Johannesburg - Forty-four years since an inquest found that no one was to blame for Ahmed Timol’s death, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has agreed to reopen the case.
Exactly 45 years ago on Thursday, Timol - a teacher, member of the SA Communist Party and anti-apartheid activist - died, allegedly at the hands of security police at John Vorster Square in Joburg.
Days of alleged torture and threats culminated in an incident where Timol was seemingly thrown from a 10th floor window.
The inquest that followed has been described as a farce by Timol’s family, with the presiding magistrate ruling the 30-year-old’s death a suicide.
Despite medical evidence presented of gruesome torture, the magistrate found that the security police had treated Timol compassionately, and no one was responsible for his death.
After a private investigation launched by the Timol family and human rights activists, the evidence uncovered was presented to the NPA. National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams on Tuesday called for a new inquest into the teacher’s death.
Abrahams formally requested the minister of justice to approach the judge president of the high court in Joburg to appoint a judge to hear the inquest.
Confirming Abrahams's decision, Dr JP Pretorius of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit informed the Timol family: “We are of the opinion that there is compelling evidence that necessitates the reopening of the inquest in the interest of justice.”
Responding to the NPA’s decision to pursue reopening the inquest, Timol’s nephew, Imtiaz Ahmed Cajee, said he hoped the family of Neil Aggett would get similarly good news soon.
“My grandmother has since passed away, but she will be smiling in heaven today,” Cajee said.
The Timol family sought the reopening of the inquest in order to have the finding of “nobody to blame” reversed, he added.
Aggett, a medical doctor and trade union organiser, also died while in detention after being arrested by the security police in 1982.
The Star