Former South African president Mbeki denies interference in TRC prosecutions — Daily Maverick
In South Africa, former president Thabo Mbeki submitted an 82-page statement to the Madlanga Commission, in which he denied ordering, authorizing, or approving the winding down of investigations and criminal prosecutions in cases referred by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). As Daily Maverick reports, the former head of state placed responsibility for delays in these proceedings on the NPA.
Mbeki is due to appear before the commission on October 19; the hearings are scheduled for two days. He said that he sought to postpone his appearance not because of hostility toward the inquiry, but because of a judicial review of a recusal decision.
Allegations by victims’ families
The Calata Group, representing families of victims of human rights violations, accused Mbeki of actively suppressing prosecutions in TRC cases. In particular, the group alleged that the former president did not instruct justice ministers, prosecutorial heads, and police commissioners to investigate such cases.
Mbeki was also accused of personally stopping the planned 2006 arrests of former police minister Adriaan Vlok and former police commissioner Johan van der Merwe in the case concerning the attempted poisoning of Reverend Frank Chikane. Mbeki denied this, saying he was unaware of the planned arrests and that the claim was based on hearsay.
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The former president’s position
Mbeki also rejected claims that he took part in meetings with former president Frederik Willem de Klerk and security force leaders, where a political solution to avoid prosecuting members of the security services was allegedly discussed. He said that he did not agree to halt proceedings and opposed a general amnesty.
According to Mbeki, delays after the TRC’s work may have been caused by apartheid-era prosecutors inherited by the NPA, who may have lacked motivation to prosecute former colleagues in the security forces. He stressed that the president had no constitutional or legislative authority to direct police or prosecutors regarding individual criminal investigations or proceedings.
The former president also recalled that three weeks before his address to parliament in April 2003, he issued a presidential proclamation establishing the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit within the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions to work on TRC cases. In his view, the establishment of such a unit contradicts the version that he intended to suppress prosecutions.
