The Sowetan of 9 June 2009 published an article with the heading alleging that Former President Motlanthe nearly freed racist killers and goes on further to allege that if the former President had his own way the four Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging members would be released from prison.
The article is misleading to the public and devoid of any truth.
In reply to the article it is imperative that the procedure regarding the pardoning process in terms of the special dispensation is set out.
Former President Mbeki at a joint sitting of Parliament outlined a special dispensation of pardoning certain individuals who allegedly committed crimes in furtherance of their political objectives prior a specified date.
This state of affairs has been termed by some as “the unfinished business of our democracy.”
The former President had decided to deal with this matter decisively and to lay this matter to rest. However, the former President did not find any of the applicable pardoning measures suitable for dealing with this matter in a flexible, decisive and speedy manner. As a result, the former President decided to utilise his presidential powers to set up a special dispensation to grant qualifying applicants pardon in terms of section 84(2)(j) of the Constitution of 1996 in order to deal with this ‘unfinished business’.
In an effort to assist the President in discharging his constitutional duties, the former President Thabo Mbeki established a reference group made of representatives from all political parties to consider the requests for pardon and make recommendations to the President.
In terms of the terms of the reference group, the recommendations made by the reference group in respect of each application for pardon was to reflect the majority as well as the minority views of members, if any, in respect of each application. The President has the power to reject the recommendations made by the reference group.
The President is not bound to agree with the recommendations of the reference group. Like any other pardon application, the President was going to carefully consider each application and make his decision whether to refuse or grant pardon.
The Sowetan article insinuated that the former President would have ignored his Constitutional obligations and blindly followed the recommendations of the reference group in order to pardon those recommended.
Enquiries:
Thabo Masebe
Cell: 082 410 8087
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/)
