The Inkatha Freedom Party is to forward hundreds of amnesty pleas by political criminals in its ranks to President Thabo Mbeki for presidential pardon.
Welcoming the move, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development representative Paul Setsetse said he appreciated the IFP’s ”attempts to seek a solution”.
”It has not played that role in the past,” he said. The IFP boycotted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission while allowing individual members to seek amnesty.
IFP chief whip Koos van der Merwe said the party had now drafted its own amnesty application forms, which had been circulated to members who were either in prison or exposed to prosecution. It was negotiating with Minister of Correctional Services Ben Skosana for access to jailed members.
The applications were being sifted to ensure they related to political, not ordinary, crimes. Van der Merwe said he expected to hand ”several hundred” to Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Penuell Maduna when he was next in Cape Town.
The justice department had seen and approved the application forms, he said, and Maduna had personally urged him to submit them.
Van der Merwe suggested presidential reprieves under Section 84 of the Constitution — rather than new law — might be the route the government planned to follow in dealing with the vexed amnesty issue.
”Passing a law will take time, and then the lawyers might climb in on it,” he said.
The government has clearly signalled its desire for additional amnesties. It is under pressure from the far right, but its main worry seems to be the exposure of government and African National Congress leaders, particularly to civil claims.
Its dilemma is that moves towards general amnesty without disclosure or reparations could trigger a constitutional challenge by victims.
Asked how presidential reprieves could be used to indemnify political criminals still at large, Van der Merwe said the Constitution gave Mbeki the right to pardon ”offenders” as well as remit sentences.
”This might provide an opening. At any rate, we are going to give it a try.”
But Setsetse insisted a new amnesty mechanism was needed, bringing closure on the past without undermining the rule of law or the truth commission.
”Inkatha members are welcome to apply for presidential reprieve, and each application will be considered on merit. But they will have to satisfy the department’s guidelines — including the public interest, the period spent in jail and the nature of the offence — as well as other factors the president may consider relevant.”
Pressed on the government’s current thinking on amnesty, Setsetse ruled out blanket pardons. The amnesty mechanism would have to be based on individual applications, while being ”flexible”, he said.
However, victims would have to be sensitised to the need for South Africa to move on.
He declined to give further details. The government was weighing the legal options and an announcement would be made soon.
The IFP believes that in sifting amnesty pleas, the justice department should be helped by a panel of retired judges. This would give the process credibility, said Van der Merwe.