Robert McBride can be called a murderer despite his being granted amnesty for the apartheid-era bomb that killed three people.
The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled that despite the Citizen newspaper's “vengeful and distasteful” series of articles, it was entitled to “protected comment”.
In a majority judgement delivered by Justice Edwin Cameron, with five of the eight Constitutional Court judges agreeing, the Citzen was ordered to pay McBride R50 000 for defamation.
This was because of the false claim by the newspaper that McBride was contrite.
McBride, a former director in the foreign affairs department and former Umkhonto weSizwe operative, was granted amnesty in April 2001 for all his activities which claimed the lives of people.
He was involved in bomb explosions in and around Durban between 1981 and 1986.
One of the explosions was at the Wentworth electrical substation on January 9, 1986, in which Durban security branch policeman Robert Welman died. However, McBride was most known for his role in the Magoo's Bar bombing.
Three people died and 73 other people were injured when a car bomb exploded at Magoo's Bar on June 14, 1986.
He spent seven years in jail for his activities. He was at the time a member of the ANC's special operations unit under the command of Aboobaker Ismail, who was in charge of the special operations unit.
Ismail was also granted amnesty.
* Background information by Elijah Mhlanga
Read the full story in the today's late edition of The Star