The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says a decision on the way forward will be made after studying the Pietermaritzburg High Court’s ruling this week that the re-opened inquest into 1981 murder of human rights lawyer, Griffiths Mxenge, be closed.
Judge Pieter Bezuidenhout asked parties to address him on issues of law in April.
Mxenge was abducted and brutally murdered by members of the security police’s death squad at Vlakplaas.
Three members of the unit were convicted, but granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997.
Judge Bezuidenhout said in his ruling, his interpretation of the Inquest Act is that an inquest cannot be held if a criminal trial is pending or had been held.
KwaZulu-Natal NPA Spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, “In its judgment, the court held that the matter had already been subjected to a formal inquest. The court further noted that while some perpetrators were convicted and others acquitted, those who were convicted were subsequently granted amnesty. It concluded that no further evidence was required and that it would not be in the interest of justice for the inquest to proceed any further. The NPA will consider the merits of the judgment once received to determine the way forward.”
Mxenge family dissatisfied with the amnesty granted to murderers:
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