CAPE TOWN 27 October 1999 - SAPA
ANC OPPOSES AMNESTY FOR MEMBER WHO KILLED FELLOW ACTIVIST
The African National Congress on Wednesday opposed the granting of amnesty to
one of its former Self Defence Unit members who killed fellow Western Cape
activist Mziwonke "Pro" Jack in an ambush in 1991. The ANC told the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission's amnesty committee in Cape Town the
organisation did not associate itself with the actions of former SDU member Yola
Tembinkosi Yekwani, 39, who admitted gunning down the popular activist. Lawyer
Peter Williams, who appeared for the ANC, said Yekwani was telling the committee
a "scheme of lies" and was clearly not making a full disclosure about
the incident. Yekwani claimed the killing of Jack was a mistake and that he had
opened fire on his car believing it to be a police vehicle. Williams argued that
Yekawani had for years denied killing Jack and even when approached by the late
Chris Hani for information never admitted any knowledge of the incident.
Williams said there were strong indications in the accounts of the shooting that
Yekwani had known Jack and had deliberately set out to shoot him. Although this
could not be established beyond reasonable doubt, Yekwani's account still left
many unanswered questions which led to the inescapable conclusion that he was
still not telling the truth. "The ANC therefore distances itself from his
actions and opposes the granting of amnesty," Williams told the hearing. In
his testimony, Yekwani told the committee he and other SDU members had waited
for a police vehicle that was returning from the nearby town of Phillipi and
were planning to ambush it. However Yekwani's version was contradicted by that
of Jack's nephew Andile Jack who was 14 at the time and in the car on the night
the activist was shot. He told the committee he had seen three men standing
under some trees and they had called out to "Pro" Jack.
"Pro" Jack reversed his car towards them shortly before the shooting
started. The lawyer appearing for the Jack family, Ismail Jamie, also opposed
the granting of amnesty to Yekwani on the grounds that his account of events was
hard to believe. Jamie said Jack's death had either been a deliberate hit, or
had been the result of a mistake caused by hi being at the wrong place at the
wrong time. He said that if he had been assassinated there were several possible
motives, including his involvement as a mediator in the taxi violence which was
raging at the time or a dispute over the control of firearms. He said, however,
that if Jack's murder had purely been a mistake then it was the result of a
series of extraordinary coincidences. Shortly before the committee adjourned to
consider the application for amnesty, Yekwani asked for permission to address
the committee and once again protested he had not deliberately murdering Jack,
and said it had been a mistake for which he was sorry. The committee, chaired by
Judge Denzil Potgieter, will make its decision known at a future date. The
committee is due to hear more applications on Thursday and Friday.
© South African Press Association, 1999
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