Apartheid-era cops face murder charges

Four members of the Soweto Special Branch will be prosecuted for the apartheid-era murder of Nokuthula Simelane who disappeared in 1983.

Pretoria – Members of the Soweto Special Branch will be prosecuted for the apartheid-era murder of Nokuthula Simelane who disappeared in 1983, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday.

“Members of the media are advised that on January 30, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Shaun Abrahams, decided that four members of the Soweto Special Branch must appear in court for the murder of Nokuthula Simelane,” NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said in a statement.

“The accused and their legal representatives have been advised of the NDPP’s decision. The accused will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on February 26, 2016.”

Mfaku said Simelane, an ANC underground operative, disappeared in September 1983 in the hands of the Soweto Special Branch.

“She was kidnapped by members of the Soweto Special Branch, whereinafter she was illegally detained at Norwood Police Barracks for approximately a week. She was interrogated about ANC operations between Swaziland and South Africa and was severely tortured during the process,” according to the NPA statement.

“Members of the Soweto Special Branch thereafter illegally harboured her at a farm in the district of Northam, where the interrogation and severe torture continued for several weeks. She has never been seen to date, nor have her mortal remains been recovered.”

Three of the four murder accused applied for amnesty at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission “for her kidnapping but not for her murder”.

African News Agency

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