Retired officer Bester denies telling Macadam of case against Mbeki
Retired police colonel Louis Bester denied under cross-examination at the TRC cases inquiry on Wednesday that he met prosecutor Chris Macadam. He said his role in the 2007 forgery inquiry began only after a newspaper report in August 2007.
Bester said he did not recall such a meeting. He also denied telling Macadam there was a solid case against former president Thabo Mbeki and the ANC 37. The ANC 37 is a group of 37 high-ranking ANC members who applied together for TRC amnesty.
Bester said he investigated the forgery allegations from 22 to 31 August 2007. He said Johan de Beer, then the divisional commissioner, instructed him to do so.
Macadam, a former deputy director of public prosecutions in the NPA's priority crimes litigation unit, gave earlier evidence. He said Bester and former investigator Sue Brits approached him to prosecute Mbeki and the ANC 37. He also said Bester had been asked to provide evidence in 2003.
Bester said he was not involved in the matter in 2003. He said he had no prior knowledge of the ANC 37 dockets, which stayed sealed under NPA control. Macadam also told the inquiry that the executive branch of government interfered with and stalled apartheid-era prosecutions.
Key facts
- Who
- Louis Bester (Retired police officer (Col) testifying at the TRC cases inquiry); Chris Macadam (Former deputy director of public prosecutions in the NPA's priority crimes…); Sue Brits (Former investigator); Anton Ackermann (Advocate who headed the NPA's priority crimes litigation unit from 2003 to 2013)
- What
- At the TRC cases inquiry, Col Louis Bester was cross-examined and denied that he met senior prosecutor Chris Macadam and told him there was a solid case against former president Thabo Mbeki and the ANC 37. He said his involvement in the 2007 forgery inquiry began only after a newspaper report in August 2007.
- When
- 28 October 2026
- Where
- South Africa
- Status
- Reported