Inquest into death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron reopened

The inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist of Imam Abdullah Haron will be reopened.

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola has formally requested Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court to designate a judge to preside over the inquiry.  

Imam Haron died in a police cell on 27 September 1969 after 123 days of solitary confinement and daily interrogations about his involvement in the struggle against the racist system of apartheid.

He was detained by the security branch, in terms of section 6 of the Terrorism Act and died at Caledon Square police Station, in Cape Town.

Imam Haron’s death caused global outrage, and he became the first Muslim to be commemorated at the famous St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The first inquest into his death was in 1970 and the findings that Haron fell down a flight of stairs relied mostly on reports from medical experts and police witnesses.

The renewed investigation into Imam Haron’s death will consider expert reports from a state pathologist and an aeronautical engineer. A trajectory expert will also provide a new perspective into the probable cause of the death of Imam Haron.

Lamola’s decision follows an application by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for the reopening of the inquests, to help it investigate the original court finding that Haron died as a result of falling down the stairs.

“We must do all we can to ensure that justice prevails no matter how long it takes,” said Lamola.

Last year, former apartheid policeman João Rodrigues died without disclosing his secrets about exactly how anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol died nearly 50 years ago.

Rodrigues admitted he was the last person to see Timol alive after he was interrogated by the apartheid era secret police.

He was charged with Timol’s murder following an inquiry in 2017, where the High Court in Pretoria ruled that the apartheid struggle stalwart did not commit suicide but was rather pushed to his death, while in police detention at the than John Vorster Square in Johannesburg back in 1971.

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