No new major political trials began between September and November 1982. Two of those which were completed in that period resulted in acquittals. Four people were sentenced to a total of 44 years imprisonment, all for engaging in ANC activities.
The state has continued to use the law against trade unionists and several face charges under the new Intimidation Act. The outcome of these trials is being awaited by trade union leaders who fear further use of the Act to curb open trade union work.
CONTINUING TRIALS NDLOVU AND 17 YEAR OLD YOUTH Nkosenye NDLOVU (23) and a 17 year old youth have appeared in the Durban Regional Court on charges, under the Internal Security Act, of allegedly furthering the aims of the ANC. Both pleaded not guilty on 25 October to the two counts on which they were charged.
Giving evidence, a security police officer said that ANC stickers, pamphlets and posters were found in the house of the 17 year old youth.
LILLIAN KEAGILE The trial of Lillian KEAGILE (24) began in the Johannesburg Regional Court on 2 November. She pleaded not guilty to the main charge of promoting the aims and objects of the ANC and to the alternative charges of taking part in its activities in contravention of the Terrorism Act. She was alleged to have sketched a plan of the Inklanzana Power Station in Soweto and sent the drawing to the ANC in Botswana.
For five days the press and public were barred from the court proceedings. It was claimed by the State that this was to protect the identity of a black policeman who appeared as a state witness. On 9 November Philip DLAMINI, leader of the South African Black Municipality and Allied Workers Union, refused to testify for the state saying that he would be seen as a sell-out if he did so. Judgement on his refusal was reserved.
Keagile described in court that when she was arrested she had three children aged six, five and two with her and they were not given food from 4.20 am, when she was arrested, until late that night. While she was being driven from Zeerust to Soweto by security policemen she was questioned about her alleged involvement with the ANC. On four occasions she was dragged out of the car and slapped and kicked, twice being sexually molested by one of the policemen to make her talk. She was also choked with a wet sack. The trial was adjourned to 10 January 1983.
CEDRIC MAYSON Cedric MAYSON (53) appeared in the Rand Supreme Court on 11 October on a charge of high treason, and an alternative charge of participating in 'terrorist activities'. Mayson was not asked to plead and the trial was postponed to 7 February 1983 and transferred to the Pretoria Supreme Court.
Mayson is accused of being an active supporter and/or a member of the ANC. He allegedly helped certain people – described as active supporters of the ANC – to leave South Africa illegally for Botswana to support ANC activities. He also allegedly had discussions with ANC officials and agreed to carry out instructions relating to the possibility of setting up ANC political structures, to the obtaining of information about churches, to the collection of information of value to the armed struggle and to the encouraging of people to join the ANC.
NTSATHA AND PETER The trial of Nomakhephu Jane NTSATHA and Mnkekeleli Lawrence PETER, which began in the Zwelitsha Regional Court in August, was postponed to 17 January 1983 on 16 October 1982. The two were remanded in custody.
Both have pleaded not guilty to being members of the ANC, to recruiting people to undergo military training outside South Africa, to recruiting members for the ANC and to possessing and distributing banned publications.
DUNA AND OTHERS The first Terrorism Act trial in the Ciskei Supreme Court in Zwelitsha, which began in March 1982, continues. The accused, Mabone William DUNA (31), Jeffrey Bayi KEYE (52), Dumsani Bizette MANINJWA (31) and Luyanda Patrick MAYEKISO (23), have pleaded not guilty to participating in terrorist activities, being members of the ANC, recruiting people to undergo military training and being in possession of banned publications.
During a sitting on 2 November, the defence counsel explained how Keye was suspended from a rod between two tables and was kicked in the ribs. During the interrogation he became mentally disturbed and had to be admitted to hospital for observation.
OSCAR MPETHA AND OTHERS Oscar MPETHA (73), the trade unionist and community leader who is appearing in the Cape Town Supreme Court with 17 others on charges of 'terrorism' and murder, has claimed that he had no knowledge of the charges and the allegations made against him.
When he appeared on 21 September he said that he knew only one of the 17 others appearing with him. Contrary to the evidence given by some of them he had never held meetings at his home or elsewhere or conspired with any of them to commit acts of vandalism and terrorism. He claimed that all the allegations levelled at him were fabrications.
At the end of September Mpetha was again excused from the trial after he underwent an operation in a Cape Town hospital. In October the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation called for urgent United Nations action to save Oscar Mpetha.
ROGGERIO CHAMUSSO The trial of Roggerio Hoffsani CHAMUSSO (Patrick SHANGE) (32) continued in the Pretoria Supreme Court. He faced five charges, two counts of murder and three counts of contravening the Terrorism Act, and an alternative charge of sabotage.
A confession by Chamusso after 30 hours interrogation by security police was ruled inadmissable as evidence. The judge decided that undue influence had been applied. Chamusso told the court he was denied food, water and sleep to make him confess. At the end of the defence case Chamusso changed his plea to guilty on certain of the 'terrorism' charges but continued to plead not guilty to the charges of murder and possession of a pistol and ammunition. He admitted undergoing military training in Angola (but not Mozambique), sabotaging the Witbank electrical transformer and possessing limpet mines.
FANTI AND OTHERS An executive member of the Transkei Democratic Progressive Party, Alfred XOBOLOLO, appeared in court in Umtata on 6 October 1982 with two other detainees, Ezra SIGWELA and Mzwandile Wilson FANTI. The Attorney-General confirmed they would face charges under the Transkei Public Security Act but no charges were read in court. Xobololo was detained on 17 September with Mlungisi MTSHOTANA. Sigwela, a field worker for the Transkei Council of Churches, was detained on 28 June. Fanti is chairman of the Mgwali Residents Association, which is campaigning against forced removals from Mgwali to the Ciskei bantustan. Fanti was handed over to the bantustan authorities after being detained by the South African security police in July.
THLOLOE AND EIGHT OTHERS Nine people including five executive members of the Azanian National Youth Unity appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on 23 November 1982 charged under the Internal Security Act. Most had been in detention since May and June. The AZANYU members are Harrison NOGQOKELE, Nhlanganiso SIBANDA, Mfana MTSHALI, Sipho NGCOBO and Shadrack RAMPETE. The others are Joe THLOLOE, a banned journalist and member of the Media Workers Association of South Africa, Philip DLAMINI of the South African Black Municipality and Allied Workers Union, Veli Truman MNGUNI and Steven MZOLO. All nine, due to appear again on 7 December, faced a main charge of endangering the security of the state.
CONVICTIONS AND ACQUITTALS KATI AND KING A former Robben Island prisoner and executive member of the Transkei Democratic Progressive Party, James Zamiwonga KATI (58), was sentenced to a total of thirteen years jail, but effectively to seven years, in the Transkei Supreme Court on 6 October. His co-accused, Peter Bawose KING (57), was also sentenced to seven years, for possession of explosives.
Kati and King were charged on three counts under the Transkei Public Safety Act. The first count alleged that they were members of the ANC and furthered its aims. The second count was that they encouraged people to undergo military training abroad but both were found not guilty on this count. The third count was of illegal possession of explosives. Kati was allegedly tortured during detention.
Three other defendants were originally charged alongside Kati and King. Veliki SALIWA (23) and Mzwandile MBETHE (26) pleaded guilty to the charge of participating in ANC activities and were sentenced to five years each in August. They were members of the DPP Youth League. Another accused, Mkangeli MATOMELA (25) was acquitted on all charges.
Mlungisi MTSHOTANA, a DPP youth leader, gave evidence for the state after being warned as an accomplice, and was discharged at the end of the trial.
GOWETA AND NJIKELANA Charges against the national president and the vice-president of the South African Allied Workers Union, Thozamile GOWETA and Sisa NJIKELANA, were withdrawn when they appeared in the Grahamstown Magistrates Court on 12 November, Gqweta and Njikelana, who were detained in December 1981, appeared in court eight times from May 1982.
The Minister of Law and Order explained in February 1982 that trade unionists were not detained because of trade union activities but because of subversive activities. Legal experts dispute this on the grounds that of 19 unionists detained since June 1981 the state had failed to make charges stick on any one of them. They said that this proved that detention was being used purely for harassment.
OTHER TRIALS WORKERS AND TRADE UNIONISTS * Twenty nine mine workers arrested during a strike at an Eastern Transvaal mine have spent more than seven months in jail because they cannot afford the R1,000 bail. Their trial was due to start on 22 November. The miners have been charged with public violence. * The case against the general secretary of the National Automobile and Allied Workers Union, Taffy ADLER, was withdrawn in the Germiston Magistrates Court on 12 October. He was charged under the Riotous Assemblies Act after addressing an open-air meeting of Leyland workers on the East Rand in August 1982. * The secretary-general of FOSATU, Joe Foster, condemned the prohibition on outdoor gatherings as it made it impossible for trade unionists to carry out normal trade union work. The ban on outdoor gatherings of more than ten people has been in force since June 1976. * Seven members of the Metal and Allied Workers Union appeared in court during October on charges under the new Intimidation Act. They were arrested after claims by a group of workers at the factory where they worked that they were 'intimidated' to join the union. All were released on R300 bail. * Two former Wilson-Rowntree sweet factory workers, Nceba MAHLANGENI (26) and Malungisa JOKA (35), were each sentenced to an effective 150 days or R150 fine when found guilty in the Mdantsane Magistrates Court on 19 October of displaying stickers referring to the boycott of Wilson-Rowntree products. * The Transvaal organising secretary of the General Workers Union, Donsie KHUMALO (27), appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates Court on 4 October on a charge of inciting workers to strike. He is out on R50 bail and was due to reappear on 30 November. * Sixty mineworkers arrested during unrest at the Kloof gold mine in early July 1982 had charges of public violence withdrawn when they appeared in the Westonaria Magistrates Court in early October. Fifty-five had been in jail from the time of arrest because they could not afford bail. The National Union of Mineworkers is considering legal action against the police for wrongful arrest.
ALLAN FINE Allan Morris FINE (30) was acquitted in the Johannesburg Regional Court on 9 November of charges under the Terrorism and Internal Security Acts.
Fine, an official of the registered Liquor and Catering Workers Union, was detained on 24 September 1981. He was alleged to have conspired with the ANC by sending information to SACTU.
SUZMAN MOKOENA Suzman Nkopane MOKOENA (22) was convicted on 25 October in the Pretoria Supreme Court of high treason and being a member of the ANC and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
Mokoena took part in the planning of the attack on the Rosslyn electrical sub-station in Pretoria in 1981. He also took part in the planning of an attack on the Waltloo petrol depot, a railway line and the Mamelodi police station.
BARBARA HOGAN The first woman in South Africa to be convicted of high treason, Barbara Anne HOGAN (30), was sentenced in the Rand Supreme Court on 21 October to ten years imprisonment. A four year sentence was imposed for being a member of the ANC but this will run concurrently. She pleaded guilty to this charge but not guilty to the charge of high treason.
After sentence was passed, she turned to the crowded courtroom and shouted slogans and raised a clenched fist. The outcome of the trial is being regarded by legal experts as setting a precedent. Previously ANC membership had been interpreted as 'furthering the aims and objectives of an unlawful organisation': now it is being regarded as treason.
MTHEMBU AND SIBISI After completing two years of five year sentences two Durban students, Themba MTHEMBU (21) and Mandla SIBISI (23), were released from Robben Island prison on 11 November after successfully appealing against their convictions under the Terrorism Act.
The two were convicted in 1980 on charges of undergoing military training. The Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court judge said, in setting aside the convictions and sentences, that the evidence on which they were convicted was tainted, suspect and unreliable, in view of police malpractice in the investigation of the case. The magistrate who convicted them had seriously misdirected himself by ignoring the evidence of 13 witnesses who stated that they had been induced by threats of assault and detention to make statements implicating the accused.
YOUTHS AND STUDENTS * The trial of 17 Fort Hare University students and three other people was referred to the Zwelltsha Regional Court at the beginning of December. They face charges of public violence. The case is a sequel to demonstrations at the university on graduation day in May 1982. After about 1,500 students were dismissed following student unrest in July, four students applied to the Ciskei Supreme Court to have the dismissal declared invalid. The application was rejected and they are to appeal against the judgement. * Six youths, three of them 16 year olds, have appeared in the Humansdorp Regional Court charged with setting fire to 16 schools in Port Elizabeth. All have pleaded not guilty. Defence for one of the youths gave evidence on 19 October how his client had been tortured during interrogation. A wet canvas bag was placed over the youth's head and he was kicked and beaten. Electric shocks were administered to his big toe while three policemen held him down. His head was repeatedly pushed under water in a cold bath and he was forced to drink urine.
BANNED LITERATURE * Mayttah RACHIDI, the wife of a former leader of the banned Black Peoples Convention, Hlaku Rachidi, appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on 10 November on a charge of being in possession of 'prohibited publications'. She pleaded not guilty. Rachidi said that she had received the publications from unknown persons through the post. The case was postponed to 30 November. A Johannesburg articled clerk, Chris MOKODITOA, will appear before the same court on similar charges.
MISCELLANEOUS TRIALS * A printer from Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, was fined R500 or 6 months imprisonment for failing to print his name and address on pamphlets he had printed for the Azanian Youth Revolutionary Movement. The pamphlets purportedly propagated revolution and could have 'caused friction between the races'. * The daughter of ANC leader Nelson Mandela, Nobuthe Zindziswa MANDELA (22), appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on 18 October on a charge of possessing forged travel documents. She was arrested on the South Africa-Swaziland border. She was released on warning and the case was postponed to 6 December when charges were dropped. * A large number of people have appeared in Pietermaritzburg courts as a result of demonstrations and protests against rent increases in the Sobantu township during October. Nineteen people appeared in the Magistrates Court on 4 October on charges of intimidation under the Internal Security Act. During the demonstrations a 17 year old youth, Graham RADEBE, was shot and killed by police. On 9 October 39 people were arrested while attending his funeral. Severe restrictions were placed on the conduct of the funeral including an order that the coffin be carried by car. When the crowd began to carry it on foot the police moved in with teargas and dogs to disperse the mourners. The 39 appeared in the Magistrates Court on 11 October and were charged under the Internal Security Act. They were released on bail and were due to appear again on 7 December.
