South Africa is taking a significant step towards confronting its dark past with the trial of two apartheid-era police officers accused of assassinating three young student activists in 1982. This historic trial marks a crucial milestone in holding individuals accountable for apartheid-era crimes.
The case centers around the explosion that killed the three activists, who were part of a resistance movement fighting against the apartheid regime that enforced White-only rule and domination over the Black majority. According to reports, the prosecution is unprecedented, as no individual had been held accountable for the crime of apartheid until now.
Advocate Pikoli, the former National Director of Public Prosecutions, had previously blamed political interference for the National Prosecuting Authority’s failure to prosecute apartheid-era crimes. “The reluctance to investigate and prosecute continues despite overwhelming evidence of gross violations of crimes against humanity,” he noted.
This trial could open the door for other apartheid-era cases to be revisited. In a related development, South Africa has reopened an investigation into the death of Albert Luthuli, a former president of the African National Congress and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who died in 1967 under mysterious circumstances.
The authorities at the time had concluded that Luthuli’s death was an accident, but the prosecuting authority now seeks to have these findings overturned. Yasmin Sooka, a TRC Commissioner, highlighted the limitations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, stating that it referred 300 cases to the National Prosecuting Authority for investigation, involving individuals who weren’t granted amnesty or didn’t apply for it.
The trial serves as a reminder of the long-standing quest for justice and accountability for apartheid-era atrocities. As Konanani Happy Raligilia, a senior lecturer at the University of South Africa, pointed out, “The longer it takes to prosecute these crimes, the less likely it is that justice will be brought to the victims of apartheid crimes.