Ashley Green-Thompson Ashley Green-Thompson
A recent article in the Daily Maverick about Yasmin Sooka’s testimony at the Khampepe Commission caught my attention this week. Yasmin is a respected human rights lawyer and campaigner, and in her illustrious career was also a Commissioner at our Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The article coincided with a panel discussion I joined at St Mary’s University College in Belfast that reflected on thirty years since the establishmentof the TRC, and insights and lessons that might be of relevance to the transition process inthe north of Ireland.
The Khampepe Commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Court judge Sisi Khampepe,and was established on May 29, 2025 to determine whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.
A brief background is necessary, and this one is hugely simplified. The TRC was established in 1995 and in 1996 began its work of investigating human rights abuses committed from 1960 to 1994. It would allow victims the opportunity to tell theirstories of suffering at the hands of perpetrators so that the truth about our history could never be denied.
