An apartheid-era South African policeman has lost a court battle to get his old job back.

南非一名种族隔离警察欲将丢失的工作讨回来的官司失败。

Wybrand du Toit wanted to rejoin the police service

Wybrand du Toit was found guilty in 1996 of killing¹ four people in 1989, but was later given amnesty（大赦，特赦） by the Truth and Reconciliation² hearings.

Before the amnesty, he was told he would be reinstated（继单） if he was pardoned.

But the Constitutional Court dismissed his case, saying the purpose of the reconciliation proceedings³ was to bring closure to victims, not undo⁴ the past.

After the democratic government came into power in 1994, former President Nelson Mandela and Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where perpetrators（犯人） of apartheid（种族隔离） crimes confessed to their crimes in exchange for amnesty.

'Disappointed'

Chief Justice Pius Langa said the decision by South Africa's highest court to dismiss Mr du Toit's case had been unanimous（一致同意的）.

He said the judges had decided⁵ the purpose of the Reconciliation Act was to lift the burden of crime from the shoulders of the perpetrators while also bringing some closure to victims, the South African Press Association reports.

But the benefits to the perpetrator were never meant to outweigh⁶ the benefits to the victim, he said.

"It is vital to the success of the process," said Justice Langa.

Mr du Toit was not present during the court proceedings.

His lawyer, Jan Wegener, told BBC that he was disappointed with court's decision.

He said it seemed to contradict（反驳，矛盾） the concept of amnesty.

"Our concept of amnesty is that you wipe the slate⁷ clean and forgive the past," he told the BBC outside court.

Mr du Toit, along with three other policemen, was granted amnesty for the murders of four men: three state agents and one informant, who became known as the "Motherwell Four".

The men were blown up in their car.

The widows of the Motherwell Four have over the years expressed bitterness at the murders.