PRESS RELEASE
To: All Media
ATT: News Editors, Human Rights Reporters
For Immediate Release
26 May 2025
Cradock Four Inquest Scheduled for 2–12 June in Gqeberha High Court
Statement by the Cradock 4 families and the Foundation for Human Rights
The inquest into the killings of the Cradock Four – Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli, and Sparrow Mkonto – will proceed from 2 to 12 June 2025 in the Gqeberha High Court. During this phase of the hearing, only family witnesses will be called to give evidence. Testimony from former state officials will be heard at a later date, when funding for their legal costs has been finalised.
The inquest marks the culmination of a 40-year struggle by the families in their pursuit of justice and truth – a struggle that has endured repeated delays due to the suppression of TRC cases and numerous broken promises.
It is a bittersweet moment for the families, who have watched the men responsible for the deaths of their husbands and fathers live out their lives in comfort and die without ever being held accountable. The democratic state has had 30 years to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killings and the masterminds behind the Cradock 4 assassinations. It has failed on every front.
The Foundation for Human Rights stands in full solidarity with the Calata, Mkonto, Mhlauli and Goniwe families (represented by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr) in the reopened inquest.
Media queries:
On behalf of the families:
Lukhanyo Calata: 082 394 6481
Lonwabo Mkonto: 078 335 9144
Ntsika Mhlauli: 082 572 6462
Nyaniso Goniwe: 068 958 5520
Foundation for Human Rights: Zaid Kimmie zkimmie@fhr.org.za / 082 883 4934
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr: Tebello Mosoeu Tebello.Mosoeu@cdhlegal.com / 073 368 8200
Background:
On 27 June 1985, the four anti-apartheid activists were abducted, tortured, murdered, and their bodies burned by members of the Security Branch of the South African Police. Their posthumous designation as the “Cradock Four” has come to symbolize the brutality of apartheid-era repression and the ongoing quest for justice.
In July 2021, Lukhanyo Calata together with the Mhlauli and Mkonto families filed an application to compel the NPA and DPCI to conclude the investigation and make a prosecutorial decision but the litigation was put on hold to allow the NPA and the police to finalize the investigation. In March 2023, the FHR’s and families’ legal team also submitted a detailed analysis of the available evidence, recommending prosecutions of some of the surviving suspects. The last surviving individual against whom there was prima facie case, H B du Plessis, passed away in mid-June 2023.
In early 2024, the Minister of Justice announced the reopening of the third inquest into the deaths of the Cradock 4 activists. The inquest was scheduled from 2-27 September 2024. However, on 2 September 2024, the inquest was postponed to June 2, 2025. The postponement occurred notwithstanding strenuous efforts by the families to ensure a timely start. Legal representatives of the former South Africa Police (SAP) and South African Defence Forces (SADF) witnesses failed to secure state funding for their legal costs.
