International News
South Africa Re-Opens Inquiry Into Death Of Apartheid-Era Activists
A South African court opened an inquest Monday into the murders 40 years ago of four anti-apartheid activists by a police hit squad in one of the most notorious atrocities of the apartheid era.
No one has been brought to justice for the 1985 killings of the so-called Cradock Four, and their families have accused the post-apartheid government of intervening to block the case from going to trial.
Teachers Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe and Sicelo Mhlauli and railway worker Sparrow Mkonto were abducted and killed while returning home from a political meeting in the southern town of Cradock.
“After 40 years, the families are still waiting for justice and closure,” Advocate Howard Varney, representing relatives of the four men, told the court in an opening statement.
“We intend to demonstrate that the deaths of the Cradock Four were brought about by way of a calculated and premeditated decision of the apartheid regime taken at the highest level of the government’s state security system,” Varney told the court in the Eastern Cape city of Gqeberha.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up to uncover political crimes carried out under apartheid refused amnesty to six men for the Cradock Four killings.
This left them open to prosecution but the post-apartheid authorities took no action, Varney said.
This may have been in part due to a “toxic mix of idleness, indifference, incapacity or incompetence” but the families also believed “political forces intervened to block their cases from proceeding”, he said.
“This inquest is probably the very last chance that the families will get to reach a semblance of closure. They deserve nothing less than a full and comprehensive accounting with the past,” the advocate said.
It is the third inquest into the Cradock Four murders, which came at the height of the white-minority government’s repression of anti-apartheid activists.
Claims of deliberate delays in prosecuting apartheid-era crimes led President Cyril Ramaphosa to set up a judicial inquiry in April.
In January, 25 families of victims and survivors of apartheid-era crimes, including the Cradock Four, announced they were suing the government over a “gross failure” to investigate and prosecute perpetrators.
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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