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Former police minister Bheki Cele says he is pained by allegations that he knows something about the 1987 disappearance of a former close associate and anti-apartheid activist who was allegedly abducted by the security branch and that he might have withheld information about it.Cele was testifying on Tuesday at the TRC cases inquiry while responding to allegations raised by the family of Musawakhe “Sbho” Phewa. They had made the allegation in an affidavit submitted at the inquiry. Among their allegations is that Cele might know something about his associate’s disappearance and was withholding the information.The inquiry is probing allegations of political interference and the deliberate suppression of TRC-related cases.In an extract from the affidavit, the family also expressed disappointment that Cele and the ANC have done nothing to establish what happened to Phewa.Sbho is someone I know; now it hurts me to hear such an affidavit, it hurts me, big time.— Bheki Cele“Sbho is someone I know; now it hurts me to hear such an affidavit, it hurts me, big time,” Cele said.“To say I know more about what happened to Sbho, as if I was... [he did not finish the sentence]”“So I take that [the allegation by the family] with a lot of pain.”Phewa was born in 1967 in Lamontville, KwaZulu-Natal, and had ties with Ntombikayise Priscilla Khubeka, who ran the ANC cell in KwaMashu. According to TRC records, Kubheka was abducted, tortured and murdered by the members of the Durban security branch days after Phewa’s disappearance.TRC records show that Khubeka sought help from askaris she mistakenly believed were her MK comrades to assist Phewa in collecting firearms from the then-Transkei.Unbeknown to her, her request would ultimately lead to Phewa’s disappearance. Phewa’s family said in 2002, when they submitted documents to the government to claim compensation as TRC victims, they also submitted a biography of the activist which was penned by Cele.According to the family, Cele says in the biography that Phewa was abducted while en route to exile in Nigeria or Uganda.The family said they found the statement problematic, as Phewa had expressed no interest in going into exile.Cele denied writing a biography about Phewa but admitted that he went missing while Cele was in detention. He said he was told that Phewa went missing while on his way to exile. He said it was the first time he was hearing about the allegations and that he had more information about Phewa’s disappearance. As a result, he was prepared to engage with the family on the allegations.In 2008, Phewa’s family again wrote a letter appealing for help to discover what happened to him and also sought financial assistance for his son so he could pursue his education.Cele could not confirm or deny if he had received the email.“I am not denying it, but I don’t remember, and surely I would’ve taken it to the relevant people.”Earlier on, Cele acknowledged that his refusal to fund the costs of prosecuting apartheid police officers may have contributed to stopping the prosecution of TRC cases against police officers charged with committing gross human rights violations.Cele said he only understood the magnitude of his decision after a meeting with the evidence leader of the commission.“They explained to me how my refusal to pay for such legal fees contributed to or had the effect of stopping the prosecution of TRC cases...[and] how the perpetrators had died without having been prosecuted. I understood the consequence of my decisions,” he said.“However, I am constrained to record that I struggled and still struggle to come to terms with the following: how could the government be obligated to fund, through taxpayers’ money, including taxes paid by black people, the litigation costs of those who committed crimes against humanity, particularly against black people?” More than 300 apartheid-era cases were referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for criminal investigation. In January 2024, 137 cases had been registered for investigation, 21 had been finalised with a decision, and 10 were on the court roll.
