its activities and for being in possession of a banned publication.
It was alleged that they had taken part in ANC activities by photo-copying a banned pamphlet 'Mandela Says'. The magistrate said in his judgment that there was no direct evidence that the two were members of the ANC and that there was no evidence that they intended to distribute the pamphlets.
After Mantewu and Buyana were acquitted they were both dismissed from the SABC and in the second week of December 1981 Mantewu was found dead in his bathroom. No details of the cause of his death were given.
Bessie MDODA, a Transkei saleswoman was acquitted of charges of Terrorism in the Umtata Regional Court on 6 November 1981.
Mdoda pleaded not guilty to two counts under Section 9 of the Transkei Public Security Act. The state was unable to prove that the people with whom Mdoda had communicated or assisted were 'terrorists' as defined in the Act.
Benjamin David GREYLING (20), a final year B.A. student at the University of Witwatersrand, was acquitted in the Johannesburg Regional Magistrates Court on 20 January of three charges under the Official Secrets Act. He remains in custody pending trial for alleged offences under the Internal Security Act. It was alleged by the State that Greyling investigated or ordered Gerhardus van der Werff, a member of the Permanent Force who was sentenced to four years imprisonment last year for the same offence, to make a sketch and pass on 'sensitive' documents about the Military Psychological Institute at Verwoerdburg which could help the country's enemies. Evidence was that the two were schoolfriends and that van der Werff had supplied Greyling with the sketch and documents but that Greyling had returned them fearing 'that they would be found on him'. Greyling admitted going to Swaziland with van der Werff but denied having made contact with 'South Africa's enemies'. The State had relied on the evidence of a single witness who was an accomplice and had thus not proved Greyling's guilt.
Mohamed Salek Abba OMAR (25), a student in journalism at the Durban Technikon, was convicted in the Durban Regional Court on 23 January of contravening the Internal Security Act by distributing a pamphlet issued by the ANC. Omar was sentenced to be detained until the rising of the court and a further 12 months was suspended for five years. He had pleaded not guilty to distributing the pamphlet and told the court he was given the pamphlet in the street and had given it to another person to make photocopies for him.
