The National Prosecuting Authority will decide its next steps after reviewing a Pietermaritzburg High Court decision to close the reopened inquest into the 1981 murder of human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge.
Judge Pieter Bezuidenhout ruled that an inquest cannot proceed under the Inquest Act when a criminal trial has already taken place. Three members of a security police death squad were convicted of Mxenge's abduction and murder at Vlakplaas, though they later received amnesty from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997.
NPA KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the court found the matter had already been subject to a formal inquest. She noted that some perpetrators were convicted or acquitted and that those convicted received amnesty, adding that further proceedings would not serve the interests of justice.
The NPA stated it would examine the full judgment to determine the way forward. The Mxenge family has expressed dissatisfaction with the amnesty granted to those involved.
