Cradock Four families go to court for justice

The families of the murdered Cradock Four anti-apartheid activists have turned to the courts in a bid to force law enforcement agencies to finally make a decision on the prosecution of those responsible for their deaths at the hands of apartheid police, reports News24. Former President FW de Klerk is cited as the 13th respondent in the case, which paints a damning picture of how the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and police have failed to act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) directives to pursue possible prosecutions linked to the murders of some 300 activists. Those murdered activists included Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkonto – known as the ‘Cradock Four’ – who were kidnapped, tortured and murdered by apartheid police on 27 June 1985. ‘More than 35 years later, and notwithstanding countless pleas, my family and I are still waiting for the SA Police to finalise its investigations and for the NPA to take a decision whether to prosecute the known suspects or not,’ Calata’s son Lukhanyo states in court papers. He continued: ‘I submit that the failure to finalise the Cradock Four case represents a deep betrayal of those who gave their lives for the struggle for freedom and democracy in SA. It has also added significantly to the emotional trauma and anguish of their families, surviving victims and the wider community. I do not know why the South African state has turned its back on victims who sacrificed so much, but it appears to me that until recently this approach was the product of a policy or decision to abandon or suppress these cases.’

Full Fin24 report