Imtiaz Cajee, nephew of murdered anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol, testified at the Khampepe Commission that officials deliberately sabotaged Truth and Reconciliation Commission prosecutions. He retracted earlier beliefs in political interference, instead pointing to individuals from the apartheid era. The testimony highlights ongoing struggles for accountability over apartheid-era deaths.
Imtiaz Cajee told the Khampepe Commission of inquiry into delayed TRC prosecutions on Thursday that there was 'deliberate ineptitude' by former Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Torie Pretorius, Anton Ackermann, and Chris Macadam in handling cases.
Cajee, who has spent decades seeking justice for his uncle Ahmed Timol's 1971 death in police custody at John Vorster Square in Johannesburg, retracted his previous acceptance of claims by Vusi Pikoli and others about political interference. 'When I look at all of this, this is deliberate conduct on the part of individuals aligned to the apartheid era regime,' Cajee said.
Timol, a 29-year-old activist and teacher, was assaulted and thrown from a 10th-floor window, becoming the 22nd person to die in detention since 1963. A 2017 inquest ruled his death a murder, overturning an earlier suicide finding, but key suspects like João Rodrigues died without facing trial.
Cajee, fulfilling a promise to his grandmother, criticized the lack of prosecutions despite no amnesty applications at the TRC. He questioned why officials like Pikoli did not report interference as criminal obstruction.
