Apartheid crimes survivors suing govt for R167m vow not to take a cent of the money
They said instead it will be put in a trust and will be used to help survivors to pursue any future litigation or research.
The Cradock Four memorial in Cradock, in the Eastern Cape. Picture: Fort Calata Foundation/Facebook
CAPE TOWN - The families and survivors of apartheid crime who are suing the government for R167 million say they won’t take a cent of the money.
They said instead it will be put in a trust and used to help survivors pursue any future litigation or research.
They also want Ramaphosa to establish an independent commission of inquiry into political interference that resulted in the “suppression” of hundreds of serious crimes committed during the brutal apartheid regime.
This week, 25 families and survivors of apartheid-era crime approached the Pretoria High Court to compel the government to pay constitutional damages.
They said the payment of constitutional damages by the first respondent is for “purposes of affirming constitutional values, vindicating the rights of the applicants and families and deterring future interference”.
But Lukhanyo Calata, the son of the Cradock Four victim, Fort Calata, said the money is not for their individual benefit.
“The money that’s going to come isn’t going to come to us as individuals so that we can buy BMWs and Rolls Royces. The money is going to be kept in a trust to allow Tshidiso Motasi if he wants to, if he wants to put up a memorial lecture for his parents.”
The families said R115 million of the funds will be used for “enabling families and organisations supporting families to advance truth, justice and closure” over five years to assist them in pursuing investigations, inquests, private prosecutions and related litigation.