NPA welcomes WC High Court decision to set aside Imam Haron inquest findings

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Western Cape has welcomed the decision by the Western Cape High Court to set aside the findings of an inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron in September 1969.

PHOTO - Mitchum George: Wall painting of Iman Abdullah Haron at Salt River Community House

In the findings of the re-opened 197 inquest, the court found that the death of Imam Abdullah Haron was caused by the cumulative effect of injuries under torture, in particular a combination of severe systematic psychological stresses, including crush injury syndrome precipitated by complications of bunt soft tissue injury, with the possibility of a pre-existing coronary artery disease as a contributing factor.

In its ruling on Monday, the high court said for the past 54 years, the imam’s family, friends and comrades in the anti-apartheid struggle had never accepted the findings of the magistrate.

Judge Daniel Thulare found Haron's death was attributable to the cumulative effect of injuries under torture.

The court also held the then Security Branch of SAP members responsible for the acts and omissions leading directly to his death. It held Lieutenant Colonel Carel Johannes Freysen Pienaar, Major Dirk Kotze Genis, Major Kotze, Captain, Ebanis Jogiemus Johannes Geldenhuys, Sergeant Johannes Petrus Francois ‘Spyker’ van Wyk and Sergent Andries van Wyk as responsible for Imam Haron’s death.

The court ordered the Registrar of the Court to submit the record to the officer of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Western Cape, without delay. It referred the role played by Johannes Hendrik Hanekom Burger, Sergeant Petrus Jacobus Rademeyer, Captain Louis Malan Sergeant Smit, and Prosecutor JS van Graan to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Western Cape, for a decision.

The NPA said it was requested to reopen the inquest on 1 September  2021. It approached Justice & Correctional services Minister, Ronald Lamola, and successfully applied for the reopening of the inquest in March 2022. A presiding officer was appointed on 30 May 2022, and proceedings in terms of the Inquest Act commenced in November.

‘’Following his arrest, he spent 123 days in detention which comprised 75 nights at Caledon Square Police Station and 45 nights at Maitland Police Station except for the two nights between 17 and 19 September 1969, where his whereabouts were unknown. He spent about four months in solitary confinement and was tortured most of the time while in detention.  During the hearing, State Adv Lifa Matyobeni and Adv Deidre Julius argued that Genis and Spyker, members of the notorious Special Branch, conducted most of the interrogations, which generally started at 8h00, with a lunch break at 13h00 and then continued until 16h30. Sometimes interrogations would continue for longer, even until the early morning (midnight),’’ said Eric Ntabazalila, NPA Western Cape spokesperson.

‘’During his detention, he complained of chest pain, stomach pains, broken ribs, and bruises on his body. The interrogators told the inquest that he fell off the stairs at the Caledon Police Station. They denied being responsible for his fall and claimed he fell on his back bruising his buttocks.’’

‘’Senior State Pathologist and Head of Pathology Services at the state pathology laboratory in Cape Town, Dr Theodor Gottfried Schwar, conducted a postmortem examination on 28 September 1969, after the body was identified to him by Col Pienaar and Warrant Officer Blake at the Salt River Mortuary. He later compiled a postmortem report. The postmortem examination was conducted in the presence of Dr E Slobedman, a private pathologist from Cape Town. He concluded the cause of death was myocardial ischemia which was the decreased blood flow to the heart muscle due to narrowing coronary absorption,’’ added Ntabazalila,

PHOTO - Mitchum George: Wall painting of Iman Abdullah Haron at Salt River Community House

Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicolette Bell, welcomed the judgment which she said was the result of the NPA’s commitment to pursuing priority Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases.

Ntabazalila said over the past few years, the NPA and the Hawks had focused on enhancing capacity and streamlining processes to ensure effective handling of TRC cases and reopening and pursuing priority cases.

“Sixteen prosecutors and 39 [Hawks] investigators have been appointed within the various divisions to deal exclusively with TRC matters, to work with families, and to investigate cases, inter alia, of murder, torture and disappearances.”

He said there are 135 matters currently under investigation.

‘’In some cases, prosecutions had begun. In others, inquests were being held or even re-held to establish the circumstances of, and responsibility for, these deaths. The effluxion of time poses many challenges in the investigation of these matters. But time is not on our side, and we must continue to strive for justice,” said Eric Ntabazalila, NPA Western Cape spokesperson.

 

Done By: Mitchum George