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Download (1MB) RECORDS, THE TRUTH COMMISSION, AND NATIONAL RECONCILIATION: ACCOUNTABILITY IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA by Lekoko Kenosi B.A, University of Botswana, 1991 M.A.S, University of British Columbia, 1999 Submitted to the Graduate School of Information Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2008 i UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Lekoko Kenosi It was defended on April 23, 2008 and approved by Dr Toni Carbo, Professor, SIS, University of Pittsburgh Dr David Wallace, Lecturer III, SI, University of Michigan Dr Ellen Detlefsen, Associate Professor, SIS, University of Pittsburgh Dissertation Director: Dr Richard Cox, Professor, SIS, University of Pittsburgh ii Copyright © by Lekoko Kenosi 2008 iii RECORDS, THE TRUTH COMMISSION, AND NATIONAL RECONCILIATION: ACCOUNTABILITY IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA Lekoko Kenosi, Ph.D University of Pittsburgh, 2008 Abstract The research on “Records, The Truth Commission, and National Reconciliation: Accountability in Post Apartheid South Africa” was prompted by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SA TRC) was initiated by President Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid government. The aim of the commission was to collect as much information as possible about apartheid transgressions in order to use it for national reconciliation. In order to carry out its mandate the commission established three committees, namely, the Human Rights Violations Committee, the Amnesty Committee and the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee. In line with its mandate the South African TRC collected millions of records and consigned them to the National Archives for maintenance. The transfer of all truth commission records to the National Archives in Pretoria presented this researcher with an opportunity to investigate the two research questions of this study, namely, “How has the National Archives of South Africa managed the records of its truth commissions,” and “What problems and challenges have the South African National Archives experienced in preserving and making its TRC records in all media accessible to the public?” Using a historical case study method to answer both research questions this study found out that the South African National Archives has had little problems in managing the paper and audiovisual records of the truth commission. On the contrary, the South African National iv Archives has experienced major problems managing its truth commission’s electronic records. This brings us to the second research question dealing with problems and challenges faced by the National Archives in preserving and making accessible the SA TRC records. This research found that the National Archives of South Africa is not able to provide full access to the TRC records basically because of six problems discussed in detail in this dissertation. The problems of access to TRC records have long term repercussions for accountability in South Africa. However, the true contribution of TRC records to accountability can only happen once the records have been processed and made available to the people. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................... xiv PREFACE.................................................................................................................................... xv 1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................ 8 1.1.1 The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission ...................... 8 1.2 THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS............... 13 1.2.1 The Research Questions ............................................................................. 13 1.2.2 Organization of the Dissertation................................................................ 14 1.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ........................................................................ 15 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................... 17 2.1 THE CONCEPT OF ACCOUNTABILITY......................................................... 17 2.1.1 Summary...................................................................................................... 24 2.2 ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRUTH COMMISSIONS ...................................... 25 2.2.1 Summary...................................................................................................... 31 2.3 POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY...................................................................... 31 2.3.1 Summary...................................................................................................... 36 2.4 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY...................................................................... 36 2.4.1 Summary...................................................................................................... 40 vi 2.5 ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY ........................................................ 41 2.5.1 Summary...................................................................................................... 43 2.6 RECORDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY ............................................................... 43 2.6.1 Summary...................................................................................................... 52 2.7 ARCHIVING TRUTH COMMISSION RECORDS IN GENERAL................. 53 2.8 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 73 3.0 METHODOLOGY..................................................................................................... 77 3.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 77 3.2 CASE STUDY RESEARCH .................................................................................. 78 3.3 HISTORICAL METHOD...................................................................................... 82 3.4 INTERVIEW METHOD........................................................................................ 87 3.5 DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................... 90 3.6 DATA ANALYSIS.................................................................................................. 91 3.7 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 94 4.0 A NARRATIVE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION AND ITS RECORDS ................................................ 95 4.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 95 4.2 THE HISTORICAL AND LEGISLATIVE BASIS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRC .................................................................................................................. 96 4.3 THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION COMMITTEE HEARINGS ............. 100 4.3.1 The Victim Public Hearings..................................................................... 102 4.3.2 Event Hearings.......................................................................................... 102 4.3.3 Special Hearings........................................................................................ 103 vii 4.3.4 Institutional Hearings............................................................................... 107 4.3.5 Political Hearings...................................................................................... 112 4.3.6 Special Investigations/Closed-Door Hearings ........................................ 114 4.3.7 Summary.................................................................................................... 117 4.4 THE AMNESTY COMMITTEE HEARINGS.................................................. 117 4.4.1 Summary.................................................................................................... 118 4.5 THE REPARATION AND REHABILITATION COMMITTEE................... 119 4.5.1 Summary.................................................................................................... 120 4.6 THE ROLE OF THE INVESTIGATIVE AND RESEARCH UNITS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRC IN ACHIEVING ITS MANDATE ...................................... 120 4.7 A NARRATIVE OF THE ARCHIVE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRC..... 122 4.8 THE SALIENT ATTRIBUTES OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRC ARCHIVE. ................................................................................................................................. 126 4.9 THE COMMISSION’S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT OF THE TRC ARCHIVE................................................................. 129 4.10 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 131 5.0 THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ARCHIVES’ MANAGEMENT OF ITS TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION RECORDS....................................... 133 5.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 133 5.2 RESEARCH QUESTION ONE: HOW HAS THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ARCHIVES MANAGED ITS TRC RECORDS?................................... 135 5.2.1 Managing the TRC Paper Records ........................................................
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