Families of Apartheid-Era Victims Sue South African Government for Damages

The families of 25 victims and survivors of political crimes committed during apartheid have filed a lawsuit against South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Government, accusing them of failing to properly investigate these offences and deliver justice.

The group is seeking damages of approximately 167 million rand (around $9 million), according to the case filed at the High Court in Pretoria, which was shared on January 23 by the Foundation for Human Rights, a NGO supporting the families.

They are also seeking a court order to compel Ramaphosa to establish a commission of inquiry into the alleged political interference that led to the suppression of hundreds of serious crimes linked to South Africa’s apartheid history.

A spokesperson for President Ramaphosa stated that his legal team would respond to the court papers and reiterated that the president had never interfered with the work of law enforcement agencies or directed them not to prosecute apartheid-era crimes. South Africa was under white minority rule for decades, with institutionalised racial segregation, before transitioning to a multi-racial democracy in 1994. The African National Congress (ANC) has been in power since then, but last year, it was forced to share power with smaller parties after losing its majority in national elections.

Among the applicants is Lukhanyo Calata, the son of Fort Calata, one of the “Cradock Four” anti-apartheid activists killed in 1985. No one has been prosecuted for their deaths, and a third inquest is set to begin this year, though many key figures involved in the killings have since died. “Justice delayed in this manner has ensured that justice is permanently denied to our families,” Calata remarked. Other applicants include survivors of the 1993 Highgate Massacre, in which five people were killed, and relatives of anti-apartheid activists who were either killed or disappeared.

Despite the establishment of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 1996, which documented human rights violations under apartheid, many of the cases referred to state prosecutors were never pursued, leading to the loss of witnesses and evidence, and making prosecutions largely impossible.