Missing ex-MK operative provisionally declared dead

The family of former uMkhonto we Sizwe operative, Nokuthula Simelane, has welcomed the provisional decision of the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to declare her presumptuously dead pending opposition from her alleged killers. A Pretoria News report says Nokuthula’s sister Thembi Nkadimeng lodged the application following her disappearance after she was captured by apartheid security branch officers outside the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg 36 years ago. Judge Elizabeth Mamoloko Kubushi granted the application after the family recounted the troubles her family endured in trying to find her alive, or her remains, without any success. The court also heard how the family knocked on the doors of the NPA and other law enforcement agencies without any joy. Kubushi ordered that the presumption of death be placed in a Government Gazette and various newspapers for a period of 15 days. The judge said this would enable those who are opposed to the application to come forward and submit new evidence but she was adamant that the evidence placed before her has shown that Simelane was no longer alive. If no opposition is made, a final order is expected to be made on 8 August.

Full Pretoria News report