Cradock 4 inquest: ‘ANC hid the truth’

The son of one of the Cradock Four says the government’s decision to reopen the inquest into the killings of the United Democratic Front activists is window-dressing because the ANC has always sought to avoid prosecution of the killers as part of a deal with the apartheid regime.

Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkhonto were abducted by the apartheid police security branch at a roadblock on 27 June 1985 on their way from Port Elizabeth to Cradock. They were assaulted and murdered in police custody.

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First inquest

The first inquest conducted by the apartheid authorities in 1987 concluded that the four leaders were killed by “unknown persons while a second inquest in 1993 found that their death was caused by the police. But the culprits were not prosecuted.

Six former police officers who arrested and murdered the Cradock Four appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Amnesty Committee, but were not granted amnesty and therefore were still liable for prosecution.

‘Delayed deliberately’

Lukhanyo Calata, a broadcast journalist and Fort’s son, said the move to reopen the inquest is not a Damascan moment for the ANC government but that the matter was delayed deliberately to minimise the chance of prosecution of the killers and to avoid consequences for the ANC-led government.

“It was never a sudden change of heart from the ANC and the government it leads.

“The ANC interfered politically and sought to delay the issue of prosecutions until all suspects eventually died.

“Once that happened it was therefore easy to allow the matter to proceed as the risk of prosecution and the possible consequences thereof [for the ANC] were completely minimised,” Calata said.

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Inquest re-opening

On Friday, the ANC welcomed the Cradock Four’s inquest re-opening.

“The ANC supports the rationale behind the re-opening of the inquest. The party reiterated the TRC final report which condemned the [apartheid] SA police that used to brag about their successes in these operations.”

The party further cited the TRC’s statement that in the cases of the Cradock Four and the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Congress Three, Sipho Hashe, Champion Galela and Qaqaquli Godolozi, “the police engaged in elaborate and effective cover-ups.”

“The truth has always been there. It had simply been hidden from the public gaze.”

Ruling party’s inaction

But Lukhanyo Calata had been angry about the ruling party’s inaction and its alleged political interference in the matter. He cited an instance when the National Prosecuting Authority admitted in court papers to the political interference.

“We also had an admission from the FW de Klerk Foundation in a statement issued on 20 July 2021, to a deal between some ANC leaders and their apartheid counterparts that there shall be no prosecutions for apartheid crimes.

“What we need to know is who those ANC leaders were,” he said.

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‘My father died for this’

Lukhanyo, who had been campaigning for justice for his late father and his comrades for years, has-authored a book with his wife, Abegail Calata, titled My Father Died For This.

In the book he tells of the life of the father he never knew: Fort Calata.

It’s a poignant and inspiring journey into the history of a remarkable family that traces the ANC’s struggle be- ginning with treason trialist and secretary-general Canon James Calata.

The delayed justice for Fort and the others had become a bitter ending after the role this struggle family played in the country’s liberation efforts.