Sibongane Malgas arrived in a wheelchair to tell his story. His son was murdered by South African security forces, he said, while he himself was bound, blinded and crippled during brutal police interrogation. It was too much for even Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the head of the commission, to bear. Tutu, a Nobel Prize winner, is adamant that though the testimony is painful to hear, it must be confronted, so the nation can begin to heal. And then, shut the door and say we are going to move together into this glorious future.
Testimony comes from across the political spectrum.
Whites as well as blacks told of how they became victims of the apartheid system, and even people admitting to past crimes are coming forward. Security force officers who committed murder in order to protect the white regime are now claiming amnesty for actions they say were ordered by the government of the day. To date some 4,000 applications for amnesty have been received. Some are from members of the former guerrilla movements. Many more are from people who were supposed to uphold law and order in the South African government.