Murder Trial Halted in Wake of Pardon

South Africa’s highest court halted the murder trial of former hit-squad leader Dirk Coetzee and two of his colleagues after their pardon by the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Coetzee, who was the white commander of a clandestine police unit near Pretoria, and police operatives Almond Nofomela and David Tshikalanga were granted amnesty in the killing of human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge in 1981. “With amnesty having been granted to you, the proceedings against you are terminated,” Judge Piet Combrinck told the three men in Durban.