Chris Hani murder case 'closed'

2006-07-11 15:57

Johannesburg - The Chris Hani murder case would not be reopened as requested by the Young Communist League (YCL), the national prosecuting authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.

"The case of Mr Hani's murder was successfully solved, and certain people prosecuted and convicted for the crime are currently serving lengthy jail terms," NPA spokesperson Makhosini Nkosi said in a statement.

"When the case was later brought to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for further investigations and deliberations on the amnesty application by his killers, various TRC organs could not establish new facts around Mr Hani's murder."

Based on the lack of new evidence, Nkosi said an inquest, or a new criminal investigation into the circumstances of Hani's murder, was not warranted.

Could be re-opened

"Should there be new substantial evidence at a later stage that could change the complexion of the case, the NPA would be amenable to the matter being re-opened. However, such evidence would have to be presented to the South African Police Service for investigation," he said.

Nkosi was responding to the YCL's view that the 1993 murder of the late Communist Party general secretary Thembisile Chris Hani was not "satisfactorily solved by the trial court" that heard the murder case.

SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande was quoted by The Star as saying "a lot of information was not fully followed up" in the Hani murder case.

He said the TRC had rejected amnesty for Hani's killers as they did not speak the whole truth.

This was why the SACP wanted Hani's case reopened and handled by the TRC like any other outstanding matter.

However, the NPA is of the view that the SACP's beliefs were not "supported by any hard evidence".

"The NPA is very sympathetic to the beliefs held by some that justice was not completely served during the trial of the accused in Mr Hani's murder.

"However, such beliefs are not supported by any hard evidence," Nkosi said.

- SAPA