Former Police Chief Faces Khampepe Grilling Over Apartheid Case Backlog

Bheki Cele, South Africa's national police commissioner from 2009 to 2011, returned to the Khampepe Commission on Thursday to face renewed scrutiny over his department's handling of unresolved apartheid-era cases. The inquiry, formally designated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Cases Inquiry, convened at its Newtown, Johannesburg venue to examine the operational and institutional breakdown that left cases referred to the South African Police Service and National Prosecuting Authority decades ago without prosecution or closure. Chaired by retired Deputy Chief Justice Sisi Khampepe alongside retired Northern Cape High Court Judge President Justice Frans Diale Kgomo and advocate Andrea Gabriel, SC, the commission has centered its investigation on a straightforward mandate: establishing why the system failed to deliver justice on cases the TRC had already identified and referred. Cele's second appearance built directly on his initial testimony last month, when he claimed ignorance of outstanding TRC cases during his 2010 tenure as commissioner, attributing his focus instead to security arrangements for South Africa's FIFA World Cup hosting. On Thursday, the questioning narrowed to specific individuals and Cele's personal knowledge of their fates. When pressed about Musawakhe "Sbho" Phewa, an uMkhonto we Sizwe operative who disappeared around 1987 from Lamontville south of Durban, Cele acknowledged knowing him but offered only qualified recollection of the circumstances. He stated he was uncertain whether Phewa had been abducted or had simply gone missing en route to exile. He later noted that new information had emerged suggesting Phewa had proceeded into exile, though Cele remained vague on timing and details. Phewa's son, Mbuso Khoza, had filed an affidavit with the inquiry documenting his family's efforts to secure a special pension and calling for damages. The affidavit identified Cele as Phewa's closest ally and expressed the family's disappointment that, despite their hopes following the ANC's rise to power, no resources were allocated to investigate Phewa's disappearance. Cele confirmed receiving the pension application but deflected responsibility, asserting that national leadership rather than provincial structures bore accountability for addressing TRC matters. The session also examined cases involving Ntombi Kubheka, an anti-apartheid activist kidnapped, tortured and killed in 1987 when her daughter Thuli Kubheka was three years old. Thuli and other family members continue pursuing justice for her mother's murder. A substantial portion of Thursday's hearing saw advocate Howard Varney pressing Cele on his stated refusal to deploy taxpayer funds to support apartheid perpetrators. Cele contended that operatives, despite acting under regime orders, were committing crimes in the apartheid system's name, and that many taxpayers themselves were apartheid victims who should not be forced to fund perpetrators' support. He referenced the Steve Biko inquest as an example of inadequate accountability, noting that no one has been held responsible for Biko's 1977 death in detention. Varney countered that victim families had received substantially less support than perpetrators. He extended his critique to the inquiry itself, observing that the commission lacked adequate state funding. According to reporting at mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-27-cele-tears-into-apartheid-operatives/, the Khampepe Commission has relied on pro bono legal work and charitable contributions to sustain operations. That resource constraint cuts to the inquiry's central predicament. The mechanisms designed to investigate and prosecute apartheid crimes have themselves struggled with inadequate resources and inconsistent political commitment, leaving victim families without resolution decades after the crimes were committed. Whether the commission can compel institutional accountability while operating on goodwill and donated labour, a question Varney's remarks placed squarely on the record Thursday, remains the tension that will define every session still to come.