The memory of finding struggle stalwart Chris Hani lying bloodied after his assassination remains painful for former Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, who has strongly rejected allegations that he colluded with apartheid-era security generals to secure pardons for human rights abuses.
Nqakula was testifying before the Commission of Inquiry into Stopped TRC Investigations and/or Prosecutions, chaired by retired Justice Sisi Khampepe.
Taking the commission back to the dark days of apartheid, Nqakula recalled his close working relationship with Hani, whom he served as deputy when Hani was secretary-general of the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Hani was assassinated in April 1993.
Nqakula described allegations that he could have supported pardons for apartheid-era perpetrators as a deep insult to the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for freedom.
“And we went to his house [Chris Hani] and he was still lying there, bloodied,” he told the commission.
His testimony also turned to the painful history of Reverend James Calata, the grandfather of Fort Calata, one of the Cradock Four — four anti-apartheid activists abducted and killed by security police in 1985.
Nqakula recalled how Reverend Calata was subjected to persecution, including being banned and detained despite serving as a priest.
He said apartheid-era forces would come to their church to pick up Calata, underscoring the extent to which the regime targeted people involved in the struggle.
“Now, anybody who suggests that I could have supported a measure that would have defiled not just the memory of Chris Hani, but also of Calata, who, as history will tell you, was also banned, was also detained as a priest, and they would come and pick him up from our church. And people say I wanted those people to be pardoned is a deep insult,” Nqakula said.
The commission is investigating allegations surrounding the stopping of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases and possible political interference in the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.
