Pebco Three inquest begins 41 years after apartheid-era murders

More than four decades after three anti-apartheid activists disappeared following a meeting at an airport, a long-awaited inquest into their deaths is set to begin in the Eastern Cape.

The joint inquest into the deaths of Sipho Hashe, Qaqawuli Godolozi and Champion Galela, known as the Pebco Three, is scheduled to start at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha on Monday, 12 October 2026.

The three men were leaders of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO), which was affiliated with the United Democratic Front (UDF). They were abducted and murdered in 1985 by members of the apartheid-era Security Branch.

Despite the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) later hearing testimony about their fate, no formal inquest has been held into their deaths.

A meeting that ended in disappearance

On 8 May 1985, Hashe, Godolozi and Galela left to attend what they believed was a meeting with a potential donor interested in supporting PEBCO.

The meeting had been arranged through a police informant who allegedly posed as a representative of the British embassy.

Instead of meeting a prospective donor, the activists were abducted by members of the Security Branch after arriving at what was then Hendrik Verwoerd Airport, now Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha.

They were taken to Post Chalmers, an abandoned police station near Cradock, now known as Nxuba.

Their disappearance left their families without answers for more than a decade.

TRC testimony revealed what happened

The circumstances surrounding the activists’ deaths emerged in November 1997, when former Security Branch colonel Gideon Nieuwoudt applied for amnesty before the TRC.

Nieuwoudt admitted to participating in the abduction, robbery and murder of the three men.

His testimony described how the activists were interrogated and subjected to severe torture at Post Chalmers. They were beaten, suffocated, drugged and strangled before their bodies were burned.

According to the testimony, some of their remains were thrown into the nearby Fish River.

The killings took place during a period of intense resistance to apartheid, when security forces targeted activists and organisations opposing the government.

Ten other former Security Branch members, including askaris, also applied for amnesty in connection with the deaths.

Why the inquest took so long

Following the TRC hearings, the Gqeberha High Court indicted Nieuwoudt, Johannes Martin “Sakkie” Van Zyl and Johannes Koole in connection with the case.

However, the proceedings did not move forward because of interlocutory applications and the subsequent deaths of all three accused.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tiyali said the decision to proceed with the inquest followed a request by the National Director of Public Prosecutions to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, based on recommendations from the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions.

Tiyali said the inquest was necessary because no formal judicial inquiry had previously examined the deaths.

“No formal inquest has been held into the deaths of the Pebco Three. It is therefore imperative that the facts and evidence be fully ventilated before an Inquest Court, which can then make any appropriate findings,” he said.

Five days of proceedings planned

The inquest is expected to run for five days, with witness testimony to be preceded by inspections in loco at Post Chalmers and Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.

These inspections are expected to form part of the court’s examination of the locations connected to the activists’ disappearance and deaths.

The proceedings represent another effort to establish a formal judicial record of crimes committed during apartheid and address questions that have remained unresolved for decades.

The NPA said it would continue working with its partners to address atrocities from the past and help provide closure to the families of victims.

For the families of Hashe, Godolozi and Galela, the inquest marks a long-awaited opportunity for the circumstances surrounding their deaths to be formally examined in court.

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Source: The Citizen