Amnesty Hearings — Middelburg — 2000-05-11

CHAIRPERSON: Yes Mr Richard, have you got any submissions?

MR RICHARD: I do have some submissions.  From various reports that we all have copies of, we know that during that period in the area where this applicant resided, and worked, there were cases where groups, crowds of people decided to attack and injure people they suspected of being witches.
	It was a problem at that time.  We then also have no reason to doubt that this particular applicant attended a meeting at Maroshane where the problem of witches was discussed.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, his testimony is not in dispute on the build up.

MR RICHARD: And then the relevant factor in his case is that after an unsuccessful quest to find a sangoma or ngaka, he became part of a crowd that seized upon what appears to be an arbitrary suspect and burnt her to death.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, I think the question is was she a political opponent?

MR RICHARD: All I can argue in his support is that he was part of a crowd that descended upon this woman in the belief, unreasonable though it may have been, and unconnected with any linking evidence, that she was a witch.  The man is clearly a simple person and I believe that his evidence that he would not have acted in this manner, unless it had been for that time, may be accepted as true.
	My submission on his behalf is that the inference that we can draw from the facts I have outlined is that contrary to his normal state of mind, he became possessed with the hysteria of that particular crowd and believed on the basis of superstition and background, that he was acting in accordance with an accepted political gender of killing witches.
	Unfortunately there is no evidence that I can take the argument further with.  If I am challenged to say what evidence there is that links the subjected state of the applicant's mind I have nothing but that circumstantial evidence that I have outlined to argue on, and I will leave the matter in the hands of the Panel.  As it pleases you Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you  Mr Richard.  Mr Mokoena, have you got any submissions?

MR MOKOENA: Honourable Chairperson, I am not going to make any submission, I will leave the matter in the hands of the Committee.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Ms Mtanga?

MS MTANGA: I have no submissions to add, Mr Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Anything you wanted to add, Mr Richard?

MR RICHARD: Nothing further.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, we have come to the end of the day, we have been forced to sit way beyond the normal sitting hours because of the circumstances that prevailed here in an attempt to catch up with the matters that we had on the roll and in an attempt to accommodate everybody who is inconvenienced by the continuation of the proceedings, particularly by the fact that a significant number of the applicants before us, are being transported by the Correctional Services from various centres and there are great difficulties in sometimes reaching the venue from the centres without problems.
	For that reason we have sat until we had completed this particular matter, which affected an applicant who has to be transported over some distance, back to Pretoria.  As we have indicated, we are sitting in Middelburg in Mpumalanga.
	For that reason we have sat until this evening.  However, having come to the end of the day's proceedings, we are not in a position to give a decision immediately, we believe it is in the interest of the process that we should adjourn at this stage.  We will formulate a decision and will notify the parties as soon as that decision is available.  We will endeavour not to delay the decision in the matter, unnecessarily as we try to do and get these decisions out as expeditiously as possibly under normal circumstances.
	We will therefore adjourn the proceedings and reconvene tomorrow morning at nine o'clock in order to deal with whatever remains to be dealt with on our record, on our hearing schedule.  We again take the opportunity to thank the legal representatives for their assistance thus far, it is appreciated.  We will then adjourn the proceedings until tomorrow morning at nine o'clock.
COMMITTEE ADJOURNS