P.W. Botha, former South African State President, appears in court for refusing to testify at the TRC

Former apartheid President P.W. Botha talks to the media at the George Magistrate court where he was fined and given a suspended one year jail sentence for refusing to testify to the TRC.

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

P.W. Botha, former South African State President, appears in court for refusing to testify at the TRC — Former apartheid President P.W. Botha talks to the media at the George Magistrate court where he was fined and given a suspended one year jail sentence for refusing to testify to the TRC.

Former State President P.W. Botha appeared in court for refusing to testify at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The former South African State President appeared at a court in George. Botha's case was postponed for a later date to allow the lawyers to study the documents, which were handed over by the TRC. The documents contained details of his involvement in the gruesome apartheid killings of black freedom fighters allegedly arranged by the apartheid regime. Botha was asked to testify after it was found by the TRC that he had ordered the bombing of the South African Council of Churches headquarters in Johannesburg. He was fined and given a suspended sentence for refusing to testify. He appealed his sentence and won when the court found that the notice he was served with to appear before the TRC had been technically invalid. Botha is reported to have declared that he would not ask for forgiveness for fighting the Marxist revolutionary onslaught.

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How we know this

01Bbc News ‘Botha refuses to testify’ from bbc News (17 November 1997) [online] Available at: news.bbc.co.uk [Accessed on 8 December 2011]
02Daley S. (1998) ‘Tutu Asks Botha to Give An Apology, But in Vain’ from The New York Times (16 June 1998) Available at: www.nytimes.com [Accessed on 8 December 2011]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2012, January 19). P.W. Botha, former South African State President, appears in court for refusing to testify at the TRC. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072836

South African History Online (2012) 'P.W. Botha, former South African State President, appears in court for refusing to testify at the TRC', South African History Online, 19 January. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072836 (Accessed: 24 July 2026).

South African History Online, P.W. Botha, former South African State President, appears in court for refusing to testify at the TRC [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072836, (accessed 24 July 2026).

"P.W. Botha, former South African State President, appears in court for refusing to testify at the TRC." South African History Online, 19 Jan. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072836. Accessed 24 July 2026.

South African History Online. "P.W. Botha, former South African State President, appears in court for refusing to testify at the TRC." South African History Online. January 19, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072836.