Cape Town - The families of the Cradock 4 have been informed that they will know in January whether the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) will go ahead in prosecuting those suspected in the deaths of their loved ones.
The families recently criticised the NPA for stonewalling them on whether they will prosecute those responsible for the murders of anti-apartheid activists Ford Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli – known as the Cradock 4.
The four men were kidnapped and murdered by apartheid security police.
Speaking to the Cape Argus, Lukhanyo Calata, Ford’s son, confirmed the NPA’s submission on Friday in Parliament that it had met with the families on November 4.
Though MPs weren’t afforded details of the meeting, Calata said they were given a date early in the new year.
Calata said: “We found that the interaction was quite helpful. It was the first time that someone as senior as the Eastern Cape director of public prosecutions (advocate Barry Madolo) had actually engaged with the widows in particular.
“It was the first time that they had the opportunity to sit in a room and ask all the questions they needed. We were quite happy with that. We’re very satisfied that there is some form of open communications between us as the families and the NPA,” Calata said.
“We’re happy that indeed we’re able to track the investigation. This is where we’ve always wanted to be – in a position where we’re able to communicate as and when we want with the NPA to get updates.
“We’re in a good space, and we’re happy to continue to work with them. Of course, the NPA must now still deliver on its commitment to justice and prosecution.”
He said Madolo “assured” them that the NPA was working on the investigation.
Meanwhile, the directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) confirmed that it was exploring options with regard to tackling an investigation into the 1988 assassination in France of Athlone-born ANC political activist Dulcie September.
This follows the hearing two weeks ago in a Paris court of final arguments in a civil case which judgment, due in a couple of weeks, will determine whether the French state should have acceded to her request after she had asked them twice for protection.
Dulcie was the chief representative of the ANC in France, Switzerland and Luxembourg at the time of her assassination in 1988. Her family have always argued that she deserved protection after she twice alerted local police about a threat to her life.
September’s nephew Michael Arendse said last week that the family had met with investigators from the Hawks and that they were looking into the assassination.
Arendse said they welcomed the action by the Hawks with regard to September’s assassination.
Reached for comment, Hawks spokesperson Nomthandazo Mbambo said the investigators were exploring ways to “tackle the matter, taking into consideration issues pertaining to jurisdiction”.
The French police closed the September murder case in July 2002 because there had been no new information in the 10 years since July 1992 when a judge ruled the case not prosecutable.
The news of the Hawks’ involvement in a new investigation into the case comes as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) gave assurances to Parliament about the speeding up of the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes referred by the TRC.
To date, 129 TRC matters are under investigation and 64 investigations have been re-opened.
The NPA told Parliament that in most matters families had been informed, where they were traceable. Fifty-six matters occurred from 1980 to 1989 and 27 matters occurred from 1970 to 1979.
Presenting a progress report on the cases, national prosecutions deputy head Rodney de Kock told Parliament’s justice committee that the NPA was delving into old records to make sure no stone was left unturned.
De Kock told the committee that in addition to recovering the remains of 179 missing persons, the Missing Person Task Team had recorded several successes.
“These successes include, among others, the location of the remains of an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) member shot dead in 1980, with an excavation planned, and the identification of a burial site where four MK members were ambushed in the Caprivi Strip in 1970.”
The NPA told Parliament that 25 dedicated NPA TRC prosecutors had been appointed and a further 40 TRC investigators had been appointed to the Hawks.
De Kock said dedicated capacity to deal with TRC cases had been increased within both the NPA and the Hawks and that this had in turn led to increased engagements with the families.
Committee chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe (ANC) said: “We can see some light at the end of the tunnel. There is clearly some work that still needs to be done, but we note the progress. This is the reason why we initiated regular engagements with the NPA on this very emotive matter.”
soyiso.maliti@inl.co.za and mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za