OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday
DISGRACED former anti-apartheid activist Dr Alan Boesak, jailed earlier this year for squirrelling away R1.3m of donor funds, could be out on parole by next June following a Correction Services Department decision to slash ten months off his sentence.
Boesak started his 3-year sentence on May 15 this year after being found guilty on three counts of theft and one of fraud when he was head of the Foundation for Peace and Justice.
Described as a ”model prisoner”, Boesak can now be considered for parole by June 2001 when half of his reduced sentence has been served.
DCS official Russel Mamabolo said Boesak has been granted a ”special reduced sentence as a result of his good and deserving behaviour”.
”Boesak is involved in religious activities in prison and has been counselling other prisoners spiritually.
Malmesbury prison regional manager Laurence Venter made the decision to reduce Boesak’s sentence after reports by the prison’s case study officers.
The department last month applied for Boesak’s prison sentence be commuted to correctional supervision, a request which is being strongly contested by the state. The application will be heard as soon as Boesak’s application for appeal has been heard by the Constitutional Court.
The department says it wants his sentence to be changed to enable him to act as spiritual counsellor for other prisoners permanently.
Judge John Foxcroft found Boesak guilty on charges of fraud and theft of R1.3 million on 17 March last year. His trial began in August 1998.
The charges against him related to the maladministration of donor funds to the Foundation for Peace and Justice (FPJ), which aimed to fight apartheid. Several religious and humanitarian organisations, particularly from Scandinavian countries, donated money. The sentence was commuted to three years following appeal.
Boesak’s accountant at the Foundation for Peace and Justice, Freddie Steenkamp, also requested last week that his sentence be commuted to correctional supervision. His request has been postponed until October 31 by the Cape High Court.