Allan Boesak, the former anti-apartheid activist, is overjoyed at the news that he has been granted a presidential pardon, the South African Broadcasting Corporation said on Saturday.
According to the report, President Thabo Mbeki announced on Saturday that he is expunging Boesak’s criminal record.
Boesak was convicted in 1999 of fraud and theft of donor money, and served two of his six years.
Boesak said he has spent the first 10 years of democracy on the sidelines, not being able to participate as he would have liked to. He said all this is now in the past.
Meanwhile, the justice ministry has declined to comment on the presidential pardon granted.
The justice ministry said its job is only to check if the application complies with requirements. Former justice minister Penuell Maduna recommended that Boesak not be pardoned.
‘Pardon for political crony’
The official opposition said it will request copies of Boesak’s pardon from the justice ministry.
Sheila Camerer, the Democratic Alliance justice spokesperson, said Boesak stole money that belonged to the poor.
In the absence of any reasons, it would be apparent that this is merely a pardon for a political crony, said Camerer.
”I will be asking the ministry for copies of the relevant documents, using the Access to Information Act if necessary, so that South Africans will be able to judge whether there are substantive and valid reasons for the decision to grant Boesak a pardon,” she said in a statement.
Camerer said Mbeki’s office will have to work hard to convince South Africans that Boesak’s pending pardon is not a political act. — Sapa