Sehlapelo
Martin SEHLAPELO (23), a former science undergraduate at the University of the Witwatersrand, was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Pietersburg Regional Court on 25 August after pleading guilty to a charge of terrorism. Sehlapelo, from Seshego, left South Africa illegally in 1986 after a friend was badly assaulted by police. In Botswana he made contact with the ANC and later received military training in Angola. He returned to politicise people. No further details of the date of his detention or his actions in South Africa were reported.
Yengeni and others: Jonas
Abednego Bogani JONAS (30) was sentenced to three years imprisonment on 3 November for refusing to testify for the state against Tony Sithembiso YENGENI and 13 other accused who are facing terrorism charges. Jonas, from Guguletu, gave just one day's evidence, as 'Mr X', in April 1989, before demanding legal representation.
He admitted being a trained ANC combatant and told of how he was shot on arrest in September 1987. Police then withheld medical attention and stood on his shattered thigh until he had provided information. Similar treatment was meted out to one of the accused, Mthetheleli TITANA, who was shot four times. Witnesses were cross-examined extensively about assault and torture of the accused by police, including WO Jeff Benzien, already implicated in the killing of Ashley KRIEL.
Three defendants are on bail — Colleen LOMBARD, Soraya ABASS and Gertrude FESTER. Lumka NYAMZA was excused from court in October after being admitted to hospital suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The other accused are Jennifer SCHREINER, Michael Mzimkhulu LUMBAMBO, Mbutu Richmond NDUKU, Wellington Mongameli NKWANDLA, Gary KRUSER, Christopher GIFFARD, Sitlabocha Charles MOHALE and Alpheus NDUDE.
Other convictions
Information about the following cases is drawn principally from the bulletin of the Human Rights Commission: * William S MOALOLI was convicted of terrorism in Bloemfontein in February 1989 and sentenced to 10 years. * M P MOLEMA was sentenced to two years imprisonment in Bloemfontein in March 1989 for harbouring guerrillas. * Vuyisile Msweli and Bongani NTULI were convicted of terrorism in Welkom in August 1989. Msweli received five years and Ntuli two years. * Vusumuzi Vivian NENE was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the Pretoria Regional Court in January but this was reduced to five years on appeal in April. * Phanuel PULE was sentenced to eight years imprisonment by a court in Russtenberg for harbouring and failing to report guerrillas. On appeal in February 1989 this was reduced to four years. * Paul RAMAKHOEDI was sentenced to ten years for terrorism by a Bloemfontein court sometime between October 1988 and February 1989.
Noah Silas SEBOGE (30) has appealed against an eight-year prison term imposed by the Pretoria Regional Court in October 1988 for the illegal possession of arms and ammunition. Seboge, from Rockville, Soweto, was detained on a train on 12 August 1987. He was returning from a business trip to Botswana to sell perfumes and shirts when a police search of his carriage found bags containing weapons and ammunition under the seat opposite. He denied they were his or had ever been in his possession. However, he was questioned, searched and then assaulted.
- Peter Mololi SOKOPO (25) was convicted of terrorism, membership of a banned organisation and possession of banned literature in October 1988 and subsequently sentenced to eight years imprisonment by the King Williams Town Regional Court. Witnesses against Sokopo included Mzikhulu NDIKI, who was being held under Section 31 of the Internal Security Act. Ndiki said he was assaulted, held in solitary confinement and was threatened that he would be shot if he failed to make a statement.
Another witness was an unnamed former ANC member who had previously testified in trials in Natal. Sokopo's lawyers said his evidence contradicted the testimony he gave in earlier trials and he had changed dates around to fit the facts.
Soldiers fighting colonialism and racism must be treated as soldiers and not terrorists.
W V Mhlongo — sentenced to 10 years
Other trials
Western Cape protests
In the period from August to October an estimated 400 youths from the Western Cape appeared in courts on public violence charges.
The trials followed months of protests in schools and colleges in the area. They first focussed on issues like the presence of police and army in schools, but students and pupils later took part in the mass defiance campaign and in protests against the segregated parliamentary election and the detention of students.
Amongst those facing charges was an 11-year-old boy due to appear in the Vredenburg Magistrates' Court on 28 November. The appearance of 10 youths in the Ceres Magistrates' Court in October led to a demonstration of 600 local pupils at which 14 arrests were made.
This led to further protest involving a march to the police station by 2,500 people, including parents, teachers and a church leader, successfully demanding the release of the pupils arrested during the first demonstration.
In November, the trial of a 17-year-old mentally handicapped youth, which was reported in Focus 84 p.5, ended. The youth, alleged to be a member of the 'Bonteheuwel Military Wing', was found guilty of public violence, malicious damage to property and arson. Although the court had found he was unduly influenced to make a statement whilst in custody, he was sentenced to six years imprisonment.
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) reported in October that T V MATSEPE was given a five-year sentence for public violence by a Bloemfontein court in August. No details of the case are known.
Eastern Cape: capital charges
A number of trials involving murder charges ended in the last half of 1989 with heavy sentences. In three cases convictions apparently relied on the evidence of a single key witness. The trials arose out of incidents in 1985 and 1986 in the Eastern Cape where mass popular resistance was met by the occupation of townships by troops.
The trial of 16 Middelburg men, reported in Focus 81, ended in August with the conviction of five of the accused, all members of the Middelburg Youth Congress (MYCO). The trial arose from the killing of a councillor and a child, and an attempt on the life of another councillor in April 1986 — this followed the petrol bombing of a house in which the president of MYCO was seriously burnt. Abednego WATERMEYER (21), William NDAMANA (21) and a youth (17), who was named by the HRC as Samuel QATANA, were convicted of murder, public violence and attempted murder in the Grahamstown Supreme Court. They received sentences of 16 years, 14 years and 12 years respectively. Simpiwe BLACKIE (22) was found guilty on one count of murder and of public violence and was sentenced to 12 years. A youth named by the HRC as Amos MNYAKA (17) was sentenced to 10 years for murder, attempted murder and public violence.
According to the defence, the state's case hinged on the evidence of a single witness whose testimony in court conflicted with an earlier affidavit.
Candry MZUKIZE, a 19-year-old youth, was given a 15-year sentence in the East London Supreme Court in September, after being found guilty of the murder of a suspected informer in the black township of Hofmeyr in June 1986. Only one witness, the deceased's aunt, gave evidence on the events. Her testimony contradicted her earlier statements.
Two New Brighton men were found guilty of murder in the Port Elizabeth Supreme Court in May. Ndoyisile Mor-
