Inquest into deaths of Cradock Four reopened — almost 40 years after their murders

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

Almost 40 years after the anti-apartheid activists known as the 'Cradock Four' were murdered by Security Branch members, an inquest into their deaths has been reopened.
A third judicial inquest into the deaths of the 'Cradock Four' began in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha on Monday.
The lawyer for Joffel van der Westhuizen, the former commanding officer of the Eastern Province Command and one of those implicated in the killings, said the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) had refused to pay his legal costs.
The lawyer argued that witnesses could not give evidence that implicated Van der Westhuizen, a former general, unless he had funded legal representation.
Judge Thami Beshe ruled that, for the time being, witnesses may only testify about incriminating evidence available in public documents.
While the three police officers who are implicated and still alive have received funding for their legal representatives, their advocates said they had received their funding late and needed time to fully prepare.
The Cradock Four were anti-apartheid activists Fort Calata, Sicelo Mhlauli, Sparrow Mkonto and Matthew Goniwe.
They were returning to Cradock from Gqeberha (then known as Port Elizabeth) on 27 June 1985 when they were arrested at a roadblock manned by the Security Branch, assaulted and murdered.
There have been two previous inquests. The first, in 1987, concluded the men had been killed by 'unknown persons'. No one was prosecuted.
The second, in 1993, presided over by former Eastern Cape Judge President Neville Zietsman, found the police were responsible for their deaths. Again, no individuals were named and no prosecutions followed.
Now, Varney said, the families had little hope for justice. Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, representing the families and the Cradock community, said they sought closure, healing and reparations.
Eight former police and Defence Force officials applied for amnesty to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for their roles in the Cradock Four killings:
The 'masterminds': Hermanus Barend du Plessis, Nicolaas Jacobus Janse van Rensburg and Harold Snyman.
Three of the killers on the scene: Johan Martin 'Sakkie' van Zyl, Eric Alexander Taylor and Gerhardus Johannes Lotz.
Two others who played peripheral roles: Jacob Jan Hendrick (Jaap) van Jaarsveld and Eugene de Kock.
All but Van Jaarsveld and De Kock were denied amnesty in 1999. Yet no further legal steps were taken.
'At first,' said Varney, 'the families thought such inaction was the product of a toxic mix of idleness, indifference, incapacity or incompetence on the part of the police and prosecutors. While these factors may have played a role, they now know that something more sinister was at play and that political forces intervened to block their cases from proceeding.'
He said the former Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Vusi Pikoli, admitted during legal proceedings brought by Thembi Simelane in 2015 for the 1983 abduction and murder of her sister Nokuthula, that political interference had closed down their investigations of TRC cases.
'It is apparent that the Cradock Four case received little or no attention post the winding up of the TRC. Indeed, the investigation docket went missing from the NPA's [National Prosecuting Authority's] offices between 2013 and 2019. This required the docket to be reconstructed.
'Typically, missing dockets are an indication of a cover-up or an attempt to sabotage the investigation. Since it was apparent that no investigation was launched into its disappearance, Fort Calata's son Lukhanyo was forced to open a case of theft in 2020. That investigation was closed in August 2021 without providing any answers,' said Varney.
All six members of the police hit squad who murdered the Cradock Four have died.
State 'dragged its feet'
Varney told the court that the State had 'systematically and deliberately dragged its feet, or blocked justice in this case and the other TRC cases'.
On 20 January, 25 families and the Foundation for Human Rights launched a legal application seeking a declaration of their rights, constitutional damages and an order compelling President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish a commission of inquiry into the suppression of TRC cases. The President has since established such a commission.
Varney said that since the families launched their application in 2021 to compel the NPA and SAPS to complete investigations, several more individuals implicated in the case had died:
Eric Winter, former Cradock Special Branch commander, died on 18 August 2021;
FW de Klerk, former State President, died on 11 November 2021;
Johannes Velde van der Merwe, former police commissioner, died on 27 August 2022;
Adriaan Vlok, former minister of law and order, died on 8 January 2023;
Lukas Daniel 'Niel' Barnard, former National Intelligence Service director, died on 13 January 2025; and
Hermanus Barend du Plessis, former head of the Security Branch for Black Affairs in Port Elizabeth, died on 16 May 2023.
Ngcukaitobi said he hoped the inquest would make a difference to the families and the communities' quest for justice.
'There is a possibility that the truth can be told,' he said, adding that this should lay the foundation for reparations to be made to the families. He said Mbulelo Goniwe would testify.
'He was a comrade of the Cradock Four and survived the assassination by the mercy of God,' said Ngcukaitobi. 'Perhaps to remind the country not to forget the story of apartheid and its brutality.'
He said the four men were not only leaders of a generation of activists but also teachers, organisers, fathers and husbands.
'One should not analyse this as a political fight with little emphasis on the personal side of the loss,' he said.
'We will ask for recommendations by the judge for reparations,' he said, adding that these should be broad, as the deaths of the four men were a traumatic event for the entire community.
He said Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa, the former chairperson of the Military Council in the Transkei, would also testify.
Counsel for some of the former police officers, Jaap Cilliers SC, said this was an emotional inquest and his clients would cooperate as 'fully as possible'.
Poor health
Referring to the former military commander Van der Westhuizen, Varney said: 'His legal representative has disclosed that he is in poor health. An attempt to take his evidence on commission has been stymied because the SANDF refuses to pay his legal costs.'
Van der Westhuizen's attorney Ryan Roos said the SANDF believed his client acted outside the scope of his official duties and therefore refused to fund his legal defence.
Although the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court directed that the SANDF decision be reviewed urgently, the Gauteng Division of the High Court dismissed the review as not urgent, meaning it will take months to be heard.
Van der Westhuizen's counsel, advocate Marius van Zyl, said his client would deny authorising the killing of the Cradock Four.
According to Varney's opening address, on 7 June 1985, Major-General J Frederick Johannes van Rensburg of the State Security Council phoned Van der Westhuizen to discuss Matthew Goniwe.
'The two officers apparently decided that Goniwe and two others (Fort Calata and Mbulelo Goniwe) should be 'permanently removed from society as a matter of urgency,' said Varney.
'As a result of this discussion, Colonel Lourens du Plessis sent a 'Signal Message Form' dated June 7, 1985 — addressed to the State Security Council and detailing the earlier telephone discussion (the signal). It was marked 'urgent' and 'top secret'.'
The form read: 'Personal for General Van Rensburg.
1 Telephone conversation Gen Van Rensburg/Brig Van der Westhuizen of 7 June '85 refers
2 Names as follows
Matthew Goniwe
Mbulelo Goniwe (brother or nephew of above)
Fort Calata
3 It is proposed that the above-mentioned persons, as a matter of urgency, be permanently removed from society.
4 Wide reaction can be expected locally as well as nationally as a result of the importance of these persons, especially the first mentioned, for the enemy.'
Varney said, 'This inquest is probably the very last chance that the families will get to reach a semblance of closure. They deserve nothing less than a full and comprehensive accounting of the past.' DM