The activists were abducted, tortured and murdered in 1985 by members of the apartheid-era Security Branch.
The entrance of the National Prosecuting Authority in Pretoria. Picture: Michel Bega
Warning: This article contains graphic details that some readers may find disturbing.
More than 41 years after they were lured to a fake meeting, abducted and tortured by apartheid security forces, the deaths of Pebco leaders Sipho Hashe, Qaqawuli Godolozi and Champion Galela will finally come under judicial scrutiny as a landmark inquest gets underway in the Eastern Cape.
The joint inquest into the deaths of the trio is scheduled to commence at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha on Monday, 12 October 2026.
Inquest
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tiyali said the decision to hold the inquest follows a request by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, based on recommendations by the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions.
“The inquest is expected to run for five days. Witness testimony will be preceded by inspections in loco at Post Chalmers, near Cradock, and at Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.”
Deadliest reign
Hashe, Godolozi and Champion Galela were leaders of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO), which was affiliated with the United Democratic Front (UDF).
At the height of civil resistance against the Apartheid government and its deadliest reign in the Eastern Cape, the three left their homes on 08 May 1985 to meet a prospective donor at the Hendrik Verwoerd Airport (now named Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport), never to be seen again.
Their fate remained unknown until November 1997, when former Security Branch (SB) policeman Colonel Gideon Niewoudt applied for amnesty during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings.
Murder
During his testimony, he confessed to participating in the abduction, robbery and murder of the Pebco Three.
He further revealed that he paid a police informant to pose as a British embassy official to lure the three deceased to a meeting that was to discuss a potential donation to Pebco. When they arrived at the airport, they were abducted by members of the Special Branch and taken to an abandoned police station near Cradock (now Nxuba), Post Chalmers.
Here they were interrogated, stripped, beaten, repeatedly suffocated, drugged, strangled and burnt on a diesel-soaked pyre whilst their killers enjoyed braaied meat nearby. Some of the remains of the deceased were thrown into the nearby Fish River.
Special branch
Ten more members of the Special Branch, including askaris, applied for amnesty for the deaths of the Pebco Three.
Tiyali said after the TRC hearings, the Gqeberha High Court indicted Nieuwoudt, Johannes Martin “Sakkie” Van Zyl and Johannes Koole.
Interlocutory applications
He said the matter could not proceed because of interlocutory applications and the subsequent deaths of all three accused.
“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.”
Tyali said the NPA and its partners will continue their efforts to address the atrocities of the past and assist in providing closure to the families of the victims of the crimes.
