Emotions run high during Haron inquest
During the second day of the inquest, family and court officials were taken to Caledon Square police station, now known as Cape Town Central police station, where the Imam spent his time in detention during his 123 days in police custody in 1969.
He was also detained at Maitland police station in that period.
The procedure is known as an inspection-in-loco, and it was attended by the Imam’s three children, who could not fight back their tears. The children were overcome with emotion when they saw the flight of stairs their father had allegedly fallen down.
On day three, Dr Itumeleng “Tumi” Molefe took the witness stand where she scrutinised the post-mortem report written by forensic pathologist Professor Theodor Schwär. Molefe said the professor, who died in 2019, was a pioneer in his field and was seen as an icon. Yet she described the report as “lacking”. According to reports, when Judge Daniel Thulare asked her to explain what she meant, she said Schwär’s description of wounds was inadequate because he failed to properly describe the exact nature of the number of bruises found on the body.
Schwär found that the actual cause of death was a “mikrokardiale ischaemia”, which is the reduced flow of blood to the heart muscle and that the bruises which Schwär observed on the legs and arms, as he had written in his report, led him to determine that the cause was a possible fall down a flight of stairs.
But Molefe said it was impossible that the bruises were all caused by falling down the stairs.
Molefe said the version of events provided by the Security Branch, who were involved in the imam’s case, was “highly improbable”.
An inquest was held in 1970 due to the unnatural cause of death.