Mbeki tells TRC inquiry: no executive ever stopped an apartheid-era prosecution

Thabo Mbeki told the TRC cases inquiry on Monday that the national executive never intervened to stop the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes referred to the National Prosecuting Authority, and that any statement saying it did is a lie.

The former president was answering questions about how apartheid-era crimes were handled during his time in office. He argued that people had disappeared and been killed without their bodies being known, and that some who committed offences of that kind might ordinarily have gone before the TRC amnesty committee. In that context, he said, the NPA should have been helped, including by the intelligence services, to establish the truth, and could then use the instruments available to it, such as plea bargains.

He rejected outright the suggestion that the executive had stepped in to halt prosecutions of cases the TRC had referred to the NPA. “No instance at all,” he said, adding that any statement to that effect is a lie.

Mbeki also denied allegations of secret meetings with apartheid government generals to arrange amnesty, calling the claim a complete fabrication and saying no such meetings took place. He described one meeting with generals of the SADF and SAP who raised a problem: in their view, their political principals, including former president FW de Klerk and the cabinet, should first go to the amnesty committee to tell the truth on the matters before it, after which the generals would explain how they implemented decisions that came from those principals.

The inquiry has been a long road to this point. Jacob Zuma applied to have Justice Sisi Khampepe step down as chair over concerns about her impartiality, and Mbeki noted on Monday that four Constitutional Court judges agreed with the concerns raised in that application. The transcript spells the chair’s name as Cece Campepe.

Separately, an eNCA Markdata survey reported in the same broadcast puts the DA on 35% in Johannesburg and the ANC on 22%, a 13-point gap. The ANC has finished first in every Johannesburg local government election. The poll has the DA as the biggest party in the city, with the ANC second, uMkhonto weSizwe on 13%, the EFF on 12% and ActionSA on 10%. eNCA’s election analyst Wayne Sussman said five parties above the 10% mark shows a very fragmented political landscape in the country’s most populous city.

Elsewhere in the broadcast, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola returned to office on Monday after a six-month suspension, saying he is determined to unite the SAPS and restore public trust in its leadership. He said the immediate priority is the local government elections in two weeks, and that the force will assess its state of readiness province by province. He called on those campaigning to exercise patience so that everyone can exercise the democratic right to campaign and the elections take place peacefully.

North West businessman Suleiman Karim will remain behind bars after his bail application was postponed to next Wednesday. He was arrested last week at OR Tambo International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Dubai, and faces a charge of contempt for failing to appear before the Madlanga Commission despite being subpoenaed. Prosecutor Donald Shiko told the court the applicant had no intention of returning to the commission, arguing there is a plain likelihood he will evade trial. Karim’s lawyer, David Yubair, pointed to a confirmed return flight ticket at the time of arrest, a verified fixed address, substantial assets, long-standing employment and no previous convictions, and said his client poses no threat to the administration of justice.

In the Western Cape High Court, alleged underworld gang boss Ralph Stanfield, his wife Nicole and 12 others pleaded not guilty to all charges as their trial got underway. The 14 accused face about 42 charges, including fraud, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, attempted murder and murder. The NPA’s Eric Ntabazalila said almost all of the accused declined to give plea explanations and are leaving the state to prove its case. The matter was rolled over to Tuesday.

This account is drawn from eNCA’s News Bite broadcast of 19 October 2026 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPGjyPQTA4Q).