Truth and Reconciliation Commission failures to be explored in upcoming documentary series in November

In the documentary, professor Steve Naidoo explains the exhumation of Ndwandwe’s bones. Picture: Supplied

In the documentary, professor Steve Naidoo explains the exhumation of Ndwandwe’s bones. Picture: Supplied

Published Oct 28, 2024

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Truth Be Told is a six-part documentary series that examines South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) during the country’s 30th anniversary of democracy.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has not pursued many of the hundreds of cases identified by the TRC for prosecution or inquiry over the past two decades.

Award-winning Enver Samuel’s Truth Be Told documentary series begins with the story of Phila Portia Ndwandwe, a 23-year-old who was tortured and assassinated by apartheid security police in KwaZulu-Natal in 1988.

“The documentary looks at Ndwandwe’s murder through the eyes of her son, Thabang Mabuza, now a chartered accountant in his 30s who suffers from trans-generational trauma and is still trying to cope with the loss and anguish caused by his mother’s death.

“The documentary’s title, The Breastfeeding Warrior, alludes to the fact that Mabuza was just five months old and still being breastfed when his mother, an Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier, was murdered,” reads the synopsis.

The documentary examines trauma, reconciliation, accountability, and forgiveness in South Africa through heartbreaking archival video from the exhumation of Ndwandwe’s bones, as well as TRC archives and personal interviews.

It gives Ndwandwe a voice by allowing her unearthed bones to ‘speak’. The film explores Mabuza’s struggle to cope with his mother’s murder and his hunt for answers to why she was slain.

Was his mother's sacrifice worthwhile or in vain?

The series explores the long-lasting impact of apartheid’s human rights crimes on South Africans, beyond particular criminal cases.

The series investigates six distressing cases: those of Ndwandwe, Bheki Mlangeni, and Ntombi Kubheka, Topsy Madaka, Richard and Irene Motasi, and Matthew Mabelane. In each case, adult children and family members of killed campaigners provide poignant testimony and the experiences of trans-generational trauma and its consequences on their lives.

The series will be broadcast every Sunday on SABC 2 from November 3 at 9.30pm for a period of six weeks.

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