Spending time in jail has had a radical and tempering effect on him and taught him to control his temper, Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging leader Eugene Terre’Blanche said in papers before the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday.
”I have been able throughout, even under tremendous provocation, to remain calm, preferring to settle matters through dialogue or negotiation,” he said in an affidavit in support of an application to have the remainder of his jail term replaced by correctional
supervision.
”I have been able to endure my prison sentence only through discipline and self-control.”
Terre’Blanche said he had become a reborn Christian and was not a threat to society. He took up a Bible course while in prison and was the best student.
He had done translations for a church course, and held a service in his cell every Sunday which was attended by about 10 fellow inmates.
He also addressed a Tswana church group, according to the affidavit.
Terre’Blanche is serving an effective five year sentence at the Rooigrond Prison in North West for attempting to murder former security guard, Paul Motshabi, in March 1996. Motshabi was left permanently disabled.
He started serving the sentence in March last year after the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein upheld his 1997 conviction and six-year sentence.
He was at the time out on parole after serving six months of a one-year sentence for assaulting petrol attendant John Ndzima.
In his court papers, Terre’Blanche said he had built good relationships in prison, pointing out that of the 400 inmates, only five were white.
He stated he did not hold a grudge against anybody. Motshabi’s sister was working for Terre’Blanche’s wife and Motshabi was provided with regular meals.
He also claimed to be living in fear of victimisation by prison gangs as a result of his outspokenness against the use of dagga.
Terre’Blanche (58) said he had lost all his assets, and would have to start building an estate anew. He has already been offered a post in his home town of Ventersdorp.
His wife, Martie, worked at a local school, and had to lay out gardens to supplement her income.
Terre’Blanche was seeking a review of a Correctional Services decision in April not to change his sentence to one of correctional supervision.
He claimed he was not alerted timeously that the department would hear his application, and was not afforded an opportunity to present arguments.
The decision was procedurally unfair, he said.
The department contends that Terre’Blanche was not yet eligible for correctional supervision, as he had not served a quarter of his sentence.
However, the defence said he had already served a third of his jail term if one included the six months he served earlier as well as the period he was out on parole. – Sapa