This was a promise Nelson Mandela made when he was elected in 1994. His Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered amnesty to anyone who held accountable for their crimes. This commission, however, refused to grant amnesty to Cradock’s alleged murderers. It was in this town located in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, that four anti-apartheid activists were killed in 1985. Crimes which were the subject of several investigations but were never elucidated. Nearly forty years after the events, South African justice announced this Friday to reopen the investigation into those who were called “the Cradock murders”.
White regime militia suspected
One of the most notorious and darkest crimes of apartheid, the case will be re-investigated into the murder of Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli. These four activists had taken the road after a meeting to return home, to the small town of Cradock. Their severely burned and stabbed bodies were later discovered in two different locations. At the time, the security forces of the white regime monitored their actions. Members of the apartheid police were quickly suspected of having executed the four young black men.
The two investigations carried out between the late 1980s and early 1990s never brought the alleged suspects to justice. “None of the investigations made it possible to identify the murderers,” recalls the Ministry of Justice. Families have been demanding for years that the truth be told. According to Justice, new elements now allow the investigation to be reopened: “During previous investigations, the families and people concerned were not heard. It is time to restore confidence in the judicial system,” declared Minister Ronald Lamola, quoted in the press release.