As the long legal battle to save the lives of the Sharpeville Six continued, a last-minute stay of execution was given to four more people sentenced to death in a case arising out of political protest. The regime came under increasing pressure about the secrecy surrounding the issue, and figures given in Parliament by the Minister of Justice indicated that the numbers on Death Row are even higher than previously thought. The campaign to 'Save the Patriots', as well as the call for total abolition of the death penalty, continued to grow in strength.
On 27 September four members of the Addo Youth Congress were informed that they were to be executed on 4 October. Similo Lennox WONCI, Mziwoxolo Christopher MAKELENI, Ndumiso Silo SIPHENUKA and Mackezwana MENZE were sentenced to death in January 1987 for their alleged part in killing a farmer and his wife in Kirkwood on 17 June 1985.
All attempts to take the case to appeal failed and a petition for clemency was submitted to President Botha. When this was turned down too, lawyers approached the courts urgently on behalf of Wonci, whose age had been wrongly recorded at the time of the trial. His birth certificate, which was only found later, showed that he was 19 when the killing occurred. This was significant because out of eight people convicted of the murders, four were given prison rather than death sentences on the grounds of their youth and susceptibility to influence. Like Wonci, one was 19 in June 1985, the others were 17 or 18. On 3 October Wonci was granted a 30-day stay of execution for evidence about his age to be heard. His three co-accused were given a similar stay.
The trial was poorly reported at the time but it seemed the defence argued that the investigators and principal participants in the action had not been arrested and brought to trial. Information circulated by a monitoring group strongly suggests that the eight were convicted on the grounds of common purpose with these others: 'Judge Kroon ... found that the eight men had been party to a common venture: the actions of the men who struck and killed Mr De Jager were their actions as well. It also followed that they were responsible for the murder of Mrs De Jager...'
Earlier this year it was mistakenly reported in the press that the Addo Four were to be executed on 29 March. This highlighted the difficulty of discovering details about forthcoming executions: official confirmation is only obtainable after an execution. This secrecy became an issue again with seven executions scheduled for 30 September and six for 4 October - the only names known were those of the Addo Four. Fears were raised that the others might also be political prisoners.
The names of the eight men who were executed (one other was granted an indefinite stay of execution) had not featured in any list of known political cases. However, monitoring groups rely on newspaper reports for their information and their lists are not complete. This was brought out in late September when the Minister of Justice stated that 101 people had been sentenced to death 'over a three year period' for 'unrest-related' offences. He said that of these 17 had been executed and 83 were on Death Row, a total of 100. The discrepancy in the figures may be explained by the death of Wantu SALINGA. Salinga, one of six Queens-town youths sentenced to death in June 1987 was granted leave to appeal but in March it was reported that he had died in Pretoria Central Prison, allegedly of tuberculosis. The Minister's figures, if accurate, indicate that some 20 political cases remain unknown to monitoring groups and that the number of secret executions is also higher than feared. His figures would not cover political sentences in the Ciskei, Transkei, Venda and Bophuthatswana bantustans where at least four such death sentences have been recorded.
A case of which there are few details is that of George SKOSANA from Pretoria. He was sentenced to death in June 1987 in a trial reportedly following the 'necklacing' of a woman in Saulsville in February 1986. This term is frequently used in the press to indicate a political background to a killing. No press reports appeared at the time but it was subsequently learned that he had been refused leave to appeal. His execution was set for 26 August, apparently with only five days' notice. However, a last-minute stay was granted 'pending the determination of a petition to the State President for clemency'.
At least seven more death sentences were passed in August. Three residents of Tumahole, Parys, in the Orange Free State, were convicted of the murder of a municipal policeman who was killed in May 1986. He had shot and wounded three youths participating in a protest march. Local residents, led by the Tumahole Civic Association, had organised a clean-up campaign in the township during which youths constructed three small parks. However, police attached to the local Development Board as well as members of the South African Police destroyed two of them, prompting a one-day stay-away on 29 May.
The trial, which began in February 1987, received little press coverage but a full page advertisement in the New Nation of 11 August expressed support from the Tumahole Civic Association for the accused, naming Israel MAKHAZA (MACHASA) (25), who was subsequently sentenced to death. Condemned with him were Jerry MOLEBENG (25) and Johannes MONO (23).
Two younger defendants Charles RAMAKHOASE (18) and Johannes MPSHE (19), were also convicted of murder but received 20-year prison terms. Lucas NTHOROANE (20) and Paul KOROPE (21) were sentenced to two years' gaol for public violence. Four others convicted of this - Elias MOGOKANE (19), Africa MOLATEDI (18), Henry KNHI (18) and an unnamed youth - had their three-year sentences suspended on condition they did two years' community service.
On 22 August four men, three of them former drivers with the PUTCO bus company, were sentenced to death for their alleged participation in killing another driver in November 1986. The incident occurred after a 15 per cent fare increase had led to industrial action and a commuter boycott. The new rates were due to be introduced on 1 November and on 24 October almost 300 drivers staged an unofficial protest by refusing to collect fares. Over 200 of them were subsequently dismissed by PUTCO in a move described by the men's union, the Transport and General Workers, as dictatorial and in breach of agreement. Union lawyers prepared an industrial court action against the firm.
PUTCO attempted to run a skeleton service and recruit new staff. Among the drivers who continued working was Petford Shezi, a former PUTCO Driver of the Year. On 20 November he was shot and killed while on duty. Initial reports said that 'PUTCO believes, but has no proof, that the shooting is connected to the recent firing of 200 drivers'. The company offered a R5,000 reward for information. At the trial a PUTCO employee told of how he selected files of people who had been active in the strike to show police.
The state’s case was that former drivers Stanford NGUBO (36), Johannes BUTHELEZI (46) and Bethwell SABELO (39) had hired a ‘hitman’ Vusumuzi KHUZWAYO (24) to kill Shezi. The four maintained their innocence throughout the trial, for which they were criticised by Justice van Heerden – he found that none of them ‘had shown contrition or remorse for their deed and had persisted in their denials of complicity in the murder.’ He rejected evidence that Ngubo’s car (in which they allegedly travelled) had been stolen the day before the offence, saying it was ‘relatively easy to stage the theft of a vehicle’. The court said the only issue to be decided was one of identification and that it had been proved to the court’s satisfaction that the four were present at the murder. None of the evidence about identification was reported in the press. On 22 August the four were sentenced to death and subsequently refused leave to appeal.
