No decision has been made yet on whether to prosecute two apartheid-era police bosses for the alleged poisoning of Reverend Frank Chikane, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said the NPA was still deliberating the matter with the legal teams of former minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok and ex-police chief Johann van der Merwe.
”We are still in negotiations with their legal teams and only when our discussions are finalised would we provide further details on the matter.”
He could not be drawn to speculate on whether the two might appear in court after the negotiations were finalised.
”I can’t say anything at the moment … it is not even our responsibility to decide on the court date and the person who presides over the matter.”
Chikane was the secretary general of the South African Council of Churches when his underwear was lined with a poison that attacked his nervous system in 1989.
Vlok and Van der Merwe were meant to stand trial in the Pretoria High Court in 2004 but the NPA reversed its decision to prosecute them.
Van der Merwe could not be reached for comment, and when contacted on Monday Vlok only said: ”At this stage no comment at all. I am in good spirits. The Lord will take me through but I have no comment on this matter.”
Last September Vlok asked Chikane’s forgiveness and washed his feet.
Chikane, a Director General in the Presidency, has repeatedly asked others to come forward and reveal what happened in 1989, but has never called for prosecution. — Sapa