Uncovering the truth: The Boiki Tlhapi case and its implications for apartheid justice

In an interesting turn of events, three former Apartheid Police Officers namely George Mbathu, Itumeleng Matiti and Johannes Venter have been identified as persons of interest by the National Prosecuting Authority into the alleged death and disappearance of Potchefstroom anti-apartheid activist Boiki Tlhapi in police custody.

The trio recently appeared before North West High Court sitting in Mahikeng where their case was remanded to March 2026 to allow them sufficient time to finalise their application for legal representation.

Tlhapi’s story forms part of more than 150 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases that have been registered and reopened for investigations. And in May this year President Cyril Ramaphosa established a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the reasons for the long delays in the investigation and prosecution of TRC cases over the past decades.

Thirty-nine years ago a group of young political activists were intercepted by the Stilfontein Riot Police while en route from Ikageng township near Potchefstroom to a funeral in Klerksdorp. Amongst them was 26-year-old Boiki Tlhapi. They had defied the 1986 State of Emergency to bid farewell to their fallen comrades who were killed by police during political riots. They were subsequently detained at the Stilfontein Police Station where they were tortured for several days and after fourteen days in custody, they were released.

But Tlhapi never made it home, and that was the last time he was seen alive.  

The 1980’s marked a turbulent period in the country and in its defence the then apartheid government used extensive powers to incarcerate thousands of activists, gag media freedom and curtail political gatherings as well as imposing curfews by declaring the State of Emergency. This was part of a broader strategy by the government of the day to crackdown on anti-apartheid movement and keep the racist apartheid government in power no matter the ramifications.

During this period, efforts to raise awareness on atrocities meted by the Apartheid Government on African people had grown by monumental proportions gaining international recognition in the process.

Through international mobilisation and solidarity, the African National Congress had sought to use its international footprint to mobilise the global community to isolate the regime through sanctions and disinvestment. 

At the centre of the organisation's strategy was Mass Mobilisation and Action. This encapsulated sustained popular mass action and civil disobedience through large scale protests, boycotts, marches and stay-aways.

The rolling mass action came at a heavy price particularly through the actions of the Security Branch affectionately known as the Special Branch. Established in 1947 and sustained throughout the Apartheid Era this unit was used as an instrument for state repression, surveillance, detention, torture and extra-judicial killing of thousands of anti-apartheid activists. A tragedy that would later befell Tlhapi during his detention at the notorious Stilfontein Police Station which many likened to Vakplaas- an infamous counter-insurgency unit which was involved in human rights abuses, bombings and assassinations of anti-Apartheid Activists.

I came to know about Tlhapi’s story through a former Apartheid Police Officer George Mbathu, one of the three men that have been identified as persons of interest in the Tlhapi matter. At the time I was a journalist for the Public Broadcaster based in Mahikeng. In a three-piece insert I produced for SABC News, I interviewed Mbathu who made some very interesting and yet startling remarks about the disappearance of Tlhapi. He pointed out a mine ventilation shaft where he alleged, Tlhapi was thrown by police.

“In that shaft, there are bones and skeletons of our people there. I am saying today I am prepared. If they can open the shaft they don’t get the skeletons they must charge me. In fact, is not Boikie Tlhapi alone that was being thrown there. All comrades that were being arrested within Carlentoville, Randfontein and Welverdient they were also thrown in that shaft” alleged Mbathu.

He further maintained, the shaft was sealed after a visit by the Independent Inquiry Body (IIB) to have it excavated and test his allegations. The IIB was tasked with investigating human rights abuses that took place in the 80’s in the then Western Transvaal.

During this period the late Advocate Abbey Dlavane was a human rights lawyer and contributed immensely in the compilation of the IIB report and partly corroborated Mbathu’s claims. The IIB recommended a follow up on the excavation of the shaft. But this was not done and efforts to finally close this horrific chapter were dealt a huge blow.

At the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Tlhapi’s story and that of other activists who disappeared under similar circumstances occupied centre stage. This includes Sam Khiba of Kanana Township and Tello Nikelo who was only seventeen years old at the time.

The TRC recommended the arrest and questioning of police officers who were last seen with Tlhapi. But again, this was not done until recently following Minister Mamoloko Kubayi’s decision to have the case re-opened.

Tlhapi’s disappearance continues to linger in the minds of his family, fellow comrades and activists as well as the general public.

He might not have been a popular political figure as it is the case with other high profile cases of a similar nature currently sitting before various South African courts. But his story matters. It bears testimony to the resilience and fortitude demonstrated by ordinary South Africans from all corners of our country and in this regard the little known townships of Ikageng and Kanana in the struggle for national liberation.

It continues to serve as a constant reminder on both the emotional and physical scars carried by the victims of Apartheid, thirty-one years after the country’s democratic breakthrough. True democracy must therefore heal the wounds of thepast through restorative justice, centred on honesty transparency and accountability particularly for the families who lost their loved ones in the course of National Liberation.

* Sello Tatai is a former journalist and co-founder of the Maftown Book Club. He writes in his personal capacity.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.