Bombing
In the 1985 Amanzimtoti bombing on the Natal South Coast, six civilians were killed and 40 were injured when MK cadre Andrew Sibusiso Zondo detonated an placed a limpet mine in a rubbish bin at a Amanzimtoti Sanlam shopping centre shortly before Christmas. [1] [4] The bomb was placed in a telephone booth, and it detonated at approximately 2:30 PM. The explosion resulted in the immediate deaths of 5 people, including four children, and left at least 60 others injured. Many of the casualties were women and children who were shopping or passing through the area at the time of the explosion. [3]
The bombing sent shockwaves throughout the country, leading to widespread condemnation. The ANC's armed wing, MK, initially claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a part of their strategy to destabilize the apartheid government. However, there was also significant debate over the ethics and impact of targeting civilians in such attacks. Many South Africans, even those opposed to apartheid, criticized the bombing for causing unnecessary harm to civilians. [1] [2] [5] The Amanzimtoti bomb attack happened few months after the ANC’s policy conference in Kabwe, Zambia. The leadership of the ANC, under the leadership of Oliver Tambo, formally decided at this major policy shifts, including opening membership to all races and escalating the armed struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the escalation of the armed struggle. [5] [6] [7]
In a submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the ANC stated that Zondo's act, though "understandable" as a response to a recent South African Defence Force raid in Lesotho, was not in line with ANC policy. Zondo was subsequently executed. [2] [8]
Aftermath
Three Afrikaner children, Willem Arie van Wyk 2 years old, Isabella Margretha van Wyk 5 years old and eight-year-old Johan Smit. Two women were also killed: Mrs Irma Bencini 48 and Anna Shearer, 43. Sixty-one people were injured many of them with injuries with permanent damage or disabled. [1] [3]
Zondo was captured on 29 December 1985 by the South African security forces. [9] He was prosecuted, found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed in Pretoria on 9 September 1986. The judge who sentenced him to death was Judge Johan Theron, often incorrectly cited as Judge Ramon Leon (the judge that originally found him guilty of the murders – after Zondo admitted to an accomplice that he was "disappointed in the body count, wishing it to have been higher") [10] Two co-accused were acquitted in court but later extrajudicially executed by the Security Branch. [11]
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