Activist's murder case reports unsealed

It is still unsure when the criminal trial of two former security police officers accused of being involved in the kidnapping and murder of anti-apartheid activist Nokuthula Simelane in the 1980s will go ahead. A Cape Argus report says this is because the court will have to decide in October whether one of the accused is mentally fit to face a trial. The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) last week unsealed reports following an inquiry into the mental state of accused Willem Coetzee. He is facing a charge of murder together with co-accused Anton Pretorius. Advocate Jaap Cilliers SC, who appeared on behalf of both accused, earlier told the court that there was a possibility that Coetzee may not be fit to stand trial. Both the state and the defence had obtained expert reports, with the prosecution’s experts saying he is fit to stand trial, while the defence’s experts refuted this. Judge Hennie de Vos subsequently ordered that Weskoppies experts do an independent inquiry to assess Coetzee’s mental ability. These findings remained under wraps until yesterday, when the parties received the findings. These have not yet been made known, but both the defence and the prosecution will consult their experts regarding the findings. Both accused are elderly at this stage and they were both members of the Security Branch in September 1983 when Simelane was kidnapped at the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. Simelane, who would have been in her early sixties now, was allegedly abducted and tortured by former apartheid Security Branch members. The accused are facing, among others, a murder charge. Former Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams decided to prosecute the accused for her murder based on evidence gathered following the Truth and Reconciliation hearings.

– Cape Argus