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#NeilAggett #AggettInquest Today's proceedings begin. Maurice Smithers continues testifying. After his evidence concludes, Firoz Cachalia is set to testify. Smithers says he was not kept at John Vorster Square, he slept at Randburg police cells.
#NeilAggett #AggettInquest "As soon as you were arrested they would take away your shoelaces, belt, a scarf if you had one," says Smithers. He describes distinctive features - Aggett's chin, beard and hair - which helped Smithers identify Aggett during an interrogation.
#NeilAggett #AggettInquest Smithers says during the first session, that was the session before he went to the optician, security branch members circled Aggett and conversation occurred. He only heard words on returning from the optician. "Who told you to stop?" And, "Ten more."
#NeilAggett #AggettInquest Proceedings resume before Judge Motsamai Makume in Court 8F in the South Gauteng High Court. Parmananthan "Prema" Naidoo resumes his testimony about his detention at John Vorster Square, among other places.
"The ANC operated with - and the South African Communist Party - they had cells in various parts of the country. A cell would comprise of three of four people," says Naidoo. "I really never belonged to the cell but I was known by the ANC. I was known by the Communist Party."
#NeilAggett #AggettInquest Naidoo says, "My memory was nobody stopped them, nobody tried to restrain them [...] they seemed to be enjoying themselves." He says his interrogators "never" said, "Enough is enough."
#NeilAggett #AggettInquest Former Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan is in Court 8F at the South Gauteng High Court. Today's proceedings have not yet begun in this matter. First Judge Motsamai Makhume is handing down two orders in other matters.
#NeilAggett #AggettInquest Advocate Howard Varney stands to first provide an update on the track of records from the first inquest into Dr Neil Aggett's death in 1982. He says the University of Sussex archive seems to have an original copy of a certain file.
#NeilAggett #AggettInquest Hogan steps up to the witness stand. Varney thanks her for traveling from Cape Town to Johannesburg to testify. Hogan was detained at John Vorster Square. Varney refers to affidavits, including one signed 22 February 1982 and another signed this year.
I'm thinking about the #NeilAggett inquest and I cannot understand why it has taken so long for this day to arrive. It shouldn't have taken the family's own resources for the state to investigate a death in detention. What abour families without such resources?
Hundreds of activists were killed in detention. Not all of their families can afford resources to dig up new evidence relating to their death. A death in detention should be investigated without any hesitation. These were crimes against humanity. And they were covered up.
So for the sake of correcting history (that these weren't accidents or suicides as some are falsely regarded) the state should have worked towards holding perpetrators accountable beyond mere TRC hearings.
