The applicants apply for amnesty in respect of the roles they played in the attempted coup d'état which took place in Bophuthatswana on 10 February 1988. At that time Jonathan Tlholebe Modisane (the 1^st applicant) and Solomon Netsi Mogale (the 2^nd applicant) were both privates in the Bophuthatswana Defence Force.

The applicants testified that on the 09^th February 1988 their unit Commander, one Sergeant Major Timothy Phiri, informed them that they would soon be involved in an operation to overthrow the Bophuthatswana government. The said Phiri gave various reasons for the overthrow of the government including mal-administration, corruption, the forced removals of chiefs and their tribes from tribal land, nepotism in senior appointments in the Defence Force and the restraint on normal political activity.

At approximately 02h00 on 10 February 1988 the 1^st Applicant, who was a driver, was ordered by the said Phiri to proceed to the armaments storage depot and collect firearms and ammunition. This he did. Thereafter he, the 2^nd Applicant and approximately 150 other soldiers were ordered to proceed to the Parliament complex which also contained a housing estate for cabinet ministers. All the soldiers who proceeded to the complex were armed and in uniform.

At the complex the 1^st Applicant was ordered to remain with his truck which contained extra weaponry. The others were divided into groups and each group was ordered to go to a particular cabinet minister's house and on the sound of a whistle to enter the house and capture the minister.

The 2^nd Applicant was ordered to go to the house of a Mr Ntsime. On the sound of the whistle he fired a number of shots at the lock of one of the doors of the house. The door did not open and entry was gained to the house by other members of his group through another door. Mr Ntsime was not present at his house that night but his wife, children and certain family friends who were there were rounded up and taken to a place near the President's house. The President and certain other cabinet ministers were captured in other houses and taken to the nearby sports stadium.

Later that day members of the South African Defence Force intervened and the President and his colleagues were released and the attempted coup d'état was brought to an end.

Neither of the applicants were involved at the incident which took place at the sports stadium nor were they present at the house in which two women were shot and killed.

The applicants were arrested and were charged in the Bophuthatswana Supreme Court with high treason. They were both convicted and sentenced to a term of 8 years imprisonment. They were both unconditionally released from prison during 1991.

Both of the applicants testified at the hearing of this matter that they willingly participated in the attempt to overthrow the government.

Their applications for amnesty are not opposed. Section 20(1) of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No 34 of 1995 (the Act) provides that amnesty shall be granted if the Committee is satisfied that the application complies with the requirements of the Act, the offence for which the application relates is an act associated with a political objective committed in the course of the conflicts of the past and the applicant has made a full disclosure of all relevant facts.

The applications of the applicants do comply with the requirements of the Act in that they have been duly completed and attested to and were timeously submitted.

We are also satisfied that the offence to which the application relates is an act associated with a political objective as contemplated by the Act.

Section 20(2)(e) of the Act defines "act associated with a political objective" as being any act which constitutes an offence or delict which is associated with a political objective and which was advised, planned, directed commanded, ordered or committed by any person in the performance of the coup d'état to take over the government of any former state, or in any attempt thereto. It is clear from the evidence before us that the attempted coup d'état was politically driven and that the applicants were willing participants therein. The applicants also at all times acted in response to orders given to them and in this regard reference is made to section 20(3)(e) of the Act.

We are also satisfied that the applicants have made a full disclosure of all relevant facts relating to the part they played in the incident.

In the circumstances the applications succeed and the applicants are GRANTED amnesty in respect of acts performed by them in the attempted coup d'état in Bophuthatswana on 10 February 1988 which led to them being convicted of high treason and sentenced to undergo a term of imprisonment.

We are of the opinion that all occupants of ministerial housed at the government housing complex in Mmabatho on the night of 09/10 February 1988 who suffered loss damage or injury as a result of the attempted coup d'état are victims and in this regard this matter is referred to the Committee on Reparations in terms of section 22 of the Act.

Signed at Cape Town on this 29th day of March 2000.