Under the chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, it invited people on both sides to confess the excesses of the past in return for leniency, even amnesty. It was meant to help bury the legacy of division and forge a more united future. Heated debate Its proceedings unveiled horrific acts of cruelty and were themselves traumatic. But the legacy of the commission itself still provokes heated debate. Many whites complain that it has deepened, not healed, the divisions of history.
Many blacks feel their previous oppressors have in some cases literally got away with murder.
The enduring memory of the commission is of blacks retelling their experiences but few whites, particularly those in positions of responsibility, accounting for their actions. Two nations' The government believes the commission has helped in the healing process, although President Thabo Mbeki himself still speaks of the country as two nations. The commission has been suspended since it issued an initial report in 1998, which was a broad indictment of the institutions which supported apartheid. Its amnesty committee has continued its work in hearing some 6,000 amnesty applications. It will now consider its findings.