35 years after his murder, Ashley Kriel's family still waiting for justice
The Bonteheuwel youngster was killed by apartheid police in Cape Town in July 1987. He was just 21 years old.
The poster for 'Action Kommandant', a documentary about Ashley Kriel. Picture: Facebook/Action Kommandant
CAPE TOWN - This year marks 35 years since anti-apartheid activist Ashley Kriel was murdered.
It’s also how long Kriel’s family has been waiting for justice.
The Bonteheuwel youngster was killed by apartheid police in Cape Town in July 1987. He was just 21 years-old.
He had been forced to go into hiding and joined uMkhonto weSizwe at the age of 18.
His sister, Michel Assure, said that even as a school kid, he was continuously harassed by the police.
"I don’t know why he was such a feared [person]. It's like the police feared him. They came to our house looking for him on a daily basis all the time, whatever time of the night or the day. So he had to eventually go into hiding."
She said that the last time the family saw Kriel alive was on Christmas Eve in 1985.
"We planned to go to my granny’s house in Grassy Park away from home so we could at least have lunch with him, so he was going to meet us there. And on Christmas Day we waited and waited and he never pitched. That Christmas Eve of ’85 was the last we saw Ashley alive," Assure recalled.
Kriel’s family has been waiting for justice for the last three decades.
"Every time we’re visited by the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] or SAPS [South African Police Service], it raises our hopes and expectations and we, up to today, we never have the joy of any progress," Assure said.
She said that she dreaded reliving the memories of the day her brother was murdered.
Assure said that 35 years after the dreadful news was delivered to her door, they were still waiting for those responsible to be brought to book.
The NPA has said it would prioritise the investigations into murders of anti-apartheid activists.
But this was little consolation for Assure.
"I would like to ask the justice department, how long is it still going to take for our families to find justice?"
For now, Kriel’s family will have to wait to hear from the justice department or the NPA about how far they are with reopening an investigation into his murder.