AfriForum seeks permission to cross-examine former president Mbeki — TimesLIVE
AfriForum has formally requested permission for Gerrie Nel, head of its private prosecutions unit, to cross-examine former president Thabo Mbeki at the Khampepe Commission. The questioning will concern allegations of possible political interference in the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes, TimesLIVE reports.
Mbeki is due to appear before the commission on Monday and Tuesday, while his cross-examination is expected to take place later. The former president submitted an 82-page written statement to the commission in which he denied the allegations made against him.
Work of the commission
President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Khampepe Commission to investigate possible political interference in Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases. It is examining whether there were attempts to obstruct the investigation and criminal prosecution of crimes committed during apartheid.
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Among the cases mentioned in AfriForum's application is a landmine explosion near Musina on December 15, 1985. According to the organisation, the ANC attack killed Kobie van Eck and two children — eight-year-old Nelmarie and two-year-old Nasi. AfriForum said that in 2007 Dirk van Eck, the husband and father of the victims, approached the organisation to seek equal accountability for crimes of the past, including for ANC leaders.
AfriForum statements
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel stated that in his written statement, Mbeki acknowledged the ANC leadership's adoption of “political and programmatic decisions” that could have led to actions constituting gross human rights violations. Kriel referred to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings on the ANC's responsibility for a number of such violations linked to bombings and the landmine campaign.
AfriForum is also seeking consideration of the circumstances surrounding the death of civilian Jaap van der Merwe, who, the organisation claims, was killed by ANC infiltrators near the Botswana border on November 1, 1978. AfriForum urged the commission to establish why the suspect, then known by the alias John Msibi, was not held accountable, although, it says, his identity was known to law enforcement agencies.
