Thembi Nkadimeng's sister was kidnapped and tortured to death by apartheid agents 25 years ago.

A decade after the country's widely hailed Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was meant to help heal the nation, Nkadimeng says her family feels forgotten by a government in a still-broken land.

The TRC hearings began in 1995 to examine gross human rights violations under white-minority rule by asking both victims to come forward and offering amnesty to abusers in exchange for their testimony.

The panel ended with a final report handed over in October 1998, but Nkadimeng is still trying to find the truth about what happened to her sister, Nokuthula Simelane, whose remains were never found.

She says it is not just lack of closure but the fact that many of the TRC's recommendations have been swept under the table, which has limited her ability to move on.

No access to healthcare

During that time, Nkadimeng found out her sister was captured and held for eight weeks, tortured "beyond recognition".

However, six policemen who were granted amnesty never revealed where her body lay. Another policeman who did not seek amnesty has never been prosecuted.

"What frustrates me is my mom had depression, a nervous breakdown, and as a result all the diseases you can name in the book. And she has no access to healthcare," Nkadimeng told AFP.

"There is so much pain and suffering and you don't have access to psychological services."

The apartheid government implemented racist laws to separate blacks and whites for nearly half a century, ending in 1994 when Nelson Mandela was voted the country's first black president.

A sad state of affairs

A conference was held in Cape Town last week to examine if the country had achieved its ideals of human rights and reconciliation.

But the conference heard that only two percent of people suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders from political trauma were receiving treatment, largely due to a lack of funds.

Delegates, including commissioners and victims, felt many recommendations had not been implemented and needed to be reviewed.

A post-apartheid intelligence minister, Ronnie Kasrils, admitted he never looked at TRC's recommendations when running his department.

"When I looked at the TRC recommendations today I thought, 'Oh god what have I been doing. I certainly haven't been looking at them every year,'" he said.

"Internationally it has become a benchmark. In South Africa it is something I think tends to be ignored to a great degree and not dealt with sufficiently."

An emotional process

The TRC final report filled seven volumes after an often heartrending process in which victims and perpetrators came forward to testify.

"I think had it been implemented to its conclusion it would have made a great difference. It was a process which was meant to be a transition and it should have passed now. But we are stuck here because things were not done right," said Nkadimeng.

Among the hurdles the country now faces is the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

"You could say socio-economic redress, its absence, is the single most formidable obstacle to advancing our constitutional democracy," said Jodi Kollapen of the Human Rights Commission.

"Unless we deal with it and address it significantly then we are going to have problems," he said.

South Africa’s past forgotten?

Fanie du Toit of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation said the impact of South Africa's violent past was being forgotten by the ruling African National Congress, currently embroiled by political infighting.

"It is in danger of being forgotten now ... by the people at the top of the spectrum, irrespective of race, because life is good now, and it's in danger of being forgotten by those at the bottom of the pile because life is so horrible."

"We forget that we have a very fragile society and it's important to remember it and see where they come from in order for us not take for granted what we have got," he told AFP.

AFP