EAAF 2005 Mission to South Africa Español Français
November-December 2005
Three EAAF members conducted a mission to South Africa from November 9-December 5 at the request of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) to recover and investigate the deaths of South African citizens killed and disappeared during the apartheid period in South Africa.
Since 1996, the EAAF has conducted missions to South Africa to exhume and analyze remains, primarily at the request of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). After the TRC finished its work, the NPA became the official body in charge of continuing the investigations, particularly to shed light on cases in which the TRC could not provide information to relatives about the fate of their loved ones.
In April 2005, in an ongoing investigation by the NPA, three EAAF members traveled to South Africa to exhume ten bodies of people killed in the 1980s. After that visit, the organization requested that EAAF continue the investigation of other cases and help train South Africans professionals on EAAF’s investigative process during a one-year project.
During the 2005 visit, EAAF performed the forensic exhumation and analysis in respect of missing persons presumptively buried at graves located at the following South African cemeteries:
Tlhabane Cemetery, Rustenburg, North West Province
Thandokukhanya Cemetery, Piet Retief, Mpumalanga Province
Mzinone Old Cemetery, Bethal, Mpumalanga Province
Winterveldt Cemetery, Mabopane, Gauteng Province, Kronkuil, Gauteng Province
In addition, EAAF evaluated two other cemeteries to asses the existence of other graves:
Haartbeesfontei Cemetery, Lethabong, Gauteng Province
Hamelodi West Cemetery, Mamelodi, Gauteng Province
Through these investigations, EAAF found four bodies and was able to positively identify two individuals. The team also held trainings with local professionals and students on the application of forensic anthropology and archaeology to human rights cases.
