AfriForum wants to cross-examine Mbeki at Khampepe commission

AfriForum has formally requested that Gerrie Nel, head of its private prosecutions unit, be allowed to cross-examine former president Thabo Mbeki before the Khampepe commission of inquiry regarding Mbeki’s alleged role in suppressing apartheid-era prosecutions.

Mbeki is scheduled to appear before the commission on Monday and Tuesday, with his cross-examination expected to take place at a later date.

The commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate political interference in Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases, examining whether attempts were made to obstruct the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.

The former president faces accusations of political interference and delaying the prosecution of historical crimes. Among these cases is the December 15 1985, ANC landmine attack near Musina, which claimed the lives of Kobie van Eck and her two young children, Nelmarie, eight, and Nasie, two. Mbeki has submitted an 82-page affidavit to the commission denying allegations against him.

AfriForum stated that in 2007, the late Dirk van Eck, husband and father to the victims, approached the organisation to ensure that if past crimes were prosecuted, equal accountability should apply to ANC leaders, including Mbeki.

According to AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel, Mbeki admitted in his affidavit that ANC leaders took “policy and programmatic decisions” that could lead to actions amounting to “gross human rights violations”.

“Mbeki’s admission aligns with the TRC’s finding in its final report that the ANC was responsible for a series of gross human rights violations resulting from bomb attacks on public buildings, restaurants, hotels, and bars, as well as its landmine campaign,” Kriel said.

Kriel, who testified before the commission in February, argued that ANC leaders should face prosecution for authorising “Operation Cetshwayo”, the landmine campaign responsible for the deaths of Van Eck’s family.

He further noted that following its 1985 Kabwe Conference, the ANC acted in violation of protocol I of the Geneva Conventions by directly targeting civilians.

“The ANC and its allies were responsible for hundreds of civilian murders, including approximately 700 ‘necklace’ killings (where a burning tyre was placed around the victim’s neck), around 400 instances of people being burnt alive, and nearly 250 deaths resulting from bomb blasts and shootings,” Kriel said.

“On several occasions, the ANC even cited many of these acts of terror in its own publications, such as Sechaba and Mayibuye.”

In addition to the Van Eck case, AfriForum is seeking justice for the family of Jaap van der Merwe, a civilian killed by ANC infiltrators near the Botswana border on November 1 1978.

The surviving suspect, who used the alias “John Msibi” at the time, never applied for amnesty through the TRC, despite his identity being known to authorities. AfriForum has called on the Khampepe commission to investigate why Van der Merwe’s alleged killer was never prosecuted despite the evidence available against him.