INQUEST INTO DEATH OF ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVIST IMAM ABDULLAH HARON RE-OPENED

Imam Abdullah Haron died at Caledon Square Police Station in Cape Town on 27 September 1969 after being held incommunicado for 122 days. He was detained by the security branch under The Terrorism Act.

The Cape Town Muslim community commemorates the death of Imam Abdullah Haron in an intimate ceremony on Sunday. Picture: Natalie Malgas/EWN.

Gaye Davis 

CAPE TOWN - The inquest into the death in detention of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron is to be re-opened.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has asked the judge president of the Western Cape High Court to designate a judge to preside over the fresh inquiry.

The Muslim cleric died at Caledon Square Police Station in Cape Town on 27 September 1969 after being held incommunicado for 122 days. He was detained by the security branch under The Terrorism Act.

In a statement, Lamola said the renewed investigation will consider expert evidence expected to shed new light on how the activist died.

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.

This time around, there will be reports from a state pathologist and an aeronautical engineer and trajectory expert. Lamola said they would provide a new perspective on the probable cause of death of Haron, who was 45 when he died.

Lamola’s decision follows a request from the National Prosecuting Authority to re-open the inquest.