Mabandla denies halting TRC prosecutions
Former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla told the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry she did not instruct a moratorium on post-TRC cases.
Former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla has denied instructing a halt to prosecutions related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Testifying before the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday, Mabandla stated she never made a phone call on November 11, 2004, to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) senior official Dr Silas Ramaite, requesting a moratorium on TRC cases.
Ramaite, who oversaw TRC prosecutions and acted as head of the NPA, had previously alleged that Mabandla informed him of an "outside mechanism" and a declared "moratorium" on post-TRC prosecutions. He claimed this instruction led him to direct advocate Anton Ackermann to put investigations on hold, specifically mentioning the attempted murder of Reverend Frank Chikane in 1989 as a case potentially affected.
Mabandla asserted that neither she nor any official from her ministry issued such an instruction to Ramaite. She expressed her determination to uncover the truth, stating she had consulted with former NPA head Vusi Pikoli to clarify her certainty that the alleged phone call could not have occurred.
Why it mattersThe public and victims of apartheid-era crimes are affected by the potential delay and non-prosecution of perpetrators.