Family want ex-cop brought to justice

AHMED Timol’s family want former security police officer Jan Rodrigues to face criminal charges for his “involvement” in the anti-apartheid activist’s death 46 years ago.

He was told by advocate Howard Varney, acting for the family, that it would be recommended to the Director of Public Prosecutions that he be charged with either perjury and accessory after the murder or even with the murder of Timol if he persisted with his “fabrication” that the activist had committed suicide.

Rodrigues concluded his evidence yesterday in the Pretoria High Court, after three days of being grilled about the events relating to Timol’s death.

Rodrigues was told that all fingers pointed to the conclusion that he had collaborated with members of the former security branch to cover up the “murder” of Timol, by making it look like suicide.

Varney said the fabrication of evidence was to cover up the fact that Timol had been severely tortured and injured while he was interrogated in September 1971.

The advocate told Rodrigues that he had agreed to be the “fall guy” so that interrogating captains Hans Gloy and Johannes van Niekerk and “perhaps others” had nothing to answer to.

Vaney pointed out that the pathologist who did the post-mortem on Timol in 1971, noted pre-fall injuries.

Rodrigues has, for the first time this week, revealed that he was pressured into altering his statement, but said he had refused to do so.