Ex-President Thabo Mbeki denies Directing Cover-up of Apartheid-era Crimes

It’s a total fabrication. “There was no such thing,” Mbeki told a judicial inquiry in Johannesburg into allegations that political intervention in democratic South Africa blocked investigations and prosecutions of crimes committed under white minority rule.

In a written statement, Mbeki, who took over from Nelson Mandela in 1999 and lasted until 2008, said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) needed to account for its failure to prosecute cases recommended to it by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

His statement is part of a new drive to tackle apartheid-era atrocities that went unprosecuted for decades. Prior to his presentation, the Foundation for Human Rights and 25 relatives of victims and survivors demanded an explanation and an apology.

“The families are really looking for an open explanation as to why they have been denied justice after so many years of waiting and obfuscation,” the foundation’s executive director, Zaid Kimmie, said in a statement.

In 1994, with the end of apartheid, the African National Congress led South Africa to democracy and was leading the fight against the system of white minority rule . But some have criticised ANC-led governments since then for prioritising national unity over justice for victims.

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