Khampepe Commission Postpones Ngcuka Cross-Examination; New Testimony Reveals Political Interference Allegations

The Khampepe Commission has ruled that the cross-examination of former National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Bulelani Ngcuka will be postponed to a later date. This decision follows an argument by Ngcuka's lawyer, Rafik Bhana SC, who contended that the Calata family and other applicants lacked grounds for cross-examining him.

The commission continues to hear Ngcuka's evidence-in-chief as part of its inquiry into delays in prosecuting apartheid-era crimes. Retired justice Sisi Khampepe handed down her ruling, stating that her directive cannot be varied to the extent that it gave Ngcuka the right to be cross-examined immediately.

Ngcuka served as NDPP from 1998 to 2004 and is among several senior officials accused of stalling investigations into apartheid-era crimes. The commission previously issued a directive that any witness appearing before it may be cross-examined by a person with the permission of the chairperson.

During his testimony, Ngcuka detailed how resource constraints at the establishment of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in 1998 hampered its ability to focus on cases arising from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process. He explained that the lack of resources forced difficult choices about which matters to prioritize, shifting his focus to urgent criminal cases in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Ngcuka also mentioned instances where evidence was insufficient to secure successful prosecutions, such as the case involving the murder of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko. He denied allegations of political interference in the NPA's failure to prosecute apartheid-era cases, stating that his office had created a priority crimes unit to handle viable cases.

Ngcuka appointed Judge Vincent Saldanha and Advocate Brink Ferreira to review case files and determine which were ready for prosecution. He stressed that there were no political attempts to interfere with the prosecution of TRC cases during his tenure, citing the NPA Act, which requires it to work closely with the Minister of Justice.

Under his direction, the unit identified 21 cases, at least six of which were taken to court during his tenure. Ngcuka is expected to return to the commission in two weeks to face cross-examination after his legal representation has prepared for the postponed session.

New testimony from Anton Ackermann, a key witness in the probe into delayed apartheid-era atrocity prosecutions, revealed that former national police chief Jackie Selebi had been convinced there was a compelling case against former president Thabo Mbeki. According to Ackermann's testimony before the Khampepe inquiry, this belief was unfounded.

Ackermann emphatically informed commissioners that "there was no case against the president or any other prominent ANC members who had been refused amnesty." He testified that the narrative suggesting he, as head of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU) in the NPA, was targeting 37 ANC senior leaders for prosecution was concocted by former security police members.

The inquiry heard how Selebi became convinced of this false narrative through interactions with Jan Wagenaar, a lawyer representing implicated apartheid-era generals. This misinformation allegedly led to decades-long delays in prosecuting TRC human rights abuse cases. Ackermann stated that the case against Mbeki was used to intimidate the NPA into not prosecuting security branch members.

Ackermann detailed his readiness to arrest and prosecute key security police suspects involved in the poisoning of Reverend Frank Chikane in April 1989. He mentioned that despite efforts to reassure Mbeki through meetings with his representatives, Selebi continued to believe in the existence of a case against the president.

The testimony also revealed that former Minister of Justice Penuell Maduna reported back to Mbeki that there was no case against him or other prominent ANC members. Ngcuka had centralized all TRC-related cases at his office and informed Mbeki's representatives that after reviewing relevant TRC material, no viable case existed.

Ackermann's testimony further exposed the formation of a "secret" external Amnesty Task Team (ATT) outside the NPA, which excluded the PCLU—the unit tasked with prosecutions. This team included members from various government agencies but notably did not include representatives from the PCLU.