Three South African police ministry bosses have been absolved after being suspected of refusing to cooperate with investigations into apartheid-era human rights violations.
Former minister Bheki Cele, on-special-leave minister Senzo Mchunu, and acting minister Professor Firoz Cachalia were invited to submit information to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Truth and Reconciliation Commission Cases, but they never received the memo.
The commission acknowledged on Thursday that its official requests for information were never received by the three.
The purpose of the letters was to solicit responses and explanations regarding purported attempts to halt or postpone prosecutions related to unresolved Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases.
Undelivered correspondence
Several letters were either misdirected or lost, according to an internal audit.
Between September 12 and October 12, 2025, 211 letters were sent to high-ranking government officials, such as presidents, public prosecutors, and ministers, both current and former.
Eight of these bounced back undelivered because the email addresses were invalid or out-of-date, while 192 were received and acknowledged. The commission lost an additional 3% when it switched from its outdated IMAP email system to Microsoft 365.
Among the undelivered correspondences were letters also sent to Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi and former National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shaun Abrahams.
Commission spokesperson Lionel Adendorf confirmed the embarrassing error on Thursday, stating that it had created a false impression that several senior officials were unwilling to cooperate.
“We express our deepest regret to those wrongfully accused of being non-compliant,” said Adendorf.
“We extend our sincerest apologies to minister Kubayi, minister Mchunu, minister Cachalia, advocate Abrahams, and former minister Cele, who, according to the audit, never received any correspondence.”
Submission deadline extended
He said the missing letters had since been resent, and recipients were given until November 26 to respond.
Earlier in October, the commission had publicly complained about a lack of cooperation from certain ministries, fueling speculation of defiance among high-ranking officials.
The audit has now dispelled this suspicion, revealing that the silence was caused by a digital delivery failure rather than intentional obstruction.
Out of all officials who did receive their notices, 186 requested extensions, while only six submitted before the deadline, including former president Kgalema Motlanthe, advocate Shamila Batohi, and Dr Frank Chikane.
The commission was established to probe alleged interference in the prosecution of apartheid-era atrocities that were never prosecuted following the original truth and reconciliation process.
