The African National Congress (ANC) is closely monitoring ongoing inquiries concerning the deaths of two uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) combatants, Akash Napier and Yusuf Akhalaywa, who were killed in a tragic explosion at Johannesburg’s Park Station in 1989. The investigation has been revitalised after revelations that Nasheen Bolton, Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, may have misrepresented his initial testimony, prompting the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to reconsider the case, now under the scrutiny of the HAWKS.
In his statement, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula remarked on the developments during a media briefing in Johannesburg on Friday. He noted the importance of treating Bolton as innocent until proven otherwise, despite the NPA’s rejection of his previous testimony. “Comrade Bolton has given us his side of the story and there’s no need for us as the ANC to interrogate that further, so we are taking him at his word,” Mbalula stated. “We are keenly watching the proceedings of the inquiry, which you say has been postponed. We want to find out what happened to our activists, but you see you have to be careful not to be seen as conducting a witch-hunt.”
Bolton’s appearance at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court marked a pivotal moment in this inquiry, which he dismissed as a mere formality rather than a criminal investigation. Following the postponement to 10 April, he expressed his lack of concern regarding the proceedings. “I am not worried at all. This is a mere inquiry. I have told them what I know, and they don’t accept it as the whole truth, and that is why we have the inquiry. I will give them the same version,” Bolton asserted. He currently remains a person of interest, and the potential for this inquiry to escalate into a criminal case looms if he fails to provide satisfactory explanations.
Compounding tensions around this inquiry is the recent release of Janusz Waluz, the assassin responsible for the murder of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and MK leader Chris Hani. Waluz was released on parole and swiftly deported to his native Poland, inciting widespread outrage among South Africans. Many are demanding that he be compelled to disclose further details about the conspiracy behind Hani’s assassination, which remains a painful chapter in the nation’s history.
As the ANC watches the inquiry unfold, the fallout from the reopening of this case and the implications surrounding Bolton’s testimony may offer new insights into the dark legacies of apartheid-era violence that continues to resonate within South Africa’s socio-political fabric.