Families of apartheid-era victims have told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Cases Inquiry in Pretoria that an informal agreement between old and new state players from 1998 to 2003 blocked investigations and prosecutions of TRC cases. The claim points to meetings involving figures like FW de Klerk, Thabo Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma. An application by Mbeki and Zuma to recuse the inquiry's chairperson was dismissed.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases Inquiry, sitting in Pretoria, began public hearings on Wednesday where families of victims from apartheid-era human rights violations presented their claims. They assert that political interference originated from an informal agreement brokered between 1998 and 2003 among old order and new order state players. This included individuals such as FW de Klerk, General Magnus Malan, General Constand Viljoen, and other South African National Defence Force generals, alongside former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and various security cluster cabinet ministers.
Advocate Howard Varney, representing the families, urged the inquiry to examine events leading to political interference before 2003, the date specified in the inquiry's terms of reference. He stated: “It appeared that there was consensus amongst all or most involved that something needed to be done to address the impending prosecutions. A blanket amnesty was apparently rejected by the government because of the constitutional implications, but other options were explored, including preparing draft legislation for the creation of a new kind of special plea in criminal procedure, based on the TRC’s amnesty criteria. While this did not see the light of day, its essential ideas emerged later in the Prosecution Policy amendments.”
Separately, an application by Mbeki and Zuma for Justice Sisi Khampepe, the inquiry's chairperson, to recuse herself has been dismissed. As a result, both former presidents are required to testify before her.
