Nokuthula Simelane Trial: Human Rights Foundation Calls for an Immediate Halt to Delays
Johannesburg – The Simelane family, in conjunction with the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR), has expressed deep concern over the continued delays in starting the trial concerning the 1983 abduction, torture, and forced disappearance of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) operative Nokuthula Simelane.
The commencement of the criminal trial has been postponed for almost three years due to claims that one of the accused, Willem Helm Johannes Coetzee, is not fit to stand trial.
An evaluation of Coetzee’s fitness to stand trial under section 77(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act is slated to resume on 19 May 2025 at the Pretoria High Court.
In a statement issued to The Bulrushes on Monday (19 May 2025), the FHR expressed disappointment that the inquiry has dragged on for over 16 months, contributing to a larger pattern of delays in a case where justice has remained elusive for over four decades.
In June 2022, Coetzee’s lawyers argued that he was mentally unfit to stand trial.
This claim arose from a brief medical report submitted less than 24 hours before the trial was set to begin on 6 June 2022.
An independent panel made up of three psychiatrists and a clinical psychologist, appointed under section 79 of the Criminal Procedure Act, determined that Coetzee was fit to stand trial in November 2022.
Coetzee and his legal team disputed the panel’s findings.
“Coetzee and his attorneys have made numerous attempts to delay the conclusion of the inquiry over the past 29 months,” the FHR pointed out.
Coetzee, along with Anton Pretorius, remains one of the indicted Security Branch officers associated with the disappearance of MK operative Simelane.
Two other accused individuals, Msebenzi Radebe and Frederick Mong, died in 2019 and 2021, respectively, without having faced trial.
The Simelane family’s pursuit of truth and accountability has been obstructed by a series of challenges since the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) formally charged the four men on 14 March 2016.
Initially, the trial encountered delays when the South African Police Service (SAPS) refused to cover the legal costs for the accused.
This prompted a successful legal challenge from Simelane’s family, which required SAPS, as the successor institution to the apartheid-era police, to cover the accused’s legal fees.
“These ongoing delays have had a profound impact on Nokuthula Simelane’s family, particularly her elderly mother, Sizakele Simelane, who continues to seek justice for her daughter, last seen in 1983,” the FHR stressed.
“The Simelane family and FHR are committed to ensuring that justice is served and urge all involved parties to progress the trial process without any further delays.”