Frank Chikane, a behind-the-scenes slogger rather than a front-row forward, is the favourite to head the truth commission, reports Gaye Davis
LIBERATION theologian Frank Chikane, former general secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), is the front-runner to head up South Africa’s truth
The Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Bill, passed by the National Assembly (the Freedom Front opposing, the IFP abstaining) after a marathon five-hour debate on Wednesday, provides for a commission of 11 to 17 members, to be assisted by three committees to deal with amnesty, hear human rights violations and recommend reparations and rehabilitation.
In the debate, Minister of Justice Dullah Omar said it was important the commissioners “be people the nation as a whole can trust”. The Bill provides for the president to appoint people who are “impartial, respected and have no high political profile”.
President Mandela will consult with Cabinet on the appointments. Both he and Omar said during the debate that parties outside the Government of National Unity — not represented in cabinet — would be able to submit names of people for consideration.
In the view of many MPs, a black church leader would be an ideal choice and Chikane’s is the name most often mentioned. However, observers have cautioned that his appointment could run into interference from the National Party, on the grounds that the activist priest is himself a high-profile victim.
Chikane’s education was routinely interrupted by detentions, and he was also defrocked as a pastor in the Apostolic Faith Mission (though later reinstated) for his political activities. He was a prominent United Democratic Front figure during the Eighties.
Most significantly, in May 1989 he was the victim of an assassination attempt. It emerged hit squads had tried to murder Chikane by soaking some of his clothing with an organo-phosphate poison designed to kill him as it was absorbed by his skin.
But Chikane, who is presently studying at Harvard University in the United States, is nevertheless a strong candidate as he has a proven track record as an able administrator. A behind-the-scenes slogger rather than a flamboyant front-row political forward, it was he who helped the SACC throw off its image as “the ANC at prayer”, drawing more conservative churches back into its fold.
Other theologians’ names mentioned include those of Cape Town’s Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has indicated he intends retiring. However, long-standing obligations — and his close identification with the ANC — may preclude
A compromise choice could emerge in Bishop Stanley Magoba, head of the Methodist Church in South Africa.
Other names mentioned include Alex Boraine, former director of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa) and now head of the Justice in Transition Project. Boraine co- edited Dealing with the Past — Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa, a book relating how Latin American and Eastern European countries dealt with their legacy of human rights abuses.
In view of the Bill’s emphasis on the truth commission being used as an even-handed instrument of reconciliation, it is certain Afrikaans-speakers will also be appointed. Names mentioned include those of Wimpie de Klerk, brother of deputy president FW and former editor of Die Transvaler and Stellenbosch philosopher Professor Willie Esterhuyse.