Retired prosecutor Anton Ackermann has accused former National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Bulelani Ngcuka, Deputy NDPP Silas Ramaite and former Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) head Leonard McCarthy of obstructing investigations into apartheid-era crimes, leaving Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases stalled for years.
In a sworn affidavit submitted to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into stopped TRC investigations and prosecutions, Ackermann says the failures were not the result of a lack of effort but of institutional resistance and political sensitivity that repeatedly closed off investigative pathways.
Scorpions, SAPS, declined to probe TRC cases
“Extensive efforts to secure investigators for the TRC cases were made from early May 2003, shortly after their designation as priority crimes,” Ackermann states. Yet, he alleges, both the Scorpions and the South African Police Service (SAPS) “declined to investigate the TRC cases”. This “effectively blocked the investigation of the TRC cases for several years and severely undermined the prospects of justice in those cases”.
Former President Thabo Mbeki appointed Ackermann on March 24 2003 to head the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU) within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). His unit was tasked with prosecuting priority matters, including TRC cases which were formally designated as priority crimes by the NDPP in May 2003.
But within months, Ackermann says, the work began to grind to a halt. Because investigators could not be secured. He claims that despite early attempts to bring in investigative capacity through the DSO and SAPS, both institutions refused to take the cases on.
A key moment in his affidavit is a confidential meeting held on August 25, 2003 with Raymond Lalla, then Divisional Commissioner of SAPS Crime Intelligence, to discuss the TRC caseload and the way forward.
Secret recording of meeting
Ackermann alleges the meeting was secretly recorded by Lalla without his knowledge. And it was later circulated to top prosecuting and investigative officials — including Ngcuka, Ramaite and McCarthy.
Ackermann says he was eventually confronted with the recording during a meeting with those officials. This left him alarmed not only by what he described as unethical conduct, but by how quickly information about the TRC cases was being handled through covert channels.
In a letter dated March 16, 2004, Ackermann conveyed what he called his “utmost disgust” at the alleged surveillance.
“It is accepted practice amongst professionals that, when it is desirable that a meeting be recorded, it be done openly.”
He went further, accusing Crime Intelligence of behaving in a manner reminiscent of apartheid policing.
Similar to apartheid operatives
“Unfortunately, because of this experience, I am left with the firm impression that the only difference between your division and the old security regime is the change in surnames,” he wrote.
Ackermann claims the recording incident was not an isolated event. It was part of a broader environment of intimidation, distrust and institutional unwillingness to pursue cases that implicated apartheid-era state actors.
Between 2003 and 2007, Ackermann says he repeatedly attempted to move the TRC cases forward by pushing for the authorisation of section 28(1)(b) notices — a legal mechanism he describes as necessary for investigations to proceed. He says senior officials failed to sign off on these notices, despite multiple appeals.
“After DSO Special Director Adv MG ‘Geoph’ Ledwaba refused to sign the section 28(1)(b) notices in respect of the TRC cases, I recall that I approached either Adv Leonard McCarthy, then head of the DSO, or Adv Bulelani Ngcuka, then NDPP, or Adv Silas Ramaite, then Deputy NDPP, to expedite the signing of the said notices,” Ackermann says.
“Regrettably, the said notices were not authorised, notwithstanding my efforts.”
By 2006, he says, the stalemate had become so entrenched that the PCLU was forced to communicate to families and legal representatives that it could not secure investigators for the TRC cases.
Victims’ families left in limbo
“We were struggling to get investigators for the TRC cases and suggested they should pursue inquests rather than prosecutions,” Ackermann states. He described what he presents as a deeply frustrating turning point for victims’ families seeking accountability.
Ackermann argues that his opposition to political interference made him a target. He claims he was removed from TRC work in September 2007 because he resisted outside pressure.
“Because of my opposition to the interference in the TRC cases, I was relieved of my duties in respect of these cases in September 2007. And it is also one of the reasons why [Vusi] Pikoli was suspended as NDPP,” he states.
That same month, Ackermann raised concerns about what he describes as a fabricated note that falsely indicated the NPA was still investigating ANC office bearers in 2006. A claim he disputes and suggests may have been engineered for ulterior motives.
In an internal memorandum to McCarthy, Ackermann wrote: “I am adamant and 100% sure that the figure ‘6’ as reflected in the handwriting expert’s document, FDC 0095/07, is not in my handwriting. I am of the view that you do not need a handwriting expert to establish that fact.”
He says he immediately challenged the authenticity of the document.
Forged memorandum
“Within minutes after I had received the said memorandum from Commissioner Jacobs, I phoned him. And I informed him that the memorandum was forged and requested him to furnish me with the original. To date, I have not had sight of the original,” Ackermann states.
He also questioned why such a document would exist at all.
“The crucial question is whether any person in SAPS had a motive or reason to produce a document, emanating from the NPA, to the effect that the NPA was still investigating ANC office bearers during 2006,” he wrote.
