Fri Jun 27 09:27:14 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
The article details the ongoing struggle for justice by families of victims of apartheid-era atrocities in South Africa. Focusing on the case of the “Cradock Four,” activists murdered by apartheid police in 1985, it highlights the decades-long wait for accountability, the failures of past inquests and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and a renewed inquest that offers a glimmer of hope. The piece also discusses the cases of Nokhutula Simelane and Ahmed Timol, other victims of apartheid violence, and criticizes the ruling ANC for not doing enough to address these historical crimes. Families are demanding that those who gave the orders for the murders be held responsible. The Department of Justice says it has intensified efforts to deliver long-awaited justice and closure for families affected by apartheid-era atrocities.
**News Article:**
**Families of Apartheid Victims Demand Justice as New Inquest Opens in “Cradock Four” Case**
**Gqeberha, South Africa** – Forty years after the brutal murders of the “Cradock Four,” anti-apartheid activists killed by security forces in 1985, a new inquest has begun, offering a sliver of hope to grieving families who have spent decades seeking justice. The families also blame the ruling ANC for not doing enough to address these historical crimes.
Teachers Fort Calata and Matthew Goniwe, school principal Sicelo Mhlauli, and railway worker Sparrow Mkonto were abducted, tortured, and murdered after being stopped at a roadblock. Their activism had made them targets of the apartheid regime.
While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) confirmed the men were targeted for their activism, no one was ever held accountable. The new inquest aims to uncover who gave the orders for the killings.
“For 40 years, we’ve waited for justice,” said Lukhanyo Calata, son of Fort Calata. “We hope this process will finally expose who gave the orders, who carried them out, and why.”
The Cradock Four case is one of many that haunt South Africa’s past. The article also highlights the cases of Nokhutula Simelane, an MK operative who disappeared in 1983, and Ahmed Timol, an anti-apartheid activist murdered in 1971. These cases highlight the unresolved trauma and unanswered questions that continue to plague families.
Nombuyiselo Mhlauli, wife of Sicelo Mhlauli, described the state of her husband’s body when she received his remains for burial. He had more than 25 stab wounds in the chest, seven in the back, a gash across his throat and a missing right hand.
The office of South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says the department has intensified its efforts to deliver long-awaited justice and closure for families affected by apartheid-era atrocities.
Lukhanyo Calata believes the ANC betrayed the Cradock Four.
“Today we are sitting with a society that is completely lawless, because at the start of this democracy, we did not put in the proper processes to tell the rest of society that you will be held accountable for things that you have done wrong.”
The inquest is expected to last several weeks, with former security police, political figures, and forensic experts testifying. The families of the Cradock Four say senior officials who gave the orders should be held responsible.
First Piper 