Former President Thabo Mbeki.
Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
Former National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Anton Ackerman has laid the bulk of political interference with TRC cases at the door of former president Thabo Mbeki, saying his approach to the investigation was manipulative.
The commission established to probe alleged attempts to stop the prosecution and investigation of apartheid-era violations heard from advocate Ackerman on Wednesday.
Ackerman, who was the head of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit in the NPA from 2003 until his retirement in 2013, explained how Mbeki’s administration created mechanisms to shield individuals from accountability.
These included the establishment of the Amnesty Task Team and the introduction of the Draft Amnesty Bill, culminating in amendments to the TRC’s prosecuting policy that became effective on December 1, 2005.
Advocate Anton Ackermann SC has testified before the TRC Cases Inquiry on Wednesday.
Image: Neo Ntsoma / Independent Newspapers Archives
Ackerman, testifying virtually, told the TRC Cases Inquiry that some of these actions represented not only a deviation from constitutional norms, but were also ethically questionable.
"The end that President Mbeki was so desperately seeking was some accommodation of many of those who did not take part in the TRC process. His methods to achieve this end were unconstitutional.
"This was a process embarked on by the Amnesty Task Team, the Draft Amnesty Bill, and ultimately the amendments to the prosecuting authority, the TRC prosecuting policy, which became effective on December 1, 2005. That amounted to a rerun of the amnesty process,” he told the commission.
Ackerman further indicated that at the time, he was preparing indictments against former security branch members when he was told about high-level discussions between the SANDF, SAPS, ANC leaders, and former presidents FW de Klerk and Mbeki, where a political solution was agreed on to avoid further prosecutions.
He further alleged: "I was called into Mr Ngcuka's office to apologise for speaking poorly about his office and the Scorpions for refusing to investigate the TRC cases, as I was shown the video of my meeting with Commissioner of Police, Mr Raymond Lalla."
In another revelation by Ackerman, he said Dr Silas Ramaite, the then acting NDPP, informed him that he had a meeting with the Minister of Justice and other Cabinet ministers, that Commissioner Selebi had indicated that the NPA was planning the arrest of many members in government who were part of the MK.
The inquiry continues.
Cape Times