THE Constitutional Court yesterday upheld a high court decision interdicting the President from granting pardons to perpetrators of political violence without first consulting victims.
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging member Ryna Albutt appealed against the decision in the Constitutional Court after it was handed down in the high court in Pretoria on April 29, 2009.
Albutt had applied for a pardon under a special dispensation introduced by former President Thabo Mbeki in 2007.
In a unanimous judgment, Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that the exercise of the power to grant a pardon had to be rationally related to its purpose.
Mbeki had hoped the special dispensation would achieve national unity and national reconciliation and said he would be guided by the criteria, principles and spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission amnesty process, Ngcobo noted. He held that, given the country's history, victim participation was the only rational means of contributing to national reconciliation and national unity.
Ngcobo emphasised that the court's finding applied only to pardons brought under the special dispensation and not to any other categories.
He dismissed the appeal with costs.
The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation brought the case to the high court, which found in their favour.
Albutt, who was jailed for an attack on black residents in Kuruman in the Northern Cape, was joined in his challenge of the high court decision by the President and the Justice Minister. — Sapa
CSVR is a multi-disciplinary institute that seeks to understand and prevent violence, heal its effects and build sustainable peace at the community, national and regional levels.
