‘No place in justice system for lynch parties,’ says Judge
“This country doesn’t need to be seen as a lynching country”, “what we need to avoid at all costs is [people looking for] a photo-shoot [opportunity]” and “we can’t gang up on Rodrigues” were among the many similar comments made by Judge Ramarumo Monama at the South Gauteng (Johannesburg) high court this morning (December 19).
He was presiding at the applications by the family of Ahmed Timol, on the one hand, and the family of Hoosen Haffejee, represented by Haffejee’s sister, Sarah Lall, to be allowed to “intervene” and make submissions to the trial of Joao Rodrigues, who was charged with the murder of Timol by the National Prosecuting Authority on 18 September 2018.
The NPA laid the charges following the October 2017 judgment by Judge Billy Mothle that the original 1971 inquest finding that Timol had committed suicide should be reversed and that Timol had actually been murdered. Subsequent to the charges being laid, Rodrigues applied for a permanent stay of prosecution on the basis that his constitutional rights had been violated.
Judge Monama has not yet ruled on Rodrigues’ application for a permanent stay – replying papers are still being traded by the NPA and Rodrigues’ defence team – but Judge Monama indicated today that he wished the Rodrigues trial to start on January 28.
In the meantime, the Timol family and Lall have applied to be allowed to take part in the proceedings – Lall on the basis that it is widely believed that a reopening of the inquest into the death of her brother Hoosen Haffejee, similar to the one regarding Timol, is set to begin next year.