Death Sentences Commuted for S. Africa’s Sharpeville 6 : Botha Grants Clemency After Last Appeal Fails

President Pieter W. Botha today commuted the death sentences of the Sharpeville Six, five men and a woman who hours earlier lost their final judicial appeal.

The six blacks, who had been sentenced to hang for murder convictions, will serve prison terms ranging from 18 to 25 years, the Justice Ministry said. The death sentences for the six had provoked worldwide protests.

Botha also commuted the death sentences of four white policemen and three black men who had been sentenced to hang for murder convictions.

The president’s decision on the Sharpeville Six came hours after the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein, the nation’s highest court, unanimously rejected an appeal to reopen their trial.

No Reason Given

The Justice Ministry gave no reason for Botha’s decision, and Jack Viviers, a spokesman for Botha, refused comment.

Botha previously had turned down a clemency request, but said he would reconsider the matter “as a human being” once the judicial process was completed.

The Sharpeville Six were convicted of murder in connection with the September, 1984, mob killing of a black town councilor in Sharpeville, a township south of Johannesburg.

No evidence was presented that the six contributed physically to the death of the councilor, Kuzwayo Dlamini. Instead, they were convicted under the doctrine of common purpose, which held them responsible because they allegedly were active participants in the mob that killed Dlamini in riots caused by a rent increase.

Clemency Urged

Anti-apartheid groups in South Africa, international human rights organizations and numerous foreign governments had urged Botha to grant clemency.

Appeals for clemency for the six came from, among others, the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain and most other European countries, and the United Nations. Virtually all prominent anti-apartheid and liberal leaders in South Africa had urged clemency, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Before the reprieve was announced, Prakash Diar, lawyer for the six, said the Appeal Court decision was “a bit disappointing” but not unexpected.

Defense lawyers had asked that the trial be reopened to hear evidence from a state witness who said police coerced him into giving false testimony against two defendants.

Shortly before the Appeal Court heard oral arguments in September, Botha told a television interviewer: “I cannot interfere with the judicial system in South Africa unless it is completed, and only when it is completed will I, as a human being, deal with this matter on merit.”

The Sharpeville Six are Francis Mokgesi, 31; Reid Mokoena, 24; Oupa Moses Diniso, 32; Duma Joshua Khumlao, 28; Reginald Sefatsa, 32, and Theresa Ramashamola, 27.