South Africa's justice ministry said Friday it will re-open an inquiry into the murder of four anti-apartheid activists which became one of the era's most notorious crimes but remains unsolved nearly four decades on.
The so-called Cradock Four were abducted and murdered while returning home to the southern town of Cradock in June 1985 after a meeting. The bodies of the four - Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkonto, Fort Calata and Sicelo Mhlauli - were discovered days later, badly burnt and with multiple stab wounds.
The security forces under the apartheid regime were suspected of being behind the killings. But no one has been brought to justice.
"[It is] in the interests of justice to finally bring closure to the families of the deceased who have been waiting decades for the truth about who killed their loved ones," South Africa Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said, adding that 1987, 1993 inquests "produced more questions than answers."
In the case of the Cradock Four, members of the security forces "revealed how and why the deceased were killed, 14 years after the gruesome deaths of the deceased", the ministry said. The TRC offered amnesty to those who gave a full accounting of their crimes, although it was denied to suspects involved in the Cradock Four deaths.
The National Prosecuting Authority Service has called for the re-opening of the case to present evidence from the TRC that was not considered in the previous inquiries. Lamola said the move was needed for "confidence in the justice system to be restored."