The qualifications of the magistrates of the Apartheid regime are being questioned.
The reopened inquest into Imam Abdullah Haron’s death in detention continues this week.
High Court Judge Daniel Thulare says that during Apartheid, many magistrates did not have the proper qualifications to oversee cases, and that police officers were used as State prosecutors.
The reopened inquest is poking holes in the claims of the 1970 probe into the Imam’s death.
His family’s lawyer, Advocate Howard Varney has also questioned the qualifications of the judge that presided over the Apartheid-era probe.
Thulare says that this could also play into the bias against the Imam.
He also noted that if the judges of the time had better skills, they could have played a better role in securing justice.
The Apartheid Security Branch claimed that Imam Haron had slipped and fallen down a flight of stairs, which lead to his death.
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