CAPE TOWN, Tuesday 25 August 2026 — The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has paid approximately R498 million in individual reparations to victims identified through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has told Parliament.
Kubayi disclosed the figures while answering questions in the National Council of Provinces on progress made in implementing outstanding TRC-related reparations and other interventions.
As of 20 August, 17,560 of the 21,676 people recognised for the once-off individual reparations programme had applied and received payments, according to the minister.
The programme provides a once-off payment of R30,000 to eligible victims identified through the TRC process.
Kubayi said a further 4,216 people had not applied for the payment.
The department has published the names of those outstanding beneficiaries in newspapers in an effort to locate people who may still qualify for the reparations.
The individual payments form part of the government’s wider response to recommendations made following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s examination of politically motivated human rights violations committed during apartheid.
The latest figures come as government institutions face renewed scrutiny over the implementation of other recommendations arising from the TRC process.
A separate commission chaired by retired Justice Sisi Khampepe is currently examining allegations that investigations and prosecutions of apartheid-era cases referred to the National Prosecuting Authority were delayed or obstructed.
Former Justice Minister Ronald Lamola told that inquiry this week that former ministers and relevant state institutions should account for their respective roles in the delays.
The reparations programme and the investigation of outstanding criminal cases address different aspects of the TRC legacy, but both have become part of a wider examination of the state’s handling of unfinished post-apartheid justice processes.
The Justice Department will need to continue attempts to locate outstanding beneficiaries while other TRC-related programmes, including community rehabilitation and housing interventions, remain under implementation.
