Four decades on, still no justice for South Africa's Apartheid-era atrocities

Yahoo

09-03-2025

Victims of Apartheid-era atrocities are suing the South African government for damages over failing to prosecute those suspected of committing Apartheid-era crimes. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified some 300 suspects to be investigated for possible prosecution, but the vast majority were never pursued.
Lukhanyo Calata was 3 years old when his father's body was found. He says he was too young to remember his dad, and only recalls his funeral.
'I remember seeing what I grew up calling 'the red box',' he said, referring to his father's coffin.
'I remember seeing it being lowered into the ground, and I knew that my father was in there. What I didn't know at the time was that I would have to grow up without him,' said the 43-year-old.
Fort Calata was an anti-Apartheid activist from the town of Cradock in the Eastern Cape. He was raised by his grandfather, the secretary general of the African National Congress (ANC), who instilled in him the fight for civil rights.
As Calata grew into a young man, his activism gained traction in Cradock and he became a target of the state's security apparatus.
On June 27, 1985, Calata and his comrades Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli drove to Port Elizabeth for a United Democratic Front meeting. But they never returned.
Their desecrated corpses were found burned, with signs of torture. They would become known as the Cradock Four.
'They had pulled my father's tongue out of his mouth,' Calata said. 'And they had cut off his ring finger. I don't know why.'
The suspected killers of the Cradock Four asked for amnesty but were denied.
Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:In South Africa, poor governance leads to collapse of Johannesburg's infrastructureOpenly gay imam shot dead in South Africa