Has South African reconciliation worked?

It is 20 years since the beginning of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that was aimed at bringing the country together after the end of apartheid in 1994.

For the first time victims and perpetrators came face-to-face, testifying in attempt to heal wounds and to move forward. Those who accepted responsibility for what happened, were sometimes granted amnesty.

During apartheid the conflict resulted in violence and human rights abuses from all sides.

Among the victims who testified was Mavis Phungula. She was injured in a bombing that occurred at a supermarket in Germiston, east of Johannesburg, killing 10 people instantly.

She revisited the site of the bombing with the BBC's Karen Allen and considered whether the TRC has helped to build a better South Africa.

  • Subsection
  • Published