JOHANNESBURG - Former police minister Bheki Cele has branded apartheid-era security operatives and the politicians who directed them as criminals.
Cele defended his earlier stance against state funding for the legal costs of apartheid-era perpetrators while under cross-examination at the Khampepe Commission on Thursday.
The inquiry is probing allegations of political interference in the prosecution of TRC-era cases.
Cele served as national police commissioner from 2009 to 2011 before returning as police minister in 2018, a position he held until 2024.
Families of victims of apartheid-era crimes, represented by advocate Howard Varney, say they do not believe Cele personally suppressed investigations into TRC cases.
However, they have challenged his explanation that the cases stalled because of a lack of resources.
Cele previously told the commission that, as police minister, he opposed state funding for the legal costs of apartheid-era operatives, including Eugene de Kock.
“They acted under instruction, so it’s on that basis that a court has held that they’re entitled to state-funded legal representation,” said Calata Group lawyer Howard Varney.
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“I agree that representation shouldn’t be unlimited. It has to be reasonable, not limitless,” he said.
Cele responded that the operatives were criminals who had been ordered by a criminal state to commit crimes against humanity.
“Unfortunately, we are debating how to take care of perpetrators of crimes against humanity and forgetting that there are people who need assistance more than them,” he said.
The inquiry resumes on Friday, when former Justice Department director-general Nokuthula Sindane is expected to take the stand.