By Simon Nare
Former justice and constitutional development minister Bridget Mabandla has denied interfering in the prosecution of apartheid-era operatives responsible for the attempted assassination of activist Reverend Frank Chikane, as well as other investigations and prosecutions of apartheid crimes.
Testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases inquiry, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe, Mabandla disputed allegations by former acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Silas Ramaite that she had instructed him to put the Chikane case on hold.
Chikane nearly died in 1996 after apartheid-era operatives allegedly poisoned his underwear with a toxic nerve agent during a trip to the United States, leaving him seriously ill.
According to Ramaite’s testimony, Mabandla called him in November 2004, when the arrest and prosecution of former apartheid operatives were imminent, and instructed him to suspend all investigations and prosecutions relating to TRC cases.
Ramaite told the inquiry that
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