After Apartheid: Truth and
Reconciliation in South
Africa
Definition of Apartheid
 Apartheid: the system of racial
segregation that existed in South
Africa from 1948 to 1994
Summary of Apartheid




1948: National Party narrowly wins power
First 12 years: Three Goals
1) Reorganized state power
Consolidated their hold on the civil service by giving
Afrikaans important positions
 Imposed tight new controls over civil society in the form of
legislation
 Examples: 1950 Suppression of Communism Act
 1960: Banning of their rivals the African National Congress
(ANC) and the Pan-African Congress (PAC) in 1960
2) Elaboration and implementation of
Apartheid:
 Africans should not be allowed in urban areas.
 1950 Population Registration Act: implemented
mandatory classification of all individuals into four
categories, white, Bantu (African), coloured
(racially mixed) or Asiatic.
 1950 Group Areas Act: gave the government
sweeping powers to remove Africans from urban
areas and to relocate them to reserves which were
scattered throughout South Africa.
 1951 Bantu Authorities Act: placed government
approved ‘chiefs’ in control of the reserves.
Elaboration and implementation of Apartheid
Continued…
 Millions of Africans were displaced as a result and
were usually placed into poorer living conditions
where they had little control over their day-to-day
lives.
 Africans were no longer allowed to live
permanently in cities, except for male labourers.
 1955 Pass Law: required that everyone must carry
a pass at all times which identified their race and
what areas they were authorized to enter.
 Bantu education: prepared Africans for a life as a
low wage labourer
Pass Law
The most hated
regulation in
South Africa
3) Consolidating and Advancing the
Interests of Afrikaner Nationalism.
 Supporting Afrikaner businesses
 Supporting white workers in the form of job
reservation and the colour bar
 Restricting sexual relations between races
 1953 Separation of Amenities Act: created
separate facilities for different races, such
as beaches, buses, washrooms, and even in
some cases separate doors.
Separation of Amenities
Separation of Amenities
 A private sign
emblematic of
the tense
relations of the
era
Resistance in the 1950s
 as the new government worked to reshape South
African society, much resistance came from the
oppressed populations, and in particular from the
African ANC, PAC, and the National Indian
Congress (NIC).
 Resistance was exercised through boycotts,
strikes, and general civil disobedience
 An early example of resistance occurred with a
strike on May 1st 1950 in which 18 people were
killed and 30 wounded by open police fire in the
night.
Resistance in the 1950s
Continued…
 1953 Public Safety Act: gave the government
extreme power to control the country’s citizens.
 The Treason Trial: in 1956 156 leaders were
arrested on charges of treason and ‘conspiracy to
overthrow the state.’
 Sharpeville Massacre: in March of 1960 69
people were killed and 180 were injured after
1000s of people gathered in resistance in front of
a police station. Constables were alarmed by the
size of the crowd, panicked and opened fire.
 South African police
officers standing
over people killed in
the Sharpeville
massacre.
1960s: The Quite Decade
 Many leaders were imprisoned and controls over
movement and segregation were at their peak.
 By all normal indicators, rate of growth, rate of
inflation, rate of job creation, rates of savings and
investments, etc. the South African economy was
extremely successful
 One of the most important elements of the
Apartheid economy was gold which contributed
more than a third of South Africa’s exports.
Gold Mining
in South
Africa
The 1970s: Time for Change




Economic success began to waver.
South Africa’s share of world gold sales fell rapidly.
Led to dissatisfaction with the National Party.
Revolt against the government was revived in the
1970s.
 major growth in the number of African’s attending
schools.
 Black Consciousness movement which became a
strong impetus for change.
Black Consciousness Movement
The Soweto Riots:
 Resistance movement which took place in June of
1976
 A protest by 15,000 students resulted in the death
of several school children which led to widespread
attacks on police, administrative buildings,
beerhalls, etc.
 Students began to boycott classes and even burn
school buildings, which led to a counter attack and
raids by police.
 In the end it is estimated that 575 died and 2389
were wounded in the riots.
Soweto Riots
 Famous photograph
of the Soweto Riots
showing a scholar
carrying the body of
Hector Pieterson, one
of the first casualties.
1980s: Resistance Renewed
 The state attempted to retain control with military
power, detentions and increased repression
 But as international condemnation grew and
economic sanctions began to take hold, it became
more and more clear that change was needed.
 On February 2, 1990, President F.F. de Klerk
unbanned the ANC and the PAC and made a
commitment to meaningful change.
 The collapse of Apartheid thus followed.
The End of Apartheid
 May 10th 1994: The inauguration of President
Nelson Mandela on May 10th 1994, after 27 years
of incarceration, seemed to signal a turning point
in South African society.
 A hundred thousand people came to see their hero
take power.
 The closing words of Mandela’s speech were “we
enter into a covenant that we shall build a society
in which all South Africans, both black and white,
will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their
hearts, assured of their inaliable right to human
dignity.”
The End of Apartheid
 black
voters,
waiting for
hours to
cast their
votes
The End of Apartheid
 The election
of Nelson
Mandela
The Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC)
 A court-like body which was assembled in South
Africa following the end of Apartheid
 Anyone who felt that they had been a victim of
violence could come forward and be heard at the
TRC.
 Perpetrators of violence could also give testimony
and request amnesty from prosecution.
 The TRC was seen as a crucial component of the
transition to full and free democracy in South
Africa
Why Was the TRC Needed?
 Some form of accountability had to be taken for the
immense violence that took place during
 There had to be a diagnosis of what exactly happened,
why it happened, and who was responsible
 It was thought that if there was no accountability made, a
message would be given to the new security forces and to
the people of South Africa as a whole that future abuses
may be treated similarly
 Would reinforce the culture of abuse and intolerance that
had been breeding in South Africa for the past several
hundred years
 There was a need to record and publicize what happened
from the victims as well
Goal of the TRC
 There was to be a commission instituted to
investigate and establish as complete a picture as
possible of the nature, causes and extent of gross
violations of human rights committed. This
commission would also play a role in the granting
of amnesty to persons who make full disclosure of
all relevant facts associated with a political
objective
 It would also afford victims an opportunity to relate
to others the violations they suffered, grant
reparation to victims, restore victim’s dignity, and
make a report on the violations
 After Much Debate The Truth and
Reconciliation Commission was
finalized in mid- 1995
3 Committees:
 1) The Amnesty Committee (AC)
 Grant amnesty to individuals who were deemed
worthy
 Ensure that applications for amnesty were done in
accordance with the provisions of the Act.
 Those actions which were taken to serve a
political objective would be excused
 Political Objective: “an act, omission or offence
directed towards a political opponent or state
property of personnel if committed under the order
of a liberation movement, political institution or
organization”
Perpetrator Testimony
 MS GOBODO:
 According to your statement here, you say that in the process of the Mplan you would go to specific houses, and the owners of those houses
would as a result be detained or tortured. Which are these people,
what are the names of these people who’s houses you used.
 MR MAXAM:
 If I were to tell the truth and count the houses that we used, I will count
the whole of Mbekweni, because Mbekweni was a well mobilized
community.
 MS GOBODO:
 The specific houses that you have listed and the police focused on
those house, which are these houses?
 MR MAXAM:
 It was Mr Kathakata’s house, Mr Tsotesi house and the Franch house,
the Bongo family. I wish to apologize to the owners of those houses.
Because even in their ignorance they would be taken by the police, be
interrogated and other houses that were affected. I also ask for
forgiveness from the Sieberts family that was also affected.
2) Committee and Human Rights
Violations (HRV) Committee.
 Investigated any human rights abuses that took
place between March 1960 and December 1994
 Established the identity of the victims, their
present condition, and the nature and extent of the
harm they had suffered.
 Distinguished between whether the violations were
the result of deliberate planning by the state or any
other organization, group or individual.
 Once victims of gross human rights violations are
identified, they are referred to the Reparation and
Rehabilitation Committee.
Witness Testimony
 “Two policemen got on either chair and they
dragged me to the window, and then they said I
can now jump…I refused…they grabbed me by
my shoulders and lifted me physically up and
pushed me out of the window….and they were
holding me by my ankles….each policeman
holding one ankle. All I could see was the concrete
floor at the bottom- we were three floors up, and
all of a sudden one would let go of one foot- as
he’s about to catch my foot, the one he has
released, the other chap let go- and they played
like that…and you know you thought….God, this is
the end.”
Witness Testimony Continued…
 “On the 13th November 1985 it was a Wednesday
morning. My son was driven out of the house by a crowd of
people who were stoning the house. We were in the house,
405 Philani Street. He was driven out of the house and
shortly afterwards he was killed and burnt…I have been
scarred by my son's death….It is now ten years and ten
months and 43 days ago that he died but the pain is still
with me, it still lives inside of me because the whys and the
wherefores I still don't know. Although there are some
people who pretend that nothing happened, it, there is a
peace on the surface. The pain which I suffered, well I think
my second eldest son, the one just after the deceased, I
think his drinking problem is the result of the death of his
brother. During the time that I suffered so much, I felt like I
had been ostracized from the community, that I had been
rejected by the people. I felt that I could not look the world
in the eye”
 “The police came - I couldn’t count them, because there
were a lot. They said to him he must go out - out of the
house…I told the police that they must leave him alone
because he is not feeling well. The police ignored me. One
of the policeman then dragged him out but he resisted and
he managed to get inside the shack and close the door.
The police then used force - they kicked the door and I
cried to the police - begging them to leave my brother
alone. Others were around the windows, trying to break the
windows. One of the policeman tried to kick the door. And I
tried to talk to them to leave my brother alone. The
policemen were around the windows - they were putting in
tear gas threw the windows. One of the them tried to kick
the door hard and they - he managed to kick the door. I
was still crying - begging them to leave my brother alone.
My brother was dizzy at the time with the tear gas and he
got out of the shack. The police came through the window
and I could see my brother bleeding. He couldn’t even
breath. He was quiet. They dragged him to the van outside.
One of the policeman tramped on his head. Two of the
policemen threw him into the van. That’s all I saw that day.”
3) Reparation and Rehabilitation
(R&R)
 Provided the victims with different forms of support
to ensure that the Truth Commission process
restored the victims' dignity
 Formulated policy proposals and
recommendations on rehabilitation and the healing
of survivors, their families and the community at
large
 Ensure healing and healthy co-existence, and also
to ensure that similar events would not happen
again in the future.
Compensation
 Compensation was given to victims in
different forms, the most common of which
was financial, but which also included the
reburial of deceased loved ones, the
renaming of certain streets, cultural
ceremonies, etc. Over 22, 000 victims were
deemed eligible for reparations.
Conclusion of the Commission
 The commission was officially finished in
March 2003 when it handed over the final 2
volumes of its 7 volume report.
 Initially intended to take only 18 months it
had lasted for over four years
 In total, 7116 individuals applied for amnesty
and almost 22,000 victims testified
 5392 people were refused amnesty and 849
were granted amnesty
Challenges/ Criticisms
 Many of these institutions and personally were directly
involved in the torture, executions and disappearances
of those involved in resistance to the system, but at
the same time they were still responsible for sustaining
law and order within the 'new' society.
 Many of those who were now in power within the new
government were themselves actively involved in the
armed resistance to Apartheid.
 The perpetrators were benefiting more than the
victims, as they were receiving amnesty, where as in
most cases the victims did not receive reparations for
their suffering
 Many individual victims feel that their needs have not
been met by the TRC
Challenges/ Criticisms Continued…
 The commission did not make efforts to create reconciliation
among apartheid’s ordinary victims. These victims included
those affected by forced removals, the migrant labour
system, pass laws, Bantu education, etc
 18 million people were affected by the pass laws.15.5 million
people were uprooted in the forced removals
 Millions were condemned to early death as victims of racially
defined poverty. Thousands of ‘dispensable’ mine workers
were killed in careless mining incidents.
 Under Apartheid, people were racially victimized on a daily
basis and these day to day victims have been largely
excluded from the TRC mandate.
 The excuse for this has been that the TRC had neither the
time nor the resources to undertake a thorough investigation
of all the violations of human rights that occurred under
apartheid
Deputy President Thabo Mbeki
Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Different Ideas of Justice
 Overall, the decision of whether or not people felt that the
commission was successful or not rested on individual
definitions of justice
 Some believed that truth was needed in order for
reconciliation to occur.
 Others believed that truth was not enough, but that criminal
justice was needed in order for reconciliation to occur.
 Others believed that reconciliation was an individual
process, and therefore each individual victim would need to
be heard in order for them to put the past behind them.
 Others believed that reconciliation could only occur if
reparations were given to victims, and that simply telling
their story was not enough.
Conclusion: South Africa Today
 1.8 million more South Africans in 2000 living with less
than $1/day than there were in 1995
 The country's crime rates are among the highest in the
world
 It is estimated that about 12 percent of the population,
or 5.4 million people are currently living with HIV and
that two thousand South Africans contact the disease
each day.
 It is also estimated that there are currently 700,000
AIDS orphans living within the borders of South Africa.
 The wage gap between the richest and poorest
members of society is huge and continues to increase
 Unemployment rates increased from 17 percent to 24
percent beween 1995 and 1999.
Reflection:
 In a paragraph or two, please answer the following
questions:
 Do you think that justice was served by the TRC
or should more have been done to ensure that
perpetrators were punished for their crimes?
 Do you think that the victim compensation
provided by the TRC was adequate? Was simply
telling their stories enough to help the victims of
Apartheid heal? Is financial compensation
enough?