In spite of continuing demands for the release of Nelson Mandela, an announcement in November that he would not be returned to a prison after leaving Constantiaberg clinic, contained no commitment to free him. The unconditional release shortly afterwards of two other prominent political prisoners was welcomed by all who had campaigned for their freedom.
Harry Themba GWALA (69) and Zephaniah Lekoana MOTHOPENG (75) were released on 26 November before completion of their sentence. Both had been seriously ill for several years, and their release was officially described as arising from 'medical and humanitarian' considerations.
They were released unconditionally and without restriction, having refused previous offers of freedom if they renounced armed struggle. On his release, Gwala said, 'I am not a violent man. I would not undertake to renounce something I was not engaged in', and Mothopeng emphasised that he was a 'free man unconditionally'.
Harry Gwala, former secretary of the South African Railway and Harbour Workers Union, a South African Congress of Trade Unions activist and former chair of the Pietermaritzburg branch of the ANC, served 11 years, four months of a life sentence. It was imposed under the Suppression of Communism and Terrorism Acts on 25 July 1977. He was convicted of ANC membership and assisting people to go abroad for military training.
Gwala suffers from motor-neurone disease, a creeping paralysis for which there is no cure. His medical condition was first revealed by a former Robben Island prisoner Eric NGELEZA on his release in March 1987. As reported in the last issue of FOCUS, the Release Mandela Committee co-ordinated a campaign for his release on humanitarian grounds following reports of his deteriorating health and inadequate medical care.
Gwala has experienced repression since the 1950s. He was banned and restricted for five years in June 1972 and detained in 1975. An earlier ban expired in 1968 while he was serving an eight-year jail term imposed on 11 June 1964 for recruiting people for military training.
Zephaniah MOTHOPENG (75), founder member of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and its president since 1986, served nine years and five months of a 15-year jail term imposed on 26 June 1979. He was sentenced under the Terrorism Act for reviving the PAC with the intention of sending people abroad for military training and for furthering the aims of the PAC through the Young African Religious Movement in Krugersdorp.
Appeals for Mothopeng's release followed reports that he was suffering from malignant thymoma (cancer), a condition for which he was hospitalized in 1986 and 1988. Other reports indicated that Mothopeng had been ill since 1976.
Mothopeng served two earlier jail terms: in 1961 he was jailed for two years under the Suppression of Communism Act for PAC activities, and a further three years was imposed in 1964 for membership and furthering the aims of the PAC. He was under a banning order from 1967 to 1971 and was held for three years awaiting trial before his conviction in 1979.
While the release of Gwala and Mothopeng was unconditional and on humanitarian grounds, in the case of Nelson Mandela recent developments indicated that the government's focus remained on the political climate within South Africa and the possible consequence of his release. It was confirmed that Mandela was not to be returned to prison, but no commitment to free him was made.
The Minister of Justice announced on 25 November that Mandela was 'eventually' to be transferred from Constantiaberg Clinic where he is being treated for tuberculosis, to 'suitable, comfortable and secure accommodation'. The Minister said Mandela's transfer would enable him to 'receive members of his family more freely and on a continual basis', indicating that special visiting rights accorded to Mandela since his illness were to be extended.
In October President Botha restated the government's emphasis on a 'flexible' evaluation of a number of factors in a joint communique issued after his meeting with President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire. During meetings with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Swiss-South African Association, Botha's concern over the possible repercussions of Mandela's freedom and the 'need' for his 'co-operation ... not to revert to policies which might lead to violence' was restated.
