# Goldstone Commission

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For [Richard Goldstone](/source/Richard_Goldstone)'s investigations regarding Israel and Gaza, see [United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict](/source/United_Nations_Fact_Finding_Mission_on_the_Gaza_Conflict).

The **Goldstone Commission**, formally known as the **Commission of Inquiry Regarding the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation**, was appointed on 24 October 1991 to investigate [political violence](/source/Political_violence) and intimidation in South Africa. Over its three-year lifespan, it investigated incidents occurring between July 1991 and April 1994, when democratic elections were held. The relevant incidents thus occurred during the [negotiations](/source/Negotiations_to_end_apartheid_in_South_Africa) to end [apartheid](/source/Apartheid).[1] The Commission's mandate was both to investigate the causes of the violence and to recommend measures to contain or prevent it.[2]

The Commission played a critical role in defusing the political violence that erupted when apartheid in South Africa began eroding in the late 1980s as the country moved toward its first democratic elections, and concluded that political violence was fuelled by a 'third force'.[citation needed]

The Commission was established in terms of the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation Act of 1991,[3] as a condition of the [National Peace Accord](/source/Negotiations_to_end_apartheid_in_South_Africa) of September 1991. President [F. W. de Klerk](/source/F._W._de_Klerk) appointed Justice [Richard Goldstone](/source/Richard_Goldstone) to chair it. It operated from 24 October 1991 to 27 October 1994 and, over that period, submitted 47 reports to the President.[4] The Commission was fairly large: its investigation team, set up in 1992, comprised five units, staffed by 13 police officers, ten attorneys, and five international observers. It had offices in [Johannesburg](/source/Johannesburg), [Durban](/source/Durban), [Port Elizabeth](/source/Port_Elizabeth), [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town), and [East London](/source/East_London,_Eastern_Cape).[5]

Some of the Commission's reports focused on broad thematic concerns, such as [taxi violence](/source/Taxi_wars_in_South_Africa) (to which seven separate reports were dedicated) or the effects of political violence on children. Others investigated specific allegations or events, among them some of the most prominent incidents of political violence of the period, including the [Boipatong massacre](/source/Boipatong_massacre), the [Bisho massacre](/source/Bisho_massacre), the [storming of the Kempton Park World Trade Centre](/source/Storming_of_Kempton_Park_World_Trade_Centre), and the [Shell House massacre](/source/Shell_House_massacre). Several reports investigated the role of the [South African Police](/source/South_African_Police) and [South African Defence Force](/source/South_African_Defence_Force) in political violence, and particular public attention was given to the May 1993 report on allegations of a [third force](/source/Third_Force_(South_Africa)), as well as to related reports such the report of the [Malcolm Wallis](/source/Malcolm_Wallis)-led subcommittee on the causes of the violence between the [African National Congress](/source/African_National_Congress) and [Inkatha](/source/Inkatha_Freedom_Party).

## Commissioners

The Commissioners were:

- [Richard Goldstone](/source/Richard_Goldstone)
- Danie Rossouw
- Solly Sithole
- Lillian Baqwa
- Gert Steyn

Other individuals served on multi-national panels, acted as observers, or participated in committees under the Commission.[4]

## Investigations

List of investigations and reports by the Commission Topic Date of report General 24 January 1992 29 April 1992 21 December 1992 6 December 1993 30 May 1994 27 October 1994 Violence at Mooi River on 3–4 December 1991 19 February 1992 19 February 1992 21 December 1992 Violence at President Steyn Goldmine in Welkom in November 1991 28 February 1992 Taxi violence 27 May 1992 2 July 1992 4 December 1992 23 January 1993 26 July 1993 26 July 1994 24 August 1994 Conduct of the 32 Battalion at Phola Park on 8 April 1992 10 June 1992 Train violence 8 July 1992 6 May 1993 Waddington Committee: Police response to the Boipatong massacre 20 July 1992 Violence in hostels 21 September 1992 Bisho massacre 29 September 1992 Role of the South African Police in violence in the Vaal area 27 October 1992 Violence in Tokoza 17 November 1992 Allegations about Renamo soldiers in KwaZulu 15 December 1992 Regulation of gatherings 15 January 1993 28 April 1993 Activities of the Azanian People's Liberation Army 15 March 1993 Allegations of a third force 27 May 1993 South African Defence Force, including 1986 Caprivi training of Inkatha supporters 1 June 1993 Events after the assassination of Chris Hani 29 June 1993 Storming of the World Trade Centre 13 July 1993 Curbing of violence and intimidation during the forthcoming election 11 August 1993 Illegal importation, distribution, and use of firearms, ammunition and explosives 5 October 1993 Violence in Mossel Bay in July 1993 12 October 1993 Violence in Crossroads in March to June 1993 11 November 1993 Shooting in Katlehong on 9 January 1994 18 January 1994 Criminal political violence by the South African Police, the Kwazulu Police, and Inkatha 18 March 1994[dead link] Wallis Committee: Inkatha-African National Congress conflict, and special matters 18 March 1994 18 March 1994 Attack on Power Park squatter camp on 27 July 1993 11 May 1994 Shell House massacre 21 April 1994 Attacks on members of the South African Police 21 April 1994 Attempted purchase of firearms by the KwaZulu government from Eskom 22 April 1994 Effects of public violence and intimidation on children 10 August 1994 27 October 1994

## References

1. ["Commission of Inquiry Regarding the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation (Goldstone Commission)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100106161836/http://www.hurisa.org.za/gold.htm), Human Rights Institute of South Africa, archived from [the original](http://www.hurisa.org.za/gold.htm) on 6 January 2010, retrieved 27 May 2010

1. Shaw, Mark (1993). ["The Goldstone Commission"](https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA0259188X_511). *Indicator SA*. **11** (1)

1. ["Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation Act 139 of 1991"](https://www.gov.za/documents/prevention-public-violence-and-intimidation-act-17-jul-1991-0000). *South African Government*. Retrieved 2021-11-29.

1. [*Project report relating to the Goldstone Commission*](http://historicalpapers-atom.wits.ac.za/uploads/r/historical-papers-research-archive-library-university-of-witwatersrand/6/b/d/6bd484493401aedf4ff53342602e8a4b7096645e7a37ef391d87b8a3f29dfa98/AK3342f-A.pdf). Human Rights Institute of South Africa.

1. [*Report on the Investigation Units of the Goldstone Commission: 1 October 1992–30 September 1993*](http://historicalpapers-atom.wits.ac.za/uploads/r/historical-papers-research-archive-library-university-of-witwatersrand/0/a/a/0aaba063eae3067565c3037b91804fc0970ff9fa7baaabe76336b13a118d9f1a/C1039.pdf). Braamfontein: Goldstone Commission. 1993.

## External links

- [Records of the Commission's inquiry into the conduct of 32 Battalion in Phola Park](http://historicalpapers-atom.wits.ac.za/goldstone-commission-of-enquiry-into-phola-park-records)
- [Records of the Commission's inquiry into the Boipatong massacre](http://historicalpapers-atom.wits.ac.za/goldstone-enquiry)

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