Five key things from Bheki Cele testimony at the TRC Inquiry

Former police minister Bheki Cele appeared on Tuesday at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases Inquiry — which is probing allegations of political interference and the deliberate suppression of TRC-related investigations and prosecutions.

Here are five key things that came out of his testimony:

• Cele said he became involved in politics in 1975 after moving to Lamontville, where his activism was driven by community struggles rather than student politics. He was a member of the Joint Rent Committee alongside figures including Jabu Sithole and Terror Lekota.
• He recalled being a United Democratic Front leader when anti-apartheid activist Victoria Mxenge was assassinated. Cele said he arrived at her home shortly after the killing and witnessed the aftermath, describing it as one of the most traumatic moments of his life after the death of activist Msizi Dube. Cele said Mxenge’s assassination sparked widespread unrest in Durban, with parts of Umlazi township engulfed in violence and destruction.
• Cele said these experiences shaped his opposition to the SAPS funding the legal defence of former apartheid-era security police accused of torturing, kidnapping and killing anti-apartheid activists.
• He argued that the SAPS should not have paid, or been compelled to pay, the legal fees of former Security Branch members, saying there was no guarantee that state-funded legal representation would lead to truthful testimony or convictions.
• Cele maintained that former apartheid security police facing prosecution should fund their own legal defence or seek assistance through Legal Aid, rather than relying on SAPS funding, as they are accused of having committed crimes against humanity.

Sowetan