Des Erasmus
AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel will on Thursday testify at the Khampepe Commission about alleged political interference that prevented the prosecution of ANC members implicated in attacks on civilians during the anti-apartheid struggle.
Also set to appear is Jacob Gabriël Cilliers van der Merwe, who will give oral evidence about the 1978 killing of his father, Jaap van der Merwe, near the Botswana border.
There were no prosecutions following that murder, according to Van der Merwe and AfriForum.
Jaap van der Merwe was a farmer in the Northum area, where Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) used to conduct cross-border raids from Botswana in the late 70s.
AfriForum has alleged that Jaap van der Merwe’s body was never recovered and that a suspect known to authorities did not receive amnesty and was not prosecuted.
Kriel is also expected to testify about the killing of several members of the Van Eck family. Kobie van Eck and two of her children were killed in a landmine attack in 1985. AfriForum has represented Kobie’s husband, Dirk, since 2007.
The landmine blast took place near Musina in what was then the Northern Transvaal, during the ANC’s landmine campaign.
The TRC found the campaign had caused civilian deaths and injuries.
The ANC publicly accepted responsibility the day after the attack. Two named MK operatives who planted the device received TRC amnesty.
The Khampepe inquiry was established after years of criticism over the slow pace of apartheid-era prosecutions recommended by the TRC.
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Lukhanyo Calata (son of Fort Calata of the Cradock Four) helped drive direct legal pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa and the state through a High Court application for constitutional damages.
That litigation and the settlement talks around it preceded the decision to establish the inquiry.