Former presidents Mbeki and Zuma seek to delay testimony before South Africa’s Khampepe Commission
In South Africa, former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma have taken several legal steps aimed at delaying their testimony before the Khampepe Commission. It is investigating the reasons for delays in criminal prosecutions in cases involving apartheid-era crimes following the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
As Daily Maverick reports, both former presidents deny political interference in prosecutions in cases following the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Khampepe Commission has been operating for about 90 days and is scheduled to conclude its work in December.
Delayed cases
The commission is considering applications from victims’ families who have spent decades seeking accountability in cases connected to political violence during the apartheid era. They include the family of 23-year-old student Nokuthula Simelane and the families of victims in the Cradock Four case.
Former law enforcement officer Dumisa Ntsebeza, during his testimony, described the subsequent suppression of Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases as a “terrible stain” on South Africa’s history. According to him, an independent investigation is not only a legal but also a moral necessity for victims’ families.
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The hearings also addressed missing case files, the advanced age of people allegedly involved, and lengthy legal procedures. The commission must determine whether there is a link between a memorandum from a meeting of the last white-minority government dated 25 April 1994, which mentioned “indemnity,” and the moratorium on prosecutions in cases following the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, introduced from 2003.
Testimony on apartheid crimes
During the commission’s work, cases involving the killings and torture of opponents of the regime were raised again. These included the 1981 murder of activist and lawyer Griffiths Mxenge, as well as the reopened investigation into the circumstances of the death of Black Consciousness movement leader Steve Biko in police custody in 1977.
Forensic expert Shakira Holland stated during the reopened Biko investigation that the injuries found had been inflicted at different times, from several hours to several days before his death on 12 September 1977. The commission, which includes retired judge Sisi Khampepe, judge Frans Kgomo, and advocate Andrea Gabriel, must determine whether the families are entitled to compensation and whether there were grounds for the delays in prosecutions.
