Families and survivors of apartheid-era crimes have rejected the proposal

Webber Wentzel Pro Bono department, which represents 25 survivors and families of victims of apartheid-era crimes and the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) said the litigation has forced the President to establish the commission of inquiry.

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“The President's decision to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the suppression of TRC cases through political interference is welcomed. For the past two decades, the democratic authorities have deprived survivors and families of victims of apartheid-era crimes of truth, justice and closure because they failed to investigate and prosecute these crimes. The survivors, families and the broader community deserve to know why the cases were not investigated and prosecuted,” said Asmita Thakor, a Partner in the Webber Wentzel Public Interest Law department.

“The remaining relief that our clients are seeking, a declaration that their constitutional rights have been violated by the failure to investigate and prosecute apartheid-era crimes and the payment of constitutional damages to remedy the violation, is still pending before the Pretoria High Court and we have been instructed to persist with the litigation.”