TRC Final Report

Volume 5

Chapter 6

Subsection 12

Findings on the destruction of documents by the former state

105 Reference has already been made to the extensive destruction of documents by the former state (see Volume One). The following is a summary of the Commission’s finding with regard to this issue:

THE FORMER GOVERNMENT DELIBERATELY AND SYSTEMATICALLY DESTROYED STATE DOCUMENTATION OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS. THIS PROCESS BEGAN IN 1978, WHEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS WERE ROUTINELY DESTROYED, SUPPOSEDLY IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD STATE SECURITY. BY THE 1990S THE PROCESS OF DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS HAD BECOME A CO-ORDINATED ENDEAVOUR, SANCTIONED BY THE CABINET, WITH THE AIM OF DENYING A NEW GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE AND SANITISING THE HISTORY OF THE APARTHEID ERA.

THE DESTRUCTION PROCESS TOOK PLACE AS FOLLOWS:

IN 1978, THE THEN PRIME MINISTER ORDERED THE DESTRUCTION OF CLASSIFIED RECORDS OF THE SAP AND THE SADF. THIS TOOK PLACE OVER A TEN-YEAR PERIOD, FOLLOWING GUIDELINES LAID DOWN BY THE PRIME MINISTER, WHICH WERE UPDATED IN 1984 AND WERE LATER CHANNELLED TO THE STATE SECURITY COUNCIL AS A BASIS FOR GOVERNMENT-WIDE DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS.

IN 1988, THE BULK OF THE CLASSIFIED RECORDS OF THE SOUTH WEST AFRICA TERRITORY FORCE WERE DESTROYED.

IN 1991, THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (NIS) BEGAN A SYSTEMATIC DESTRUCTION PROGRAMME WHICH CONTINUED UNTIL LATE IN 1994.

IN NOVEMBER 1991, THE NIS ATTEMPTED TO COLLECT ALL NATIONAL SECURITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NSMS) RECORDS, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT SELECTIVE DESTRUCTION.

IN 1992, THE SECURITY BRANCH OF THE SAP BEGAN A SYSTEMATIC DESTRUCTION PROGRAMME WHICH CONTINUED INTO 1993.

ON 3 JULY 1992, THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND THE NIS AUTHORISED THE DESTRUCTION OF NIS FINANCIAL AND RELATED RECORDS BEYOND THE PARAMETERS LAID DOWN BY THE TREASURY.

ON 2 JUNE 1993, CABINET APPROVED GUIDELINES FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF ‘STATE SENSITIVE’ RECORDS ACROSS ALL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS. THE GUIDELINES WERE SUBMITTED TO CABINET BY THE SSC AND INCORPORATED THE PRINCIPLES OF THE 3 JULY 1992 AUTHORISATION REFERRED TO ABOVE. THE SADF AND OTHER GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES IMMEDIATELY BEGAN SYSTEMATIC DESTRUCTION PROGRAMMES.

IN JULY 1993, THE SECURITY SECRETARIAT ADVISED GOVERNMENT OFFICES TO DESTROY CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF CLASSIFIED RECORDS. WIDESPREAD IMPLEMENTATION FOLLOWED.

THE MASS DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS OUTLINED ABOVE HAS HAD A SEVERE IMPACT ON SOUTH AFRICA'S SOCIAL MEMORY. VAST AMOUNTS OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE STATE'S SECURITY APPARATUS, HAVE BEEN OBLITERATED. MOREOVER, THE APPARENT COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF ALL RECORDS CONFISCATED FROM INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANISATIONS BY THE SECURITY BRANCH OF THE SAP HAS REMOVED FROM SOUTH AFRICA’S HERITAGE A VALUABLE DOCUMENTATION OF EXTRA-PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION TO APARTHEID.

THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION HAS SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF THIS WHOLESALE DESTRUCTION. NUMEROUS INVESTIGATIONS OF GROSS VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS WERE SEVERELY HAMPERED BY THE ABSENCE OF DOCUMENTATION. ULTIMATELY ALL SOUTH AFRICANS HAVE SUFFERED THE CONSEQUENCES, IN THAT THE PROCESS OF RECONCILIATION AND HEALING THROUGH A DISCLOSURE OF THE PAST HAS BEEN DELIBERATELY CURTAILED.

THE COMMISSION FINDS THE FOLLOWING OFFICIAL BODIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF DOCUMENTS: THE CABINET OF THE FORMER GOVERNMENT, THE NIS, THE SECURITY BRANCH OF THE SAP, AND THE SADF.