Amnesty Hearings — Bloemfontein — 1997-05-14

MS THABETHA: This is a letter from Roelof Fourie.  It says
The Amnesty Commission Bloemfontein.
	To whom it may concern.
	In connection with the death of our father, Roelof Fourie, who was murdered on the 12th of February 1992, we would like to bring the following facts to the attention of the Amnesty Commission.  
         We first learned that the four men were convicted of murder, Mr Nkgwedi, Mr Magoda, Mr May and Mr Leeuw who are seeking amnesty from a television item.  We would like the opportunity to tell the court about Roelof Fourie and how he treated his workers.  He built brick houses for all the permanent families on the farm, plus ablution blocks with running hot and cold water.  Local farmers were not in favour of this as this raised expectations amongst their workers.        He also built a school and when he saw the headmaster who was not teaching the students but taking time off, he went to the Education Department and had him replaced with a more reliable teacher.                 
	He gave plants from his garden to those who wanted to set up their own gardens.                              
	He used his prize bulls to breed with the workers' cattle to improve their stock..                         
	He used the farm's vehicles to take the staff shopping on a monthly basis and also transported sick workers to doctors when needed.                                   
	He regularly killed sheep for the staff as well as supplied them with groceries on a monthly basis.       
	Every Christmas he ensured that every member each family resident on the farm received a gift.           
	He built a soccer field for the children.              
	Roelof Fourie was a firm but fair man who expected his employees to put in an honest day's work in return for wages which were the highest in the area.  He was not involved in party politics but he was respected for his knowledge on improved farming methods in the area which benefited both inhabitants and the environment.        
	In addition we would like to point our that contrary to his statement the father of Sebula Nkgwedi was still resident and working on the farm Stormberg at the time of the shooting.       We believe the situation has been exploited by those who want their freedom, even if it means changing the facts. At the trial all were given every opportunity to state their motive for their murder and non talked of the PAC operation.  If their political convictions were so great, why did they not state this and why was there no evidence of any political support inside or outside the courtroom or in the newspapers?  Can a case for amnesty be built on lies?
	Another cause for great concern is that Hendrick Leeuw, after he was convicted, turned around in the courtroom and said to Roelof Fourie's grandson, Do you remember me? Yes said the grandson, It's your turn next, I will come and get you Bertrand(?) Hendrick! This was immediately reported to the prosecutor, Mr Hatting.  Nothing further was heard on our side.  Should a man who's already admitted to killing be set free to perhaps carry out his threat in the name of Justice?  We believe that the motive for murder was robbery as the workers believed him to be a rich man.  This is supported that they stole His share certificates, Kruger Rands, a motor vehicle, clothing and household effects. And not for political reasons as has been put forward.                                               
	We would like  you to carefully consider the above facts before granting amnesty to the four men.         
	Yours sincerely
Thank you Mr Chair.

JUDGE WILSON: I would ask you please to have copies made of that letter to supply one copy to the applicant's representative, one to the three members of the Committee  and one to those responsible for the recording, that they can check the document against the recording they have when they're preparing the record of the proceedings.

MS THABETHA: I will do that Mr Chair.

JUDGE WILSON: Thank you.
	We now revert to the matter of Nsemeni Jack Menera which I referred to a few minutes ago, application No 0015/96.