South African president says probe into alleged obstruction of investigations will proceed.

On Monday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed his commitment to justice for crimes committed under apartheid.

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In May 2025, he created a commission to determine whether investigations into atrocities committed during the segregationist regime (1948–1994) had been obstructed.

Specifically, the commission was tasked with examining whether there had been attempts to influence the police or prosecutors not to investigate cases referred since 2003 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was established by President Nelson Mandela (1994–1999).

The measure resulted from talks aimed at reaching a settlement after families of victims filed a lawsuit against the South African presidency and other government bodies.

The new commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe. Her impartiality has been questioned by former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma — who are expected to testify before the body — because she previously served as a TRC commissioner and as deputy national director of public prosecutions.

After Khampepe herself dismissed their request that she recuse herself, the two former leaders filed an appeal before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. The process is ongoing and also includes a request that all decisions taken and evidence collected by the judge be declared null and void.

The South African presidency said the appeal “still needs to be resolved” and assured that Ramaphosa “will act swiftly following the court’s decision to ensure that the commission of inquiry can begin its work.”

“The main concern of President Ramaphosa is the integrity of a process that has already been delayed for far too long. Therefore, the president believes the court is best placed to make a decision on the matter. This does not reflect a desire to dismantle the commission and its work,” the official statement said.

The message was published after affected families said at a news conference on Sunday that in his arguments, submitted to the court, “President Ramaphosa is actively driving the disappearance of the very commission he created” by “not opposing the measures requested” by his predecessors.

Although South Africa’s Black and mixed-race population had already been under colonial domination by the white minority before then, apartheid laws came into force in 1948, eventually turning the country into one of the world’s most cruel and racist regimes.

The dismantling of racial segregation did not begin until the 1990s, and the first democratic, multiracial elections were not held until 1994, with the historic victory of Mandela, the country’s first Black president.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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