An open letter to the NDPP Shamila Batohi: Investigate TRC cases

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“Reconciliation must be accompanied by justice, otherwise it will not last.
We all hope for peace, it should not be peace at any price, but peace based
on principles, on justice.”1
1 The investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes in South Africa is an integral
component of the South African reconciliation project. It is the component of justice
and resolution.
2 The NPA’s TRC Component has been in place for 22 months, and we are instructed to
review its structure and effectiveness. Where necessary, we are to make
recommendations for improvement. In addition, we are to advise whether, given the
findings and obiter dicta in the Rodrigues judgment,2 there was political interference in
the work of the TRC prosecutions and related matters between 2003 and 2017.