By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils was the second minister from the Thabo Mbeki administration appearing before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases inquiry.
The sitting is probing delays in the prosecution of apartheid-era cases.
Kasrils who served as intelligence minister between 2004 and 2008, denied any involvement in alleged secret talks with former apartheid army and police generals about possible amnesty for crimes committed under the regime.
He was responding to repeated allegations by Lukhanyo Calata, a member of the Calata Group, which represents families of victims and took the government to court to compel it to establish the inquiry.
Calata, whose father, Fort Calata, was one of the Cradock Four, has alleged that Kasrils participated in secret high-level meetings between apartheid-era generals and a group of ANC leaders between 1999 and 2004.
In his rebuttal testimony on Thursday, Kasrils said he could not have been involved in the discussions because he was not part of the security cluster at the time.
He said Lindiwe Sisulu had served as intelligence minister after replacing Joe Nhlanhla in 2001, remaining in the position until 2004, when Calata alleged that the talks ended.
“There is no way to confuse Minister Sisulu with me. I was at the time the minister of water affairs and forestry and did not belong to the security cluster. The alleged high-level talks I knew nothing about. If there were such talks, I did not participate in anything of that nature,” Kasrils testified.
The former minister also denied allegations by Jacob van der Merwe, who told the inquiry that Kasrils had contacted his mother to discuss the disappearance of his father, a civilian farmer who was allegedly shot and killed by uMkhonto we Sizwe operatives in 1978.
Van der Merwe alleged that Kasrils had contacted his mother outside the TRC process to discuss the incident. Kasrils denied the allegation, describing it as unfounded.
He said he was based in Angola in 1978, teaching politics to ANC members in the organisation’s camps, and was not involved in the liberation movement’s combat operations.
“I have no knowledge of Van der Merwe’s allegations. I deny that I approached Mrs Van der Merwe or any of her relatives or any other person, whether telephonically or in person, regarding the incident described. I deny any involvement in alleged threats against Mrs Van der Merwe,” he said.
Kasrils subsequently submitted a statement to the inquiry, asking chairperson Justice Sisi Khampepe and the commissioners to reject what he described as “these unfounded and malicious statements”.
He said he had never heard of the incident while he was in Angola when it occurred, or when he became deputy defence minister in 1997.
Kasrils was also questioned about testimony by former ANC national executive committee member Smuts Ngonyama, who said the party supported the idea of an amnesty law at its 51st national conference.
According to the commission’s records, Ngonyama said the ANC was generally opposed to trials modelled on the Nuremberg proceedings because they would come at the expense of nation-building.
Kasrils confirmed that the ANC had discussed legal mechanisms to address outstanding TRC cases but denied that the discussions involved efforts to halt prosecutions.
Another former Cabinet minister from Mbeki administration,former Minister of Intelligence Services and Safety and Security respectively Charles Nqakula, is expected to testify at the Commission on Friday, 23 October 2026.