Former presidency intelligence head Loyiso Jafta told the Khampepe Commission that former president Thabo Mbeki did not influence an inter-ministerial task team handling delayed TRC prosecutions.
Jafta appeared before the commission on 13 July for cross-examination. He said minutes showed he attended only the constitutive meeting of the task team to outline its programme of action. Later meetings were operational and outside the Presidency’s concern.
Advocate Howard Varney, representing families known as the Calata Group, argued that former apartheid security elements used Stratcom-like tactics to derail prosecutions. Jafta responded that Stratcom was unlikely to have played a material role in prosecution decisions.
Jafta noted that prosecutions of apartheid figures such as Eugene de Kock and Adrian Vlok did not lead to retaliatory cases against ANC members. He added that many victims remain unaccounted for and that finding their remains requires cooperation from former operatives.
