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Time is ticking for the SA’s acting secretary of defence, Dr Thobekile Gamede, and the defence department to hand over key documents to the families of the Cradock Four pertaining to their ongoing case.
Judge Thami Beshe recently granted an order sought by the families of the murdered Cradock Four activists.
The families had lodged a contempt of court application concerning the department’s failure to comply with a court order issued by the judge to disclose key documents pertaining to the case.
Beshe deemed the matter urgent and ordered the secretary for defence to unconditionally produce the documents in unredacted form in both electronic and hard copy format within five court days following the decision on June 12.
Beshe ordered that the first respondent, the secretary, must show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt of court and why a sanction should not be imposed.
She also awarded costs against the department and the secretary in favour of the Cradock Four families.
The families argued that the department wilfully and intentionally refused to declassify the documents, in contravention of Beshe’s court order, and that the ongoing classification of the documents was inexplicable in SA’s constitutional democracy.
The documents in question were generated between 1982 and 1987 and are currently held by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
They had remained classified under apartheid-era legislation enacted by the former South African Defence Force.
Beshe’s order marks the culmination of the families’ ongoing legal efforts to gain access to the documents, which began in 2021 when the first request was submitted.
At the time, the defence department had maintained that the documents remain classified due to reasons of national security.
In April, the department made redacted versions of the documents accessible in a secure location under highly restrictive conditions which prohibited copying or sharing the documents, making it effectively impossible to use them in the inquest.
It transpired at the court on Friday that the documents run to 3,000 pages, rather than the 13,000 pages previously alleged.
It also transpired in court that the redactions were so extensive that they completely covered 1,900 of the 3,000 pages of disclosure which were sought, rendering the majority of the documents meaningless in their redacted form.
The department must now disclose the unredacted documents within the timeframe stipulated by the court, or they will risk being found in contempt of court.
“Listening to the court hearing, I had mixed emotions,” the daughter of murdered activist Fort Calata, Dorothy Calata, said.
“When judge Beshe’s order came, she gave us families hope that the truth will finally be heard by us as families and by this nation.
“This judgment says to us, the time for “our truth” has come. We have renewed hope in justice."
Lukhanyo, Dorothy’s brother, said: “It is sad that once again we had to resort to a legal judgment to help us access documents.
“However, the order shows that ultimately the court is helping us hold those who denied us truth and justice to account.”
As the next and possibly final sitting of the reopened Cradock Four inquest approaches on July 6, accessing these documents will assist the families’ and the public to uncover the truth about the Cradock Four killings , 41 years later.
The Cradock Four is a collective name given to anti-apartheid activists Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkonto, who were abducted and murdered by members of the Security Branch on June 27 1985.
Two separate inquests, in 1987 and 1993, failed to do justice to the Cradock Four families by identifying the Security Branch officers involved in the abduction and murder.
In 1999, eight former Security Branch officers applied for amnesty at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in relation to the Cradock Four case, but it was only granted for two, who had played a peripheral role.
In 2025, the third inquest into the Cradock Four was opened before the high court in Gqeberha as part of the families’ ongoing efforts to uncover the truth and secure accountability for the killings.
The Cradock Four families are parties to constitutional damages litigation against the government, the National Prosecuting Authority and South African Police Service.
They are suing for the violation of their constitutional rights due to the delays and alleged political interference in investigating and prosecuting the Cradock Four case, and other TRC cases.
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