One person was conspicuously absent from the ”Broederstroom” trial this week: Hugh Lugg, a member of the all-white African National Congress military cell that was on trial in Pretoria. Lugg, 30, was arrested with the other three cell members last year. He did not appear at the first court hearing in January and defence lawyers said then that they expected Lugg to appear as a slate witness. At the time of the arrest of the ”Broederstroom” cell in May 1988, police said the group had been betrayed by an ANC informer. But this week, as the other three stood in court to face charges of terrorism and the prospect of long prison sentences, it was as if nobody knew anything about Lugg. His name was not even mentioned in court.
The fifth member of the cell, Paul Annergarn, left the country shortly before the arrests, allegedly after a disagreement with his colleagues. Lugg’s non-appearance was just one surprise in the magistrate’s court this week. The main one, however, was that what was expected to be a sensational show-trial -involving a highly-trained, all-white military cell of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC’s military wing – turned into a quick and carefully choreographed performance. After waiting 13 months in detention, the three accused pleaded guilty and were convicted in little over 30 minutes. The state, for its part, came to court with an amended indictment. Attempted murder charges, which appeared on the earlier indictment, had been dropped from the 87-page document. And when the accused pleaded not guilty to some of the charges, the state accepted this and they were immediately acquitted on these counts.
Damian de Lange, 31, lain Robertson, 36, and Susan Donelly, 24, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of terrorism. Robertson and De Lange also pleaded guilty of causing an explosion near a South African Defence Force bus in Benoni in March 1988. De Lange also admitted two charges of arson; and one of attempted arson in connection with attacks on three Progressive Federal Party offices in Johannesburg, in 1981. His co-accused on these charges, Marion Sparg, is already serving a 25-year sentence for treason. De Lange was out of the country at the time of her trial. Magistrate WJ van den Bergh acquitted the three on further terrorism charges and on charges of illegal possession of explosives, ammunition, and weapons, after the prosecutor accepted their pleas of not guilty. In the dock, the three accused -looked like ordinary citizens rather than ”highly trained terrorists”.
De Lange wore a pinstriped suit, and Robertson, in a dark suit, gave a clenched-fist salute and shouted ”Amandla” as they entered the courtroom. The crowd of family members, friends and members of the ”Broederstroom Support Committee” responded with a salute, De Lange admitted to being the commander of a ”specialised separate unit to carry out instructions on behalf of the ANC”. He had been trained in ”military and combat work, politics, engineering (explosives) and communications”. He and Robertson entered South Africa in July 1987. Robertson was the unit’s ”political commissar”. He had undergone the same training as De Lange, as well as ”intelligence training” in the Soviet Union.
Donelly, a British subject, had received military and communications training. The cell was responsible for one practice explosion, two failed bombing attempts, and two successful attacks. In the practice explosion on October 26 1987, they blew up a high voltage electric mastpole in the Alberton Kliprivier area … A bombing attempt failed in Benoni in February 1988 and on Linksfield Ridge on November 26 1987, but later that day they blew up a radio mast in the area Sixteen air force personnel were injured when they attacked a military bus in Benoni on March 1 1988. Although there was no evidence during the trial, the evidence in mitigation produced some interesting exchanges.
John Westcott, Donelly’s father, was asked if his daughter ever had an affair with a black man. ”Will you repeat that?” he replied. ”Has she ever had an affair with a black man?” the state advocate, Frans Roets, said. ”Is that really in … taste?” ”Has she had a love affair, a personal affair, more than a personal affair … Did she have a regular black caller?” Roets looked embarrassed as he struggled for the right words. Friends and family members laughed and the magistrate called the court to order. ”She certainly had no ‘regular black called while she lived in my home,” Westcott said coldly.
De Lange’s mother, giving evidence in mitigation of sentence, said she sympathised with the ANC, except for its use of violence. ”I see their point of view and agree with their course, but not their violence,” she said. Under cross-examination, she conceded that her son could be described as a ”terrorist”. She said it was ”not her son, but a soldier” who had committed these acts of ”terror”. On Wednesday the unit’s weapons cache was on display. Apart from a formidable array of weapons, including a SAM-7 ground-to-air missile, limpet mines, hand grenades, mortars, a machine gun, and pistol as well as wigs, glasses, hairdye, came¬ra and video and snorkelling equipment.
De Lange, Robertson, Donelly and Lugg were arrested at a house in Broederstroom, only 5km from the Pelindaba nuclear research station. This week’s charge sheet contained detailed information about the group’s activities while operating underground in the country between July 1987 and their capture in 1988. They communicated with the ANC in Lusaka and London through coded telephone messages, notes hidden in; dolls, radios and ”micro-squares” hidden in a copy of Cosmopolitan For example, a British woman, identified as Karen, travelled to Harare in July 1987 carrying money and instructions hidden in two dolls. She was met by Donelly, who took the dolls and gave Karen ”micro-squares” to hide for the journey back to London.
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
