An inquiry into whether South Africa’s post-apartheid governments interfered with investigations into crimes committed under apartheid was delayed on Monday after objections were raised over one of its top lawyers.
According to The Associated Press, President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the probe in April following years of pressure from families of apartheid victims who say successive governments have failed to bring perpetrators to justice since the system ended in 1994.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) argued that Ishmael Semenya, the inquiry’s chief evidence leader, has a conflict of interest because he previously advised on a prosecution policy for apartheid-era crimes that was later struck down as unconstitutional.
Judge Sisi Khampepe, who is leading the inquiry, instructed the NPA and the justice department — both supporting the objection — to file a formal motion for Semenya’s recusal by Wednesday. The inquiry will resume on Nov. 26 to consider the request. Semenya did not comment.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, created in 1996 under former President Nelson Mandela, recommended roughly 150 apartheid-era cases for prosecution. While some offenders received amnesty in exchange for confessions, many never did, fueling decades of frustration among victims’ families.
The African National Congress (ANC), which has governed since the end of apartheid, has faced criticism for failing to pursue those cases. In 2008, a court in Pretoria called the NPA’s prosecution policy — which Semenya helped craft — “absurd and unconstitutional.”
Earlier this year, more than 20 families of apartheid victims sued Ramaphosa’s government, seeking $9.7 million in damages and demanding an independent inquiry into possible interference. Ramaphosa agreed to the inquiry as part of that settlement, though the damages case is still pending.
The government has recently reopened several investigations into apartheid-era killings, including a new inquest last month that concluded ANC leader Albert Luthuli was beaten to death in 1967 — not struck by a train, as apartheid authorities had long claimed.
