TRC ROULETTE : Victims’ families place key hidden evidence before Khampepe inquiry

The Khampepe Commission has received significant evidence from the families of apartheid victims, potentially altering the course of the inquiry into delayed apartheid prosecutions. Attorney Asmita Thakor, representing the families, noted a handwritten index and original memorandum, which they had withheld from the commission, crucial to supporting advocate Anton Ackermann's claim that a disputed 2006 memo was forged.

Ackermann, appointed by President Thabo Mbeki in 2003 to head the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU) within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), had an extensive history in post-TRC prosecutions. In a June 2026 affidavit, Thakor expressed concern that the "vital index" had been inexplicably withheld, deeply affecting the families' trust in the inquiry's process.

In March 2026, Ackermann testified before the commission about a forged note dated 2006, claiming it had been used to frame him as a "rogue" prosecutor who was obsessed with prosecuting then-president Thabo Mbeki and other high-ranking ANC leaders in 2006. Former SAPS head of its legal division, Dr Petrus Jacobs, confirmed the original note was still being held at SAPS offices under lock and key.

The index revealed that Ackermann took the "A15" decision on 26 June 2003, alongside several other decisions. The forged memo only came to light in August 2007, after an article in Rapport alleged that Ackermann gave police instructions to continue gathering evidence against ANC leaders for prosecution. This, coupled with Selebi's conviction that the memo was genuine, caused turmoil in the post-TRC prosecutions.

Retired police colonel Louis Bester, who had keys to the safe where TRC master files were transferred in 2004, testified that he sealed 10 boxes on Selebi's instruction. Bester denied allegations from advocate Chris Macadam, Ackermann's deputy, that Bester was unhappy with the NPA's decision not to prosecute the ANC 37.