Apartheid survivors sue govt for constitutional damages
Over 20 survivors and families of those who were made to disappear or were killed during South Africa’s liberation struggle have turned to the courts to compel the government to investigate the delays in investigating apartheid-era crimes.
In papers filed against President Cyril Ramaphosa, the present-day government, the minister of police, the commissioner of police, and the director of public prosecutions, the families are suing the government for R167 million in constitutional damages.
Affected families have long lamented the slow pace of prosecution against those implicated in the cases referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), by The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) nearly three decades ago, as survivors, witnesses, and alleged perpetrators died without justice being served.
Among the affected families who attended the Foundation for Human Rights media briefing in Johannesburg is the son of Fort Calata, Lukhanyo Calata, and the sister of Caiphus Nyoka, Alegria Nyoka.
Nyoka, a student activist from Daveyton, was killed during a raid by members of the Benoni security branch at his home in 1987.
His sister says for 38 years, they still carry the burden of seeking justice over the brutal manner in which Nyoka was killed.
“To date, our cases are still in limbo. For your case to be attended to, someone needs to come forward. Our case is on trial now, but we have been battling for almost five years. It is one of the perpetrators that went and confessed. But, even so, our justice system is really unfair because you find that the perpetrator is the one who has rights.”
The survivors and families are seeking an order compelling President Ramaphosa to institute a commission of inquiry into alleged interference in the NPA’s efforts to investigate more than 300 apartheid-era cases handed over by the TRC in 1998.
“We want the court to order to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate why there has been this political interference in the work of the independent NPA to investigate and prosecute these cases which had been handed over from the TRC when it finished its business.
“What the court has been asked to order from the government are sums of money which will be of assistance to all families and all victims of apartheid-era atrocities to do certain things. To investigate and prosecute cases in which there are still perpetrators to be prosecuted, it will be funds available to keep watching brief over the work of the NPA and the police. The final is that our history moves so fast, and we are in a time where our children don’t know who died and who sacrificed their lives for the democracy we see today, so the funds will be used to memorialize.”
Calata, whose father was among the four activists (Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli, and Sparrow Mkonto) who were killed by apartheid forces in 1985, said the money would not go towards enriching individuals.
“The money that’s going to come from there isn’t going to come to us as individuals so that we can BMWs and Rolls Royces. The money is going to be kept in a trust to allow Tshidiso (Motasi – the son of Richard and Busisiwe Motasi who were killed in 1987) to put together a memorial lecture for his parents if he wants to, for him to know that there is money that is readily available for him to honour his parents.”
In 2023, the NPA appointed former TRC commissioner Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza to review the work of the TRC Component since its inception in 2021.
Ntsebeza raised concern about the slow pace at which the component was working.
The component, which was previously headed by the deputy director of public prosecutions Rodney de Kock, was dealt a blow this week after De Kock’s family announced his passing following a brief battle with cancer.
