Wally Mbhele
Azanian People’s Liberation Army commander Phila Dolo was granted amnesty last week by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for killing a policeman and possession of a firearm and ammunition. He had been serving a life sentence.
But the commission postponed a decision on Dolo’s plea for amnesty in the 1993 Eikenhof massacre in which three people were murdered.
Dolo says he was responsible for the massacre, not three African National Congress activists serving jail sentences for the killings.
Sources have revealed this dramatic turn by the truth commission followed “an informal meeting” between Transvaal Attorney General Jan d’Oliviera and amnesty committee chair Judge Hassen Mall, where it is believed D’Oliviera negotiated postponement of the Eikenhof matter.
The ANC activists have appealed their convictions. They have not applied for amnesty because they maintain they are not guilty.
Sources said D’Oliviera wants to prevent the truth commission from granting Dolo amnesty for the Eikenhof massacre so he can protect his prosecution that led to the conviction of the ANC activists. If Dolo were to be granted amnesty for the massacre, the decision would have the effect of declaring the ANC acivists innocent.
Despite numerous attempts by the Mail & Guardian to reach D’Oliviera, he did not respond to requests for comment.
Following the meeting between D’Oliviera and Judge Mall, it is understood the judge suddenly advised the amnesty committee, which had already scheduled Dolo’s Eikenhof application, to remove the hearing from the list of violations for which Dolo was seeking pardon.
The ANC activists – Siphiwe Bholo, Boy Ndweni and Sipho Gavin – were convicted in 1994 for the murder of Zandra Mitchely, her son Shaun and his friend, Claire Silberbauer.
Their bail application pending appeal was postponed indefinitely three weeks ago. Their application was opposed by D’Oliviera as the Eikenhof trial prosecutor.
The decision by the truth commission to postpone the Eikenhof matter is in stark contrast to its decision last year to press ahead with the amnesty application of former police hit-squad chief Dirk Coetzee and two of his lieutenants, Almond Nofomela and David Tshikalange, while their trial for the murder of human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge was proceeding.
With the exception of Nofomela, who is serving a sentence for a murder unrelated to the killing of Mxenge, Coetzee and Tshikalange were not jailed as the truth commission granted them amnesty.
This week, the commission failed to respond to enquiries from the M&G about the postponement of Dolo’s plea in the Eikenhof case. Although a commission staffer confirmed amnesty committee secretary Martin Coetsee had been notified of the M&G’s inquiries, Coetsee did not bother to return calls.
Sources within the commission said they believe the matter was postponed because D’Oliviera is keen to defend his prosecution in the Eikenhof matter. They added that had the commission decided to go ahead with the matter, it was possible D’Oliviera would have opposed it in the public forum.
“The tragedy about the truth commission’s decision,” said Oupa Kulashe, a relative of one of the Eikenhof Three, “is that besides compromising itself, it has inadvertently become part of the conspiracy to perpetuate the misery of the activists. It’s like they’ve postponed their freedom while the self-confessed killer is walking free.”
Dolo’s lawyer, Lungelo Mbandazayo, said he had written a letter of protest to the truth commission about delaying his client’s application in the Eikenhof case.
Mbandazayo said he found it strange the commission only deemed it fit to postpone the matter after meeting D’Oliviera. “As applicants, we feel we should have been present at a meeting where this decision was taken. Both the police and the attorney general feel embarrassed because they worked together to convict wrong people for the Eikenhof massacre.”
Mbandazayo added: “There’s indisputable evidence the AK-47 that was confiscated from my client [Dolo] at a roadblock is the same one which was used at Eikenhof. It was ballistically linked to the massacre when Dolo was arrested.”