Mbeki denies any political interference with NPA’s work on TRC cases

Former President Thabo Mbeki has denied any political interference with the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) work on Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases. During public hearings in Newtown, Johannesburg, Mbeki stated that while he had the authority to pardon perpetrators of apartheid-era human rights violations, he did not interfere with the NPA's investigation and prosecution of these perpetrators.

Mbeki emphasized that his office did not give him the power to instruct investigators to abandon a criminal investigation or prosecutors not to institute a prosecution. He stressed the importance of this distinction, particularly in the context of evidence identified in the summonses.

Although the government remained concerned about the cases for which pardons were sought, it did not mean that the government adopted a policy against prosecuting TRC cases. The executive body did not interfere with the cases referred by the TRC to the NPA for prosecution.