Accountability for Apartheid Crimes: Small but Important Steps Against Criminal Impunity

Statement by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General

The GOOD Party welcomes today’s long-awaited momentum in the quest to hold apartheid-era criminals accountable. The reopening of two high profile inquests, and the decision by the High Court that former policemen must be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, are critical steps to address criminal impunity and the Constitutional principle that all are equal before the law.

Apartheid was declared a crime against humanity in 1973 with the adoption of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. The State’s unwillingness to press charges for 20+ years against perpetrators who did not take the opportunity to apply to the TRC for amnesty was immoral, unlawful and spits in the faces of the families of their victims.

This omission has materially contributed to criminal impunity, and to emboldening apartheid apologists – such as those who have recently visited the Washington and Tel Aviv – into believing they were right all along.

Today’s developments come 22 years after the TRC recommended to government that alleged perpetrators of heinous acts who had not received amnesty should be addressed through a “a bold prosecution policy”. Such a policy would avoid creating a culture of impunity for crime, while ensuring South Africa fulfilled its obligations under international law, the TRC said.

But former national prosecutions head, Vusi Pikoli, who was fired in 2007, revealed under oath in 2015 that among the reasons for him losing his job was his commitment to further investigation of TRC cases. The flashpoint, he said, was the state’s handling of the case of the attempted murder, through poisoning, of former anti-apartheid leader Frank Chikane.

While former Police Minister Adriaan Vlok and Police Commissioner Johann van der Merwe had pleaded guilty in exchange for suspended sentences, Pikoli said he would have opted for a full prosecution because the accused had made very limited disclosures.

“There was strong political resistance to this prosecution and the pursuit of the other political cases. It was clear to me that the government, and in particular the then-Minister of Justice, did not want to prosecute those implicated in the Chikane case. This was due to their fear of opening the door to prosecutions of ANC members, including government officials,” Pikoli stated.

Ten years after Pikoli submitted his affidavit, in a case brought by Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane relating to the murder of her sister, Nokuthula, at the hands of apartheid police, former President Thabo Mbeki, with his then-Justice minister Mabandla, announced this year that they would be opposing a damages action brought against the State by the families of apartheid-era victims. Intriguingly, the current President and Justice Minister have indicated they will not be opposing.

For South Africa to reduce crime, it requires criminals to know there is a high likelihood of getting caught and being held accountable, which requires politicians and prosecutors to stick to their respective lanes.

*A re-opened inquest into the 1967 death of former ANC President and Nobel Peace Laureate Albert Luthuli commenced in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg today. A second re-opened inquest, into the murder of activist and lawyer, Griffiths, in 1981, was postponed in the same court to June.

Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, the High Court determined that the State should proceed with charges of crimes against humanity against two apartheid-era police officers, Christiaan Rorich and Tlhomedi Mfalapitsa. They are accused of murdering teenagers Eustice Madikela, Peter Matabane, Fanyana Nhlapo, and severely injuring Zandisile Musi, in 1982.

GOOD Manifesto on Vision for the Future: Envisioning a South Africa where all citizens can thrive.

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