6 days ago
Mbeki and Mabandla seek to intervene in R167 million apartheid damages case
Former President Thabo Mbeki and erstwhile justice minister Brigitte Mabandla's application to intervene in an apartheid-era damages claim will be heard on Monday, July 28 by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
Image: DIRCO
Former president Thabo Mbeki and ex-justice minister Brigitte Mabandla will on Monday ask to intervene in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria application for R167 million in constitutional damages by families of victims of apartheid-era atrocities.
Mbeki and Mabandla have indicated that they want to intervene in the R167m constitutional damages case brought by survivors and victims of apartheid human rights violations to protect their reputations.
Survivors and victims of apartheid-era atrocities and the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) have asked the high court for R167m constitutional damages, which includes about R115.3m over five years, to enable families and organisations supporting them to advance truth, justice, and closure by assisting in pursuing investigations and research, inquests, private prosecutions, and related litigation.
Another R8m over five years will enable families and organisations supporting them to play a monitoring role in respect of the work of the policing and justice authorities charged with investigating and prosecuting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases referred to the National Prosecuting Authority.
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An additional R44m over 10 years is sought to enable families and organisations supporting families to pursue commemoration, memorialisation and public education activities around the TRC cases including the holding of public events, publishing of books, and making of documentaries.
In their application, survivors and family members of victims also want the court to declare the failure and/or refusal by the president to establish a commission of inquiry into the suppression of the investigation and prosecution of the TRC cases inconsistent with his constitutional responsibilities under the Constitution and a violation of their rights to equality, dignity and the right to life and bodily integrity of the victims in terms of the Constitution.
Responding to Mbeki and Mabandla's application to intervene, Lukhanyo Calata, the son of the late Fort Calata who, along with Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli, and Sparrow Mkonto, became known posthumously as the Cradock Four, said the former president and erstwhile minister have no direct and substantial interest in the main application, given that no relief is sought against them in their personal capacities.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has since established a commission to be chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe to inquire into, make findings, report on and make recommendations on unlawful interference and collusion since 2003.
The government maintains that there is no concrete allegation of interference in the families' case. Mbeki and Mabandla also state that the families make unfounded, false and damaging allegations of interference and collusion against them in their case.
They also indicate that the facts of interference and collusion will be better addressed in the commission.
According to Mbeki and Mabandla, they are seeking to intervene because the relief sought by the families and the consequent claim for constitutional damages are founded on serious allegations of unconstitutional, unlawful and criminal conduct by them (Mbeki and Mabandla) during the respective tenures, 1999-2008 and.2004-2008, respectively.
"We have a direct and substantial interest in the outcome of the proceedings," maintained Mbeki and Mabandla.
They continued: "In the absence of our version, the only evidence before this honourable court is in the Calata applicants' founding affidavit.
There is therefore a real risk that should we not be granted leave to intervene, the court will be presented with a one-sided narrative and the Calata applicants may be accepted as uncontested."
Mbeki and Mabandla told the court they do not seek to intervene merely to set the record straight or out of concern that the court's findings may affect their reputations.
"Rather, we seek leave to intervene because the relief sought by the Calata applicants is expressly predicated on allegations of unlawful conduct purportedly committed by us (and other state officials) during our tenure; allegations which we intend to dispute," they explained.
The families oppose the application and argue that it is not possible to intervene simply to rebut adverse allegations and that the relief they seek is not directed against Mbeki or Mabandla but against the state.
If Mbeki or Mabandla, the families say, feel they have been defamed they have recourse through normal legal remedies and that the application can be decided without the need to make findings in respect of individual role-players, the task of the commission set up by Ramaphosa, according to the FHR.
