An inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron got underway at the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town on Monday - over 53 years since his death.
Haron, who was 45-years-old at the time, died in police custody at Maitland police station in Cape Town in September 1969, four months after he was arrested and charged under the Terrorism Act.
The inquest, which is expected to run for two weeks, is set to find out how Haron died in detention.
He was interrogated by members of the Security Branch including the "notorious" Spyker van Wyk.
Appearing on behalf of the family, advocate Howard Varney told the judge that Haron was subjected to unrelenting brutality during his detention.
Varney said the autopsy report noted Haron had 27 bruises and a fractured rib.
But the Security Branch of the South African Police claimed Haron was "well treated, never complained and well looked after", and that he "slipped down stairs" - a version Varney disputes.
Varney said: "This remained the dominant narrative even when it became apparent that the Security Branch had taken Haron from his cell in Maitland police station cell on 17 September 1969 and returned him physically a broken man on the night of 19 September 1969.
"The version that Haron slipped down the stairs only emerged after the completion of the post mortem when it became abundantly clear that an explanation was needed to explain away multiple injuries and a fractured rib.
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"The investigation that followed Haron's death can barely be called an investigation. No photos were taken of the body at the autopsy, and only one photograph of the death scene was provided at the inquest."
The first inquest into Haron's death makes for pitiful reading, said Varney.
"It is the family's case that Haron did not fall down a flight of stairs. This was a story designed by the police to mask the brutality they applied to Haron."
However, the current investigating officer, Daniel Peterson, took the stand on Monday and told the court he found it difficult to get some information on the case.
Peterson said he could not locate the interrogators' police pocket books, where information about their interrogations would have been recorded, and other records were destroyed.
Haron's daughter, Fatima Haron-Masoet, told Scrolla.Africa: "We have the right to know what exactly happened.
"We know they were covering up and now we want the truth."
Haron's wife, Galiema, died at the age of 93 in 2019 seeking justice for her husband.
An inspection in-loco is also expected to be held tomorrow at the police station where he died.
