Families of South Africans killed by apartheid police—including a group of anti-Farnosy activists who were killed in one of the most severe cases at the time in 1985—are suing the government for $9 million in damages.

According to a case filed in the High Court in Pretoria on Monday, 25 survivors and families of the victims are suing President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government for what they call a failure to properly investigate. The era of apartheid crimes and provide justice.

Among the applicants are families”Craddock four“, who were assassinated 40 years ago. They have accused the government of “serious failure” to prosecute the six apartheid-era security officials allegedly responsible for the murders, and of “suppressive” inquiries into the case.

Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto, and Sicelo Mhlauli—all anti-band activists were from Cradock (now Nxuba) in the Eastern Cape. In 1985, they were kidnapped and killed by police, sparking outrage among many black South Africans and marking a turning point in the push for Liberation from racist rule.

However, their alleged killers have all died without being served justice.

Here’s what to know about the Cradock Four and the new case launched against the government 30 years after the end of apartheid:

What happened in 1985?

In the Cradock community in the 1980s, the four activists were known for their struggles against the arduous conditions of black South Africans, including poor health infrastructure and high rent. Matthew Goniwe, in particular, was a popular figure and led the Cradock Youth Association (Cradora). Fort Kalata was also a pioneer member of the group.

Apartheid police officials constantly cleared Cradora and arrested members such as Goniwe and Calata several times before the assassinations. Officials also tried to split them up: Goniwe, a public school teacher, was transferred to another district to teach, for example, but refused to work there and was fired by the Ministry of Education.

On the night of June 27, 1985, the four of them were traveling together in a car, having just finished rural packing work on the outskirts of the city. Police officials stopped them at a roadblock outside GQEBERHA, which was then called Port Elizabeth. The men were kidnapped and assaulted, then their bodies were burned and dispersed in different parts of GQEBERHA.

Their deaths caused grief and anger among black South Africans and marked a decisive intensification of anti-communist activity. Thousands of people attended their funeral. The Craddock Four became icons, with T-shirts and posters bearing their names.

Government officials denied apartheid involvement in the killings. A court investigation into the case in 1987 found that the four had been murdered by “persons unknown”.

However, in 1992, leaked documents revealed that the leaders of Cradora Goniwe and Kalata were on the hit list of the Civil Cooperation Office, a government death squad. Then-President F. W. De Klerk called for another investigation, with the judge confirming that the security forces were responsible, although no names were mentioned.

What did TRC find and why do families feel betrayed?

Following the fall of apartheid and the perfection of democratic rule in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC)-led unity government launched the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996 to investigate, prosecute or pardon apartheid crimes.

The Cradock Four case was one of those reviewed. The commission investigated six police officials who were allegedly involved. They are: Officers Eric Alexander Taylor, Gerhardus Johannes Lutz, Nicholas Jans van Rensburg, Johan van Zyl, Hermanus Barend du Plessis, and Colonel Harold Snyman, who is believed to have ordered the murder. By the time of the hearings, Snyman had died.

Although the court granted clemency to many political criminals of the time, it ordered investigations conducted by hundreds of others, including the killers of the Cradock Four, who were denied clemency. Officials said the men failed to make a “full disclosure” about the circumstances of the killings. The TRC requires accused perpetrators to fully disclose the events in which they participated in order to be considered for pardon.

At the time, family members of the Cradock Four described their happiness with the decision, believing that the South African government would prosecute the accused men. However, successive governments, from former president Thabo Mbeki (1999-2008) to Ramaphosa, have not ended the investigations, despite the ANC, which helped introduce democracy under Nelson Mandela, always being in power. At present, all six accused officials have died, with the last man dying in May 2023.

The Cradock Four Family sued the country’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police in 2021, asking the court to force them to end investigations and decide whether the case goes to trial. However, officials did not reopen another investigation until January 2024, months after the death of the last accused official. Proceedings are scheduled to begin in June 2025.

Critics of the ANC have long claimed that there was a secret agreement between the post-apartheid government and the former white minority government to avoid prosecutions. In 2021, a former NPA official testified to the High Court in a separate case that the Mbeki administration interfered with the TRC process, and “suppressed” prosecutions in more than 400 cases.

Mbeki denies the allegations. “We have never interfered in the work of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA),” he said in a statement issued in March 2024.

“The executive did not prevent prosecutors from pursuing the cases referred to the NPA by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. If the investigations… referred to were stopped, they were stopped by the NPA and not at the request of the government.”

What is the new court case?

in New statusthe families of the Cradock Four joined with survivors and families of other victims to sue the government for failing to properly investigate their cases. The suit specifically named President Ramaphosa, the ministers of justice and police, the head of the NPA and the national police commissioner.

The families are seeking “constitutional damages” of up to 167 million rand ($9 million), for “egregious violations” of their rights. In the case of the four Craddock activists, relatives said because government officials had delayed prosecution, all of the accused officers had died, ensuring that there would be no criminal prosecution, depriving the families of “justice, truth and closure.”

The families have also asked the courts to force President Ramaphosa to establish an independent commission to investigate alleged government interference under the MBEKI administration.

Odette Geldenhuys, an attorney at Weber Wentzel, the firm representing the families in the lawsuit, told Al Jazeera that damages, if awarded, would serve as an “alternative” form of justice.

“Over the two decades… not only did the victims and the victims’ families die, they died as well,” Geldenhuys said. “The criminal law is clear: a corpse cannot be prosecuted. Alternative justice will go some way to dealing with ongoing and intergenerational pain.”

Geldenhuys added that the funds will be available to all other victims and survivors of apartheid-era political crimes, and will be used for further investigations, memorials and public education.

Why did the case generate interest in South Africa?

The Cradock Four were important figures during the apartheid era, but the fact that their deaths were not fully prosecuted did not sit well with many South Africans, especially amid allegations of a post-apartheid government.

In a statement on Thursday, the left-wing opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party stood alongside families and survivors and accused the ANC government of freeing convicted perpetrators, including former killer, Colonel Eugene de Kock who was initially sentenced to life imprisonment but had . She was granted parole in 2015, under the Ramaphosa government.

“The ANC’s handling of issues of apartheid-era violence has been suspiciously lenient,” the EFF statement said. “It is unacceptable that more than 30 years after the fall of apartheid, these families still have no answers or closure about the fate of their loved ones.”

Several other cases have yet to be fully investigated after the TRC operation was involved in Monday’s lawsuit. Housing Minister Thembi Nkadimeng is, for example, among the applicants in the latest case. Her sister Nokuthula Simelane, who was murdered in 1983, was believed to have been kidnapped and tortured by apartheid security forces.

Survivors of the Highgate Hotel massacre in the east London city of 1993, when five masked men burst into the hotel bar and shot people there, are also part of the new case. Five people were killed, but survivors Neville Billing and Carl Weber, who were injured in the shooting, joined Monday’s lawsuit. No one has been arrested or investigated. In 2023, a formal investigation was opened for the first time, with proceedings starting this month.

In total, the case could see the deaths of nearly 30 newly examined people. However, it is likely that many of the perpetrators have passed away.