Fresh calls for independent Commission of Inquiry into “suppression” of TRC cases
Families and victims of apartheid-era crimes want the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute the perpetrators or suspects in the murder of anti-apartheid activist Dr Neil Aggett and other cases immediately and with urgency before they die.
A judgment by the South Gauteng High Court on Friday set aside a prior judgment of the inquest in 1982 that found Aggett had committed suicide.
The Foundation for Human Rights and the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation have added their support and called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint a commission of inquiry into the suppression of cases of gross human rights violations during the apartheid era.
Former apartheid policeman Joao Rodrigues died last September before he could be prosecuted for the death of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol.
“The NPA must prosecute these suspects immediately, with urgency,” said Imtiaz Cajee, Timol’s nephew.
Cajee raised concern over the NPA dragging its feet. He also pointed out timelines where the NPA promised to prosecute, but there was no urgency.
He said in June, the NPA and the Hawks made an announcement after a judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissing Rodrigues’s application for a permanent stay of prosecution in the case in which he was charged with the murder of Timol, that they had adopted a strategy to create dedicated and sustainable capa-city to investigate and prosecute apartheid-era atrocity crimes.
“What have the NPA done since then?” asked Cajee.
Other cases emanating from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) involved torture, murder, and enforced disappearance, in which amnesty was either denied or not applied for.
Both foundations said the suppression of the TRC cases was a result of political interference in the work of the NPA and SAPS. They said a presidential commission of inquiry would not re-investigate individual cases brought before the TRC, or other gross human rights violations that occurred during apartheid, but rather look into the issue of political interference.
The commission would look into interference from the Cabinet, NPA and SAPS. Why the political interference occurred, what decisions were made, and eventually who was responsible for the political interference.
“No other process will allow us to reveal the truth about the political interference the way the Commission of Inquiry will,” the foundations said.
In the past, four letters were sent to the president, but no response had been received, the Foundation for Human Rights said. Despite limited funds, litigation could also be launched to force Ramaphosa to set up a Commission of Inquiry.
Executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Hanif Vally said: “We want the rule of law to be applied. The NPA need to show that they are capable of acting without fear or prejudice. We need to allow for participation of victims and the public. We are asking for prosecution, for the NPA and SAPS to do their jobs.”
He reiterated that it was civil society that had ensured the TRC hearings would be public, and they would continue to push for a public hearing into the suppression of TRC cases.
The TRC handed over a list of as many as 300 cases to the NPA with the recommendation that they are investigated further, with a view to prosecute. However, virtually all of the cases have been abandoned.
body.copy...: Former national director of public prosecutions Vusi Pikoli and former head of the NPA’s Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU) Anton Ackermann provided reasons behind the NPA’s inaction in the 2015 matter of Nkadimeng vs National Director of Public Prosecutions. The legal proceedings were launched by Thembi Nkadimeng, who sought to compel the NPA to make a prosecutorial decision in the 1983 murder of her sister, political activist Nokuthula Simelane.
Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkadimeng had repeatedly called for justice for apartheid-era crimes.
Simelane, a University of Swaziland student, disappeared after being abducted by the then Security Branch. Evidence by witnesses under oath described the torture she endured.
In supporting affidavits, the former NDPP and PCLU head claimed that they were instructed by Cabinet ministers and the then commissioner of the SAPS to stop all work on TRC cases. A secret Amnesty Task Team was established in 2004 to address “the absence of any guarantee that alleged offenders will be prosecuted”, and this resulted in amendments to the NPA’s prosecution policy.
The Foundation for Human Rights described the amendments as effectively creating “a back door amnesty.”
Nkadimeng said: “We have had a series of court applications forcing the state and NPA to compel them to bring charges. Hopefully, this case will sit on May 23. It’s a journey I wouldn’t wish for any family to undergo. There has been some recognition, I’m not overlooking that, but as long as I don’t have the full knowledge of what happened to my sister.”
Social justice activist Lukhanyo Calata, who also spent close to two decades pursuing justice for his father, Fort Calata, said the family had not “even begun to heal the wounds”.
“None of those responsible for the murder of my father (and the other three activists, known as the Cradock Four) were granted amnesty or charged. Some have since died. Young people sacrificed their education and lives. But there has been no reparation to help with their livelihoods ,” Calata said.
He believed the inaction by the state felt like a “double betrayal”. “It feels like his life did not matter, along with other activists assassinated by apartheid security forces such as Steve Biko, Imam Haroon, Victoria Mxenge and many others,” Calata said. He has called for any secret amnesty deals to be exposed in a public inquiry.
The Foundation for Human Rights rejected a proposal from Justice Minister Ronald Lamola for an internal inquiry into the suppression of the TRC.
Human rights lawyer and former TRC Commissioner Yasmin Sooka added that the provision of reparation funds had yet to be fully used and paid out. “We have R1.3 billion in the reparation funds. There were 22 000 names submitted. There has been very little transparency on how that money has been used. It’s currently administered by the Department of Justice. We are contemplating litigation ► . A public interest case is something we have been looking at for some time ◄ .”
Neither the Presidency, NPA nor the justice minister’s office responded to questions.