TRC Final Report

Volume 6

Section 4

Chapter 1

Subsection 4

DISAPPEARED VERSUS MISSING

32. The Commission dealt with a number of cases where people had gone missing. In some instances, they went missing after a political rally or during a period of political unrest or state of emergency.

33. In a large number of cases reported to the Commission, the disappearance was not linked to a political cause: there was no intent, and the state or armed forces were not responsible for the disappearance.

34. Another category the Commission dealt with were cases referring to persons ‘missing in action’. These usually involved soldiers or members of armed forces or groups who went missing, and where it is not clear whether they died in battle or were taken prisoner by the enemy. In these instances, the relatives are also left in a state of great uncertainty. However, in such cases parents or relatives can often rely on the support and assistance of the authorities in whose name the soldier served.

35. It is also usually easier to obtain information about the circumstances in which a soldier went missing. The Geneva Protocols under Article 3 deal with the legal procedures related to those regarded as ‘missing in action’.

36. In South Africa, there have been instances where families have been denied relief because the state has refused to confirm that their loved ones were on lawful missions for the country.

ANALYSIS OF DISAPPEARANCE CASES REPORTED TO THE COMMISSION

37. The Commission received more than 1500 victim statements concerning persons who went missing or disappeared after being forcibly abducted.³ T h e fate of some 477 people named in these statements remains uncertain. The overwhelming majority of missing persons disappeared between 1985 and 1994 – mainly in the Transvaal and Natal, where there was escalating political conflict during this period. This matches the general pattern of violations recorded by the Commission.⁴In other respects as well, the profile of disappeared persons is no different to that of victims of other violations. Over 90 per cent of missing persons reported to the Commission were male. In those statements where age was specified, 40 per cent were between the ages of 14 and 24, and 31 per cent between the ages of 25 and 36. In those statements where political affiliation was identified, over 70 per cent were members or supporters of liberation movements, while less than 10 per cent were security force members or belonged to or supported pro-government movements such as the IFP. Just over 16 per cent of missing persons are believed to have had no political affiliation.

38. F rom the statements it received in respect of abductions, the Commission identified the following categories: a abductions and enforced disappearances; b disappearances in exile; c disappearances during periods of unre s t ; d disappearances re g a rded as out of the Commission’s mandate, and e cases of indeterminate cause.

MECHANISMS USED BY THE COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH THE FATE AND WHEREABOUTS OF THE DISAPPEARED

39. The Commission was fortunate in that the legislation under which it operated created a number of enabling mechanisms that allowed it to deal with abductions and disappearances proactive l y. These included its powers to hold special investigative hearings in terms of section 29; the amnesty process; investigat ions , and the exhumation process.

40. The Commission’s powers in terms of section 29 allowed it to subpoena those it believed had information about an incident or violation to appear before a special panel of Commissioners and to answer questions. Section 29 powers were successfully used to solicit amnesty applications in a number of cases, and often allowed the Commission to establish the facts surrounding a disappearance.

41. The amnesty process also played an important role in dealing with disappearances. Large numbers of amnesty applications relating to disappearance cases helped the Commission to learn a great deal about what had happened to many of the disappeared.

42. Amnesty applicants also provided the Commission with a great deal of information about gravesites. This allowed the Commission’s Investigation Unit to carry out a number of exhumations. These helped clarify the facts surround i n g some disappearances, thereby establishing the ultimate fate of the disappeare d . A number of cases in KwaZulu-Natal helped the Commission to establish that the disappeared had been killed. The cases of Ms Portia Ndwandwe and Ms Ntombi Khubeka are two examples. A number of other exhumations provide d similar relief to families of victims.