Gambiaj.com – (JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA) – Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has denied allegations that his administration interfered with the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes, telling an inquiry that he neither ordered nor approved the abandonment of investigations or prosecutions.
Mbeki appeared before the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry on Monday, October 19, 2026, as it investigates allegations of political interference in the handling of apartheid-era cases.
The commission was established in 2025 following years of pressure from families of victims who have continued to demand justice for crimes committed during apartheid.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which heard testimony from thousands of victims and perpetrators, handed its final report to Mbeki in 2003, during his presidency from 1999 to 2008.
While some perpetrators were granted amnesty after making full disclosures before the TRC, hundreds of cases involving people who did not qualify for amnesty were referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for possible prosecution.
Few Cases Prosecuted
However, very few of those cases ultimately resulted in prosecutions, prompting allegations that political considerations had influenced decisions within the justice system.
Former prosecutors have told the inquiry that political interference occurred during Mbeki’s presidency. Some allegations have focused on whether the African National Congress, which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid, may have been protected from politically sensitive prosecutions.
Mbeki rejected those allegations, insisting that he had no role in preventing prosecutions.
“Any assertion that we interfered is a lie,” Mbeki told the commission. “Nothing of this sort ever happened. I neither ordered, authorized, nor approved the abandonment of investigations or prosecutions.”
He said the commission should instead establish who made the decisions not to pursue particular cases and under whose authority those decisions were taken.
“It is therefore for the prosecution service to explain why it did not fulfil its exclusive responsibility to prosecute people who deserved to be prosecuted,” he said.
Mbeki To Face Further Questioning
The former president is expected to return before the commission for cross-examination, although no date has yet been announced.
The inquiry’s findings could shed further light on why so few apartheid-era cases referred for prosecution resulted in criminal proceedings and whether political considerations played a role in decisions taken by prosecutors.
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