The regime's attempts to dissuade people from assisting the ANC were illustrated in two recent political trials involving individuals who had helped in the armed struggle. Clement Bogatsu was a courier and Isaac Mabaso used his security clearance to enable a bomb to be planted in army offices. Neither was shown to be a member of the ANC. Nevertheless their sentences were the most severe of all those handed down in the period - 20 years and 18 years respectively.
Secrecy continued to be a characteristic of all trials both in the use of unidentified witnesses and the apparent reluctance by the state to reveal its full evidence in court. This was reflected in plea-bargaining as in the case of *Dubasi and others* where, after a change of plea, the defendants were convicted on reduced charges.
In two related trials eight youth activists have been imprisoned on charges of 'terrorism'. The trial of GXAVU and others (see *Focus 63*) ended in March with the acquittal of Tembeni SAMUEL (23) and the conviction of his seven co-accused. (For sentences see *FOCUS 66*) An unwilling state witness in that trial has since been sentenced in the East London Regional Court to six years' imprisonment on charges of perjury and 'terrorism'.
Professor BACELA (20) of Burgersdorp was detained on the border with Lesotho on 18 August 1984. After interrogation Bacela made a 15 page statement to the police admitting he had been recruited to undergo military training with the ANC in Lesotho. He was then held as a state witness for nine months - six of them spent in solitary confinement. In June 1985 he gave evidence in court which contradicted his earlier statement and was then charged himself.
Bacela's defence counsel said that the statement was made under duress after he had been assaulted. He had laid two complaints of assault at Ladybrand and Aliwal North police stations. Two district surgeons testified that when they examined Bacela he had sjambok weals on his legs which one described as 'serious wounds'.
In a second statement, also challenged by the defence, the court heard about a COSAS meeting held near Queenstown in June 1984 at which it was allegedly stated that recruitment for the ANC's armed wing should be stepped up. Bacela was an executive member of the Queenstown branch of COSAS. On 25 April Bacela was convicted of leaving South Africa to join the ANC and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. He was also sentenced to 12 months for perjury. (DD 12/13.12.85; 22/23/24/26.4.86)
A man described as an employee of the Botswana Department of Housing has been convicted of smuggling members of the ANC's armed wing into South Africa.
Clement BOGATSU (46) appeared in the Rustenburg Supreme Court in May after eight months in custody - he had been detained in the Western Transvaal on 5 September. He faced 10 charges of 'terrorism' under the old Terrorism Act and the current Internal Security Act, and alternative charges of bringing people into South Africa illegally.
It was alleged that he ferred 14 armed ANC guerillas from Botswana on five separate occasions. He was also said to have bought a car in Johannesburg and used it to carry arms in a concealed compartment. The main evidence came from two former ANC members who gave evidence in camera. The defence challenged one of them who claimed to remember the exact registration of the car in which Bogatsu allegedly smuggled him into South Africa over eight years previously. Bogatsu himself made a statement but under duress according to the defence.
On 16 May Bogatsu was convicted on eight charges covering each year between 1977 and 1985. They were 'terrorism', participating in 'terrorist' activities and helping 'terrorists'. He was acquitted on two further charges of 'terrorism'. He was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. (Star 13/14/16.5.86; DD 14/17.5.86)
Five men appeared in the Rand Supreme Court on 10 March charged with treason and 'terrorism' in connection with the ANC's armed struggle. The defendants had been in custody since the middle of 1984 and first appeared in court in December of that year. (See Ngwenya and others) In May 1985 that trial was split into four separate cases, three of which were concluded in 1985. (*FOCUS 59 p.5*)
When the trial opened in March Mncedisi Hamilton DUBASI (30), Jongumzi SISULU (27), Lumkile Happy MKEFA (22), David MATSOSE (24) and Joseph Themba MAJA (26) pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which alleged that they were members or supporters of the ANC and that they participated in various armed actions. As with a number of earlier treason trials it was not alleged that all the accused participated in every incident mentioned in the indictment.
It was alleged that Dubasi and Sisulu sabotaged an electricity pylon in Mamelodi on 20 August 1983, attempted to sabotage a railway bridge near Vereeniging on 11 March 1984 and placed explosives on the overhead pylon near to New Canada railway station in July 1984. Mkefa was alleged to have blown up the cars of two Soweto policemen - in May and July 1984, and to have shot at a police vehicle in August. In the latter incident a passenger in a nearby car was wounded. Mkefa was also accused of carrying out a hand grenade attack on a house in Soweto in May 1984. The most serious charge concerned the death of Constable KS Tsotetsi in Jabulani on 14 July 1984, which allegedly involved Dubasi, Sisulu and Mkefa.
Dubasi and Sisulu were detained at a road-block between Randfontein and Magaliesburg on 31 July 1984 together with a certain Cecil Kandia. The same day Maja and Matsose were detained at a farmhouse at Boons, near Koster. Maja was shot in the hand and legs. Mkefa, the last to be arrested, was held on 17 August after he walked into a police trap in Soweto. Considerable secrecy surrounded the first detentions and the subsequent police operations. (See *FOCUS 55 p.3, 56 p.4*)
Newspaper interest in the case centred on Accused No.2, Jongumzi Sisulu, a nephew of Albertina Sisulu whom she adopted after he and his sister were orphaned. There was evidence that all the men had been assaulted while in custody although information was most detailed in the case of Sisulu. During cross-examination a number of police witnesses made significant admissions about the manner in which they interrogated the men, particularly their use of balACLAVAS to make prisoners 'more malleable'.
When Dubasi, Sisulu and Matsose were brought for interrogation all had sticking plaster over their eyes. Sisulu was made to stand barefoot and blindfolded throughout questioning - all night long, without food, according to him; for at least two hours, in the police version. Detective Warrant Officer Greyling admitted making suspects stand if they did not 'co-operate'. Sisulu said he was hooded and given electric shock torture while being questioned on the whereabouts of an RPG rocket launcher. A policeman from the security branch admitted this was 'possible' although he denied it occurred in his presence.
Mkefa stated that police manhandled him and fired shots at him after his arrest. A police witness admitted that while Mkefa was pointing out weapons he was holding him by the collar and had a gun in his other hand. Dubasi was struck with a shovel when he was taken to identify an arms cache.
On 28 April, in a dramatic development, David Matsose was found not guilty and discharged for lack of evidence. The remaining four defendants then handed in admissions to the court. On 14 May they changed their pleas to guilty of treason only and were convicted. They were acquitted of the other charges, in particular of 'terrorism'. A week later they were sentenced.
Mkefa admitted possession of hand-grenades and ammunition and the knowledge of arms caches. He also admitted planting limpet mines under the cars of two policemen and throwing two hand-grenades at a house in Naledi. He was sentenced to 14 years. Dubasi admitted being a member of the ANC, undergoing military training outside South Africa, helping to sabotage a Mamelodi pylon and having knowledge of certain arms caches. He received 12 years.
Maja admitted receiving training as a medical orderly for the ANC and returning to South Africa in May 1984 to act as a courier. He was imprisoned for 10 years. Sisulu admitted accommodating Maja and Dubasi and transporting ANC members. For this he received five years. (Work in Progress June 1985; BBC/Cit/DD/S/Star March-May 1986)
Isaac Thulane MABASO (24) of Soweto was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment in the Rand Supreme Court on 2 May for his part in the bombing of the Nedbank building in Johannesburg which housed SADF offices. The explosion, on 28 May 1985, wrecked the Southern Transvaal Medical Command causing R504,000 worth of damage.
Mabaso was employed as a cleaner by the SADF and thus had access to the building. In a statement to the court he admitted helping an alleged ANC member (named as Caswell) to place a limpet mine outside the first floor offices. No details of when or where Mabaso was detained appeared in the press although the court was told that he continued working for the SADF after the explosion.
The editor of the South African Press Association (SAPA) gave evidence of a Reuters report the day after the blast in which the ANC claimed responsibility. The admissability of this was challenged by Mabaso's lawyer who stated that his client admitted being an accomplice, not a member, of the ANC.
Mabaso pleaded guilty and was convicted on the basis of his statement. He was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment. According to the judge, 'the heavy sentence was in response to the needs of the community', which outweighed Mabaso's age, clean record and 'need for rehabilitation'. (DD 29.4.86, 2/3.5.86; Star 29/30.4.86, 1.5.86)
Three men were sentenced in the Johannesburg Regional Court in February 1986 for activities in support of armed struggle. The chief accused was Daniel MOTAUNG (26), a younger brother of Marcus Thabo Motaung who was executed in June 1983. Daniel Motaung joined the ANC after his brother was sentenced to death, subsequently undergoing military training and returning to South Africa with arms and ammunition.
The state alleged that in January 1985 Motaung entered the country via the Bophuthatswana bantustan. He recruited a number of people to the ANC, including one Dennis Mofokeng, and trained them in the use of mines and hand grenades. Using a false bantustan travel document he allegedly travelled between South Africa and Botswana liaising with the ANC. Esau RAMONTSHU allegedly helped to obtain the travel document for Motaung as well as another for Mofokeng, later believed by the accused to be a police informer. The state alleged that Ramontshu and Liptures Charles MBEZA accommodated and transported Motaung knowing he was a guerilla.
Motaung pleaded guilty to the charge of 'terrorism'. He admitted membership of the ANC, undergoing military training and possessing arms and ammunition. He was sentenced to six years.
Mbeza pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of unlawful possession of weapons, which Motaung had placed in his room. He received two years. Ramontshu was sentenced to one year for possession of a hand grenade given him by Mofokeng who had received it from Motaung. (FOCUS 63 p.6; DD/Star 19.9.85; Work in Progress April 1986)
On 19 May Helene PASSTOORS (44) was sentenced in the Rand Supreme Court to 10 years' imprisonment after being convicted of treason. Passtoors had been detained in solitary confinement under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act since June 1985 and earlier this year was admitted to hospital suffering from depression. She was held a few days after her ex-husband, Klaas de Jonge, a Dutch citizen who subsequently outwitted his guards and sought refuge in the Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria. He had been brought to the city to 'point out' certain places relevant to the police investigation. De Jonge was recaptured but later returned to the Embassy after diplomatic representations.
Passtoors' first court appearance was on 28 February and the trial commenced on 14 April. She was charged with treason, alternatively 'terrorism', and a second charge of 'terrorism', alternatively participating in 'terroristic' activities. De Jonge was also charged with 'terrorism' but the trials were separated on the orders of the judge when it became clear that the indictment could not be formally served on him at the embassy. The main charges alleged that Passtoors carried out reconnaissance work for the ANC and established arms caches.
On 14 April Passtoors pleaded not guilty to all charges but admitted in a statement that she supported the aims of the ANC, had knowledge of the location but not the contents of certain arms caches, had learned secret ANC codes and had investigated a secret route to enable an ANC member to leave the country.
The main argument in the case concerned whether Passtoors, a Belgian national with rights to Dutch citizenship, owed allegiance to the state - a necessary element of the crime of treason. She had been living in South Africa only since February 1985 and was registered to do a doctoral thesis in linguistics at the University of the Witwatersrand. She was also under contract to the Netherlands Department of International Co-operation.
The defence argued that Passtoors should only be convicted on one charge of 'terrorism', referring to a single arms cache: nothing else had been proved. However, on 15 May she was found guilty of treason and acquitted of the charge of 'terrorism'. On 19 May she was sentenced to 10 years but given leave to appeal on the grounds that another court might find that she did not owe allegiance to the state. (CT/DD/DN/S/Star/WM Feb-May 1986)
The trial of four South African Allied Workers Union trade unionists on charges of treason resumed in the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court on 3 February. Thozamile Richard GQWETA (33), Sisa James NJIKELANA (29), Sam KIKINE (36) and Duze Isaac NGCOBO (36) were originally charged alongside 12 leaders of the UDF until charges against the latter were dropped in December 1985. (See RAMGOBIN & OTHERS, FOCUS 62 p.9)
The state alleged that SAAWU was the cause of strikes in support of the Revolutionary Alliance of the ANC, the South African Communist Party and the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) and that one of the accused had allegedly consulted with the SACTU-ANC alliance. The state still sought to establish a conspiracy between the defendants and their former co-accused even though they had been acquitted.
The first few days' evidence concerned labour disputes in the Border area between 1980 and 1981, which the state alleged were the work of SAAWU. One witness was Alastair Lightbody, director of Wilson-Rowntree's factory in East London. A boycott of Wilson-Rowntree products followed the dismissal of 472 workers in February 1981. Another witness was Major Phillipus Olivier, former head of the Labour and Trade Union section of the Border security branch.
Defence counsel challenged the relevance of this evidence but the state was allowed to amend the indictment in a number of ways to cover it. In particular, all four were accused of furthering the aims of the alliance by forming a workers' committee under the auspices of SAAWU, refusing to apply for official registration and seeking confrontation with management. These acts allegedly led to 'unrest, work stoppages, strikes, boycotts' which 'resulted in production loss to industries'.
The defence sought to show that labour disputes were caused not by SAAWU but by the refusal of certain managements to recognise SAAWU even when almost the entire workforce had joined the union. Furthermore this refusal was at the instigation of the police and government. The court heard about a secret meeting of the Border Chamber of Industries in October 1980 on how to deal with SAAWU. It was attended by the Minister of Manpower and Utilization, representatives from the security branch and the National Intelligence Service and local factory management. Major Olivier was responsible for a report on SAAWU which caused controversy in parliament in 1981. Under cross-examination he stated his opinion that SAAWU was in reality SACTU which was the workers' wing of the ANC and that 'one of the tasks of the police is to look after the economy'.
One witness told the court that he had applied to become a member of the South African Police and had been issued with a police firearm even though he had no licence. He had been given the choice of agreeing to work with the police or standing trial.
Lengthy argument centred on the admissibility of tape and video recordings submitted as evidence by the state. They included recordings of meetings, bugged telephone conversations, a tape allegedly seized during the SADF raid on Lesotho in December 1982 and material confiscated from International Television News staff. Defence questioning on the methods used to bug a meeting hall had to be dropped on the orders of the MInister of Law and Order. (CT/DD/DN/WM Jan-April 1986)
Seven youths, one under the age of 18, who were severely injured in grenade blasts in the East Rand in June 1985 were due to appear in the Pretoria Supreme Court on 2 June charged with attempted murder and 'terrorism'. The blasts, in which eight COSAS activists were killed, were shrouded in mystery with rumours that the grenades had been booby-trapped to explode as soon as the pins were removed. Six of the dead men as well as two of those now charged had their hands blown off; others lost fingers. (FOCUS 60 p.3,8)
The seven were detained immediately, spending part of the time in hospital under armed guard. In January the Detainees Parents Support Committee (DPSC) voiced concern at their condition and their need of physiotherapy and artificial limbs. They had been allowed no visitors. By April they had made two court appearances under conditions of the utmost secrecy.
The accused are Joseph MAZIBUKO (18), John MLANGENI (21), Samuel LEKHATSA (18), Humphrey TSHABALALA (18) and an unnamed youth, all of Duduza, and Hosea LENGOSANE (19) and Cedric DLADLA (18) of Tsakane. (Star 7/10.4.86)
The trial began in the Cape Town Regional Court in April of Ntozelizwe Thomas TALAKUMENI (29), charged with assisting alleged guerillas. The charges refer to the period 1 April to 19 June 1985 and it is alleged the combatants were involved in attacks on the Langa police station and the homes of community councillors and members of the House of Representatives. He is also charged with receiving instructions in the working of a weapon. (FOCUS 63 p.7)
A 'trial within a trial' was held to decide on the admissability of a statement made by Talakumeni while in detention. He told of being assaulted by the security police, who held him by his feet out of a fifth floor window. Talakumeni was held in solitary confinement under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act from 19 June. He had no legal representation until his first court appearance on 17 September.
On 23 April the magistrate ruled Talakumeni's statement admissible and dismissed the charges of assault. Discrepancies in the evidence of the two policemen accused, Colonel JL Griebenauw and Warrant Officer S van de Merwe, he found to be not serious.
An unidentified state witness gave evidence on 24 April in circumstances of the greatest secrecy. The man, described as someone who worked for the police, was brought to and from the court by way of the police cells. The corridor in front of the court was sealed off and guarded during his evidence. These measures are in excess of the usual in camera precautions. No details of his testimony appeared. (CT 23/25.4.86)
