Cape Town, South Africa - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered an investigation on Wednesday to determine whether a former government-led government intends to prevent investigations and prosecutions of crimes in the era of segregation.
Ramaphosa said in a statement that the landmark move, survivors and families of the murdered persons, demanded for more than 20 years, will file charges against allegations of “delaying or hindering investigations” against the post-apartheid government led by the African National Assembly Party.
The ANC is at the forefront of the battle against the white minority system and leads to democracy in South Africa. Apartheid ended in 1994.
Ramaphosa announced a judicial commission of inquiry after 25 survivors and relatives of apartheid crimes filed a lawsuit against his government in January for compensation. They claim that since the late 1990s, the South African government has failed to properly investigate unresolved homicides, disappearances and other crimes during forced apartheid, despite recommendations from the Post-Apartheid Facts and Reconciliation Commission.
Ramaphosa's office said the new investigation was part of a settlement agreement in a court case in January.
It said: “President Ramaphosa thanked the victims’ families for their pain and depression, who fought for justice.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 1996 by then-Nelson Mandela, who was founded under the chairmanship of Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu. Its mission is to expose and document crimes in the era of apartheid and to provide some responsible people with the opportunity to acknowledge their roles, including members of the National Security Forces of the apartheid government, involving many killings.
Some were sued for amnesty, but some did not stand up, with thousands of amnesty.
One of the most outstanding unresolved cases was Cradock IV, a group of black anti-apartheid activists kidnapped and murdered by security forces in 1985. Their bodies were burned and security personnel were suspected of torture them.
Six former policemen appeared before the committee in 1999, murdering Carataburg, Matthew Goniway, Cicelo Mrowley and Sparrow Mkoto, but none of them were awarded a general amnesty.
No one was prosecuted for killing, and the death was never fully revealed. They were thousands of crimes during apartheid, and victims and families still did not serve justice.
Lukhanyo Calata's father Fort is one of four in Cradock, part of a group that sent the South African government to court in January. He said that since the administration of President Thabo Mbeki from 1999 to 2008, the government of South Africa has failed to act as the committee’s recommendations and denied justice for the victims and their families. He and other relatives said government ministers intervened to prevent investigation and prosecution of crimes.
Although most of the victims of the Apartheid era were black, whites also sought justice for decades. Joint cases against the government include Neville Beling and Karl Weber, survivors of the Highgate Hotel Massacre, where five white men were killed by gunmen who broke into a bar in 1993 and shot customers.
New investigations into these shootings began earlier this year to clarify who the killer was. Ask individually what happened to Cradle Four, which will begin in June, 40 to 40 years before they were killed.
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