By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Gauteng High Court has dismissed president Cyril Ramaphosa and government bid to halt lawsuit of R167 million by the families of victims and survivors of apartheid-era atrocities until the conclusion of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
The lawsuit is filed by the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) and 25 families for actively sabotaging their attempt to seek justice and closure more than two decades after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The first applicant in the case is Lukhanyo Calata, the son of Fort Calata, one of four anti-apartheid activists known as the “Cradock Four” who were killed in 1985.
The other applicants include two survivors of the 1993 Highgate Massacre in which a group of masked men shot dead five patrons at a hotel bar, and the family members of other anti-apartheid activists who were killed or disappeared.
In May 2025, Ramaphosa announced the establishment of a judicial commission chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe to get to the bottom of allegations that justice had been delayed in the TRC matters due to political interference.
After establishing the commission, he applied to the court to stay the case until the commission completed its work.
This was rejected by families who said that regardless of Judge Khampepe findings, there was a long history of the recommendations of commissions being ignored by government.
In a written judgement, Judge Nicolene Janse Van Nieuwenhuizen expressed sympathy for the families and survivors – some of whom are elderly – who have been made to wait for years for justice or some closure.
“It is rather ironic that the Government, who is the sole cause for the delay, wants this court to sanction yet a further indefinite delay without being able to point to any tangible benefit that will be achieved by the delay, “she stated.
Judge Nicolene Van Nieuwenhuizen agreed that the interests of justice would not be served by further delays. She dismissed the application, ordering the First and Second Respondents (Government and the President) to pay the costs, including the costs of two counsel.
South Africa was ruled by a white minority government for decades, enforcing institutionalised racial segregation, before becoming a multi-racial democracy in 1994.
The African National Congress (ANC) has governed since then but last year was forced to share power with smaller parties after losing its majority in a national election.
South Africa set up its TRC in 1996 to help uncover human rights violations perpetrated under apartheid. After it ended in 2002, the TRC handed over a list of several hundred cases to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further investigation, but many were never pursued.