Amnesty Hearings — Durban — 2000-04-11

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: At the moment, yes, I am employed.  There is an organisation in KwaMashu for repatriated exiles, called KVA.  What they do is they help the comrades and they work alongside the former RDP, assisting the community insofar as construction companies are concerned in the area, for the building of roads etcetera.  We make sure that these employees from these companies are not harassed whilst doing their work in the township.

MS LOONAT: Thank you.  Have you, or do you foresee that in seeking employment in the future you might have a problem with this conviction against you?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: Yes, that is in my mind.  That is the reason why I am before this Commission today, I am thinking that the criminal record against me might pose a problem in my efforts to secure myself a job.  But now what hurts me is that I did not commit the crime for personal gain, but I did it to protect the community.

CHAIRPERSON: You were convicted and you were sentenced to seven years, or what?  Were you sentenced to seven years?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: Yes.

CHAIRPERSON: And you served those seven years?  Your sentence is finished.

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: I spent about four to five years in prison, yes.

CHAIRPERSON: And now you're employed and you're back in the community, is that correct?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: Yes, I am back with the community.  That's where I am working for the community.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, thank you.  Ms Loonat, anything else?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: Yes, I wanted to say something.

CHAIRPERSON: Go ahead.

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: What I wanted to say is to express my sincere apology to the person whom we victimised and his relatives, it was not my intention to gain anything from this personally.  I knew him as one of those people in the community who was not problematic, save to say, we just wanted to secure the firearm from him.  That is what I wanted to say, and further say that if the Commission can assist me in any way, because see, everything that happened did not happen necessarily because of an intention for personal gain on my part.  I am aware now that my fate is apparently affected by this, because there are some places where I cannot employment as a result of this criminal record against me.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, thank you.  Ms Loonat, anything else?

MS LOONAT: I have no further questions.
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS BY MS LOONAT

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.

MR SIBANYONI: Chairperson, maybe while he's still here, can I just ask a question?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes, Mr Sibanyoni.

MR SIBANYONI: You said, Mr Ndlovu, you hit him with an empty bottle and my question is, did the bottle break?  Did he sustain any injuries?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: The bottle did not break.  I hit him with the middle side of the bottle and he fell down.  He did not even bleed, he just got confused and in the process I took the firearm and shot in the air so as to confuse him even further.

MR SIBANYONI: Was he in a position to stand up immediately thereafter?  Because you say you shot in the air to scare him from following your tracks.  Was he able to stand up?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: Yes, after I had removed the firearm from him, he stood up, came forward with an intention to talk.  I shot in the air and that's when he fled.

MR SIBANYONI: Thank you, Mr Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.  Ms Patel, any questions?

MS PATEL: No, thank you Honourable Chairperson.
NO QUESTIONS BY MS PATEL

CHAIRPERSON: Anything else from the Panel?

ADV SIGODI: Just one thing that bothers me.  In your last - as you were saying that you were sorry for this, you said that you knew the victim as somebody who was not problematic.  Do you remember that?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: Yes, I said I did not know anything against him, to me he was like anybody else, but because we saw this firearm, that is when we suspected him, otherwise he did not have anything against us.

ADV SIGODI: I see.  This firearm, where did he have this firearm?

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: The holster was hanging on the side of his waist and you could see the barrel through the jacket that he was wearing, just below the jacket.

ADV SIGODI: Thanks, Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.  Ms Loonat, anything else?  Is that the evidence?

MS LOONAT: That is the evidence, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Yes.  Thank you Mr Ndlovu, you're excused.

THAMSANQA NDLOVU: Thank you.
WITNESS EXCUSED

CHAIRPERSON: Have you got any other evidence?

MS LOONAT: No, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Ms Patel, do you have any evidence?

MS PATEL: No, I do not.  Thank you, Honourable Chairperson.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you.  Ms Loonat, have you got any submissions on the merits of your client's case?

MS LOONAT: Your Worship, just in mitigation.  May I proceed?

CHAIRPERSON: Yes certainly.

MS LOONAT: Thank you.
	Mr Chairperson, Honourable Members of the Committee, my learned friends, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Ndlovu is a 30-year old man, unmarried, with no criminal record except the present one.  That is why we are here today.  As we have heard, he was caught up as a student, in the ugly apartheid times.  He was a young virile, impressionable teenager at the time and he was very frustrated with the political situation as it existed in the 80s.  He did not sit back and accept the situation.  He went into exile, leaving his single mother and family, to fight for something he strongly believed in -freedom for his people.  
	He spent approximately three years abroad training in guerilla warfare and rose to the status of a CO, when it was announced that the ANC and other political parties were unbanned, together with the release of President Mandela from Robben Island.  It was safe to return home, or so he thought.  The truth was that those were the headlines, but at grassroots level, nothing changed for him.  In the townships there was still political turmoil amongst the residents.  IFP attacking the ANC and vice versa, followed by the retaliatory attacks in some instances.  My client could not sit back and do nothing, whilst his people were subjected to these sporadic attacks.
	My submissions are that he soon learnt that gangsters were influenced by the IFP, to carry out raids on the ANC.  To name one of the gangs, my client submitted a name called "Sinoras"(?)  My client was trained for close on two years to defend his people and he realised he had to take the initiative to do so>  Relying on his training whilst in exile and fearing for the safety of his family and people, who wanted to live their lives without these attacks, he did what he did. Essentially he wanted firearms and ammunition, in line with his training, to defend his area.
	Chairperson, he has made full disclosure, he has served five years prison sentence for this conviction, he has no other previous convictions, no criminal record whatsoever.  It is my submission that the application complies with the requirements of the Act, and his application for amnesty should be granted in terms of Section 20(1)(a), (b), (c), (2)(a), more especially (d) and (f) and (3) and (a).  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you, Ms Loonat.  Ms Patel, have you got anything to say pertinent to this case, not anything inspired by the spiritual atmosphere?

MS PATEL: No, Honourable Chairperson, I do not believe that there is anything material that I can add to this.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: That helps, Ms Patel, thank you very much.  I assume you don't want to say anything further.

MS LOONAT: No, thank you.