I may have helped bring end to TRC prosecutions, says Cele

Former police minister Bheki Cele has acknowledged that his refusal to fund the costs of prosecuting apartheid police officers may have contributed to bringing the prosecution of Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) cases to an end.

However, Bheki Cele, on Tuesday in Newtown, Johanesburg, told the TRC Cases Inquiry — which is probing allegations of political interference and the deliberate suppression of TRC-related investigations and prosecutions — that he was unconvinced that the police force ought to have paid for, or were required to cover, the officers’ legal costs.

Cele said he only understood the magnitude of his decision after a meeting with the evidence leader of the commission.

“They explained to me how my refusal to pay for such legal fees contributed to or had the effect of stopping the prosecution of TRC cases against police officers charged with committing gross human rights violations. How the perpetrators had died without having been prosecuted. I understood the consequence of my decisions,” he said.

“However, I am constrained to record that I struggled and still struggle to come to terms with the following: how could the government be obligated to fund, through taxpayers’ money, including taxes paid by black people, the litigation costs of those who committed crimes against humanity, particularly against black people.”

He said this was his concern, which remains. “If this limitation condemns me, I am willing to go to jail for it and be condemned.”

Cele said he was further aware of a high court order obligating him to pay for these costs.

“Legally, and as far as the rule of law is concerned, I should have and ought to have not challenged the payment of legal costs.

“Indeed, I did, later on, in line with the rule of law, agree to the payment of these litigation costs.”

The former police boss said that the payment of the legal fees did not provide a guarantee that those prosecuted would tell the truth during trial, or that they would be convicted.

“These perpetrators and those accused, in my view, must pay for their own legal costs or rely on legal aid. After all, they are accused of having committed crimes against humanity, the crime of apartheid.”

More than 300 apartheid-era cases went to the National Prosecuting Authority for criminal investigation. In January 2024, 137 cases had been registered for investigation, 21 matters had been finalised with a decision, and 10 matters were on the court roll.

Sowetan