Cradock Four: How NPA, government failed anti-apartheid martyrs

Lukhanyo Calata, the son of anti-apartheid activist Fort Calata, believes that President Cyril Ramaphosa was trying to ‘save face’ with the establishment of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into alleged political interference in Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Judge Sisi Khampepe. 

He made the remarks during his testimony before the Khampepe commission, saying the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Ramaphosa have failed the families of the Cradock Four, who were murdered in 1985.

Fort Calata, along with his comrades and anti-apartheid icons Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto, and Sicelo Mhauli, known as the Cradock Four, were killed by the apartheid-era Security Branch in 1985.

As he testified, Calata stated his discontent with the lack of accountability for his father's killers. “My father's killers should've been sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004. By now, we should be discussing their parole, but here we are sitting in the Commission of Inquiry,” he said.

On Friday, the commission heard how the apartheid regime, the ANC, and the administrations of two former presidents “betrayed” the father of one witness.

Calata continued with his testimony, casting the spotlight on the role played by the NPA, as well as the Government Directors-General Forum, which decided how the TRC recommendations needed to be handled in the national interest.

"President Ramaphosa didn't want to meet us as the families of the victims. Only when we went to court did he try to save face and establish this Commission of Inquiry, which we've asked him to establish since 2019....Parliament ought to have investigated the claims by Advocate Vusi Pikoli that the NPA was being held to ransom by the former generals of the apartheid regime," he stated.

Calata blamed the government for the pain caused by prolonged delays.

"As families, we understood this to mean we don't matter. That is the level of disrespect we've experienced at the hands of the NPA."

Last week, Calata, a prominent journalist, urged the commission to issue subpoenas for former Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, for their alleged failure to investigate and prosecute cases arising from the TRC's recommendations. 

Cape Times