South Africa: Thabo Mbeki denies before the Khampepe Commission that he blocked prosecutions for apartheid-era crimes

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki appeared on October 19, 2026, in Newtown, Johannesburg, before the commission of inquiry tasked with determining whether political officials prevented prosecutions against perpetrators of crimes committed under apartheid. He flatly rejected the accusations brought against him, describing them, in words reported by the South African radio station EWN, as a "complete fabrication."

Three hundred cases, almost no trials

The commission, chaired by former Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe, was ordered in April 2026 by President Cyril Ramaphosa following complaints from survivors and victims' families, who blame successive governments for their inaction regarding murders and disappearances that have never been solved.

The starting point is the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), opened in 1996 under the chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which offered amnesty in exchange for a full confession of political crimes. According to a provisional report from the Ministry of Justice as of November 2000, approximately 7,000 applications were filed, nearly 850 were granted, and about 5,400 were rejected. Nearly 300 cases were then forwarded to the justice system. Very few led to a conviction, reports Africanews: evidence disappeared, witnesses and suspects died, and there were suspicions of political interference.

What Mbeki acknowledges, what he rejects

President from 1999 to 2008 and successor to Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki admits to having met with former army and police officers, but asserts that these meetings were intended to convince them to appear before the TRC, not to guarantee them impunity. He was responding to the former National Director of Public Prosecutions (NPA) Anton Ackermann, who stated that a lawyer for the apartheid generals had informed him of discussions involving the army, the police, ANC leaders, Thabo Mbeki, and Frederik de Klerk, according to EWN.

The former head of state shifts the responsibility to the NPA and asks, in a written statement cited by Africanews, that the prosecution explain why it did not pursue these cases.

Families demand accountability

The Foundation for Human Rights, which represents 25 families, is awaiting explanations and apologies; its executive director Zaid Kimmie denounces years of waiting and obstruction, reports Africanews. Several judicial inquiries have been reopened: into the death of Albert Luthuli in 1967, that of Griffiths Mxenge in 1981, and that of Steve Biko in 1977 at the hands of the police.

Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma had unsuccessfully attempted to have Sisi Khampepe recused. Mbeki's hearing was set to continue on October 20, 2026, before that of three former ministers; the hearing for Jacob Zuma, scheduled for October 22, has been postponed.