Apartheid report stalled for fear of legal battles

The probe spanning almost three decades, covers anything from death squads and the mafia

A report on alleged corruption during the Apartheid era, which has been compiled by the South African National Anti-corruption forum, will possibly be released only at the end of May. Indications are that this is due to the nature of the document and possible legal action that could sprout from a premature release.

The report aims to answer some of the many questions on how politicians spent resources in the Apartheid era. It looks at government and private actions since 1976, it names the involved individuals, departments and institutions and it claims to expose corruption totalling billions of rands. The report refers to death squads and the Mafia, the Apartheid regime and Swiss and South African banks, amongst others.

Extent still unknown
Hennie Van Vuuren, one of the authors, says little is still known about the extent of the corruption - as well as the hundreds of millions of rands stolen during apartheid.

Government is yet to respond to recommendations that the corruption must be re-investigated and the guilty parties prosecuted. Geraldine Fraser Moleketi, who leads the forum, says it needs to take a decision and it will be revealed after the forum meets in May.

Van Vuuren says more work is being done on the report. It public release is embargoed until further notice.