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Notorious apartheid-era security police mass murderer Eugene de Kock has information that neither old nor new order political leaders want South Africans to know.

The information relates to old-order command structures and the complicity of high-level politicians in human rights violations. This information has been suppressed since the dawn of democracy.

Appearing as a witness at the reopened inquest into the killing of the so-called Cradock Four in 1985 today, De Kock said he was not involved in planning or executing the Cradock Four murders but described himself as an accessory after the fact.

His initial evidence on command structures was quickly objected to by lawyers representing parties implicated in the matter. The lawyer leading De Kock’s evidence said his client wanted to tell the truth.

Among the names De Kock mentioned in respect of a separate mass murder, as an adjournment was called, was that of former President FW De Klerk. After the adjournment, the court did not return to this evidence. 

Just before his death in November 2021, De Klerk's foundation issued a statement revealing an alleged agreement between the NP and ANC on no-prosecutions. Former President Thabo Mbeki denies that such an agreement exists.

The Khampepe Commission was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to probe whether there had been political interference in prosecutorial decisions not to proceed with cases recommended for further investigation by the TRC. The TRC submitted final recommendations to the Government 23 years ago.

If there was political interference, it directly violated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process that was established to grant amnesty to perpetrators of human rights violations in exchange for their telling the truth. It points to a layer of secrets and compromising information that has never been revealed.

Former Presidents Mbeki and Jacob Zuma are presently involved in litigation in a bid to force the recusal of Judge Sisi Khampepe from the commission. President Ramaphosa, who appointed her, has asked Khampepe to stand down. 

De Kock won’t know much about the ANC’s secrets but does know about many of the cases that the NPA has delayed prosecuting, including the chain of command – information that gets to the heart of the secrets. 

Why is this important, now? Because it’s about the fundamentals of our integrity, as a nation, the integrity of those who have been leading us, and that of our dysfunctional criminal justice system.

South Africans agreed to a process of national unity and reconciliation on the foundations of truth and justice, only to see these foundations collapse. It’s important that we understand why and return to the tasks of developing a fairer and more inclusive nation.  

Issued by Unite for Change Leadership Council Member and GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron