Proceedings in the long-awaited reopened inquest commenced nearly five decades after his death in police detention.
Matthews ‘Mojo’ Mabelane died on 15 February 1977 while in detention at the then John Vorster Square police station. Picture: Truth Be Told.
The Johannesburg High Court has heard allegations of a systematic cover-up in the way deaths in detention at the former John Vorster Square Police Station were investigated during apartheid.
This was revealed during the reopened inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Matthews “Mojo” Mabelane.
Inquest
Proceedings in the long-awaited reopened inquest into the death of Mabelane commenced before the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg on Monday, nearly five decades after his death in police detention.
The re-opening of the inquest follows written authorisation by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, on 29 January 2025, in terms of the Inquests Act.
Police version of death
The State argued that it intends to persuade the court to reverse the 1977 findings of magistrate WP (Willem Petrus) Dormehl that nobody was to blame for the death of Mabelane.
“We intend to demonstrate that the police version is unsustainable. It is not consistent with the objective facts. We will show that Matthews did not try to escape from the 10th-floor window of room 1008, nor did he walk along a tiny ledge, nor did he lose balance and fall.
“Something else happened on the morning of 15 February, 1977, to explain how he landed on the bonnet of a vehicle, in the car park of John Vorster Square. We intend to demonstrate that it was the deliberate conduct of the security branch that led to his death,” the State argued.
Death
Mabelane, a 22-year-old anti-apartheid activist, died on 15 February 1977 while in detention at the then John Vorster Square police station under the interrogation of members of the apartheid-era Security Branch.
At the time of his death, Mabelane had been detained in terms of Section 6 of the Terrorism Act 83 of 1967.
An inquest into his death was initially conducted at the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on 30 May 1977.
Responsibility
The inquest, presided over by Dormehl, found that no person could be held responsible for Mabelane’s death.
The finding concluded that he died as a result of multiple injuries sustained after allegedly falling accidentally from a ledge on the tenth floor of the John Vorster Square police station.
Proceedings
The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Lwazi Ngodwana, opened the proceedings by providing background on the case and outlining the State’s position.
NPA spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said the State’s first witness was the Investigating Officer Mpho Livid Mashilo, attached to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Task Team.
The officer read his statement into the record, detailing the investigations conducted and the documentary records recovered regarding the circumstances that may have led to Mabelane’s death.
“Furthermore, Mabelane’s brothers, Stephans, Phillip and Lash Mabelane testified about the profound pain and anguish experienced by the family following the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court’s finding that no person could be held accountable for his brother’s death,” Mohlatlole said.
Commitment
The inquest proceedings are expected to continue until 12 June 2026.
Mohlatlole said the reopened inquest reflects the NPA’s commitment to uncovering the truth, establishing the circumstances surrounding Mabelane’s death, and determining whether any person can be held criminally accountable.
