South Africa Unexpected Courtroom Triumph

By Michael S. Serrill

Grinning broadly, their fists clenched in the air, six United Democratic Front leaders were greeted with cheers and shouts by the crowd that had gathered at Johannesburg's Central Methodist Church. As the leaders were embraced by Nobel Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, six other U.D.F. members received a similar reception 300 miles away in the coastal city of Durban. The occasion: the unexpected dismissal of treason charges against the twelve by the South African government. Though four of the 16 people on trial still face charges, the collapse of the case against most of them was a rare victory for opponents of the apartheid regime. "The state had no case," said U.D.F. Leader Curtis Ndlovu. "We say to the government, 'The struggle continues!' "

From the beginning, the prosecution of the U.D.F. leaders smacked of government harassment. Five of the defendants were arrested in 1984 after they publicly opposed revisions in the South African constitution, which had created a tricameral legislature giving limited power to Indians and those of mixed race, but none to the black majority. By mid-February, police sweeps had netted eleven more U.D.F. leaders. In April a 587-page indictment alleged that the U.D.F. was a political front for the banned African National Congress, which favors the violent overthrow of the South African government. The specific charges: high treason, violations of the Terrorism Act and furthering the cause of illegal organizations like the A.N.C.

When testimony in the case began in Natal province on Oct. 21, the prosecution's star witness turned out to be Isaak de Vries, a political scientist at Rand Afrikaans University, who spent weeks describing the U.D.F.'s violent aims and A.N.C. connections. Under withering cross- examination, however, he admitted that his knowledge of both organizations was limited to a reading of their literature and other research materials. Finally, two weeks ago, De Vries was forced to admit that his previous testimony had contained "fundamental mistakes."

Last week Natal Attorney General Michael Imber announced, without explanation, that all charges had been dropped against twelve of the U.D.F. leaders, including Co-Presidents Archibald Gumede and Albertina Sisulu. Four black labor leaders, along with 22 U.D.F. activists in Transvaal province, still face charges of treason. But government critics now see little chance that they will be convicted. Says David Dalling of the opposition Progressive Federal Party: "The state tried to use the courts as a political weapon and had to withdraw in disarray."

The prosecutorial cave-in may breathe new vitality into the United Democratic Front, a multiracial coalition of more than 600 community organizations that claims 1.5 million supporters across South Africa. The organization has become the principal voice of dissent against Pretoria's policies of racial separation. Still, the government of State President P.W. Botha last week reminded its opponents it will not tolerate even the most peaceful protest. In Cape Town, some 200 demonstrators gathered on a beachfront carrying lighted candles, singing and chanting. After warning them that the vigil was illegal, police dispersed the crowd with plastic whips.

With reporting by Bruce W. Nelan/Johannesburg