False start at apartheid-era crimes commission as AfriForum calls for equality in proceedings
The NPA will submit an application this week for the recusal of Khampepe Commission evidence leader Ishmael Semenya.
Hearings at the Khampepe Commission into Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) investigation interference stalled on Monday due to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) objection over the evidence leader.
President Cyril Ramaphosa established the commission in May as part of a settlement agreement with the families of the Cradock Four, who were demanding answers regarding delays in investigations.
Proceedings adjourned early on Monday, with commission chair Sisi Khampepe setting 26 November as the date for oral arguments in the NPA’s application to have the evidence leader, Ishmael Semenya, recuse himself.
The NPA stated that Semenya made a private arrangement with a colleague in the presence of eight witnesses without consultation with the NPA.
The NPA added that there were also questions about possible conflicts of interest that needed to be addressed.
‘Equality before the law’
The commission was set to begin on the backdrop of AfriForum attempting to have ANC leaders held personally accountable for the party’s role in crimes committed during its fight for liberation.
The TRC found the ANC guilty of human rights violations relating to bombing and landmine campaigns conducted in the 80s, but none of the 37 leaders of the party whose amnesty applications were refused were ever held accountable.
AfriForum had requested that the wounds of the past not be reopened, but stressed that all victims should receive closure and justice.
“AfriForum once again asks that the book of the past be closed, but that if this does not happen, the ANC leaders who did not receive amnesty will also be investigated for the sake of equality before the law,” stated AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel.
The civil rights group’s submission to the commission mentions two specific cases: the killing of a wife and two children by a landmine in 1985 and the murder of a civilian by ANC insurgents in 1978.
AfriForum had previously represented the husband and father of the three landmine victims, and stated that a suspect in the murder of the civilian was still employed by the State Security Agency.
In addition to the two incidents, AfriForum states that the ANC’s expansion of its bombing and landmine campaign resulted in the death of roughly 250 South Africans of all races.
The Cradock Four — Sicelo Mhlauli, Sparrow Mkonto, Fort Calata and Matthew Goniwe — were murdered by government security forces after their arrest at a roadblock in the Eastern Cape.
Six suspects had been identified; however, the last living suspect died in May 2023.
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