Written by Umamah Bakharia 

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has asked the Western Cape judge president to designate a judge to reopen the inquest into the 1969 death of anti-apartheid activist and Muslim cleric, Imam Abdullah Haron.

It follows a National Prosecuting Authority application for the reopening of the inquest to help determine whether the original court finding that Haron died after he allegedly fell down a flight of stairs and died.

Speaking to Radio Islam, the daughter of Imam Abdullah, Fatima Haron says this move by the minister is long overdue.

However, she says the family was not formally informed about the inquest by the minister or the correctional services.

“We are very disappointed in the communication that they set out in informing the families, we feel as a family we shouldn’t be treated unkindly like this,” says Haron.

She adds that they as a family do not know of they should have hope as cases like her fathers and another apartheid activist, Ahmed Timol were not given the justice they deserved.

“That is a major blow to getting any form of justice,” says Haron.

She says the family will not be giving up hope for justice for the death of her father.

Imam Haron 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.

The first inquest into his death was in 1970 which found that Haron fell down a flight of stairs. The jury at the time 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 a trajectory expert.

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