PRETORIA, August 2 (ANA) – The last person to see Ahmed Timol alive was on Wednesday, told that if an inquest into the anti-apartheid activist’s murder that took place 46 years ago found that he was involved in Timol’s death he would be prosecuted for perjury, accessory to murder and murder.
Despite overwhelming evidence which was not in sync with his story, former security police officer, Jan Roderigues, stuck to his story that Timol had committed suicide by “diving” out of the 10th floor of John Vorster Square police station.
Roderigues maintained that he saw Timol dive head and hands first out of the window. He said he tried to save him, but tripped over and chair and fell.
Advocate Howard Varney, acting for the Timol family, told Roderigues that the family was not seeking vengeance but wanted to the truth.
Rodrigues responded that he was telling the truth and maintained his innocence.
However, Varney told him that all fingers pointed to the conclusion that he collaborated with members of the former security branch to cover-up the “murder” of Timol, by making it look like suicide.
Varney said the “fabrication” of evidence was done in order to cover-up the fact that Timol was severely tortured and subsequently injured while he was interrogated in September 1971.
He also told Rodrigues that he agreed to be the “fall guy” so that Timol’s interrogators, Captains Hans Gloy and Johannes van Niekerk and “perhaps others” did not need to explain the injuries Timol had suffered before his fall.
Vaney pointed out that the pathologist, who did the post mortem on Timol in 1971, noted several pre-fall injuries.
It was during this time that the investigating officer in the case, General Stoffel Buys — had asked Rodrigues to adapt his statement to include that he and Timol were involved in a physical altercation before he had “jumped” out of the window.
Rodrigues for the first time this week revealed that he was pressured to alter his statement, but he said he had refused to do so. He was asked repeatedly why he would have been told to do so, but he said he had no idea.
Varney said it is clear why they wanted him to add this to his statement, as it would have explained Timol’s injuries.
“Were you in fact in the room when Timol fell,” Varney asked.
Rodrigues responded that he had on several occasions said he was indeed in the room.
Varney said he will submit during his final arguments to court that Rodrigues was probably not the last person to have seen Timol.
“The last persons were probably Gloy, Van Niekerk and others.”
“Do you have any regrets,” Varney asked.
Rodrigues responded: “I have compassion with the family.”
Judge Billy Mothle poked holes in Roderigues’s testimony and questioned his evidence, asking him if he may have perjured himself in his testimony contrasting it with the medical examiner’s report.
“If i have to make a choice between the medical evidence and your version, one of them has to go,” he said to Roderigues.
Rodrigues said he can’t change his statement based on what experts said in court because he was the one in the room with Timol and saw what happened.
“If I had changed my statement, it means I would have lied… All that I have said is what happened and I’m sticking to my version.”
Mothle put it to Roderigues that the evidence presented in court doesn’t accord with his version of events.
The inquest continues on Thursday with more witnesses including former Minister of Intelligence Services Ronnie Kasrils.
– African News Agency (ANA)
