The High Court in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape will on Wednesday hear an urgent application by the family of Black Consciousness leader , Steve Biko to temporarily halt proceedings of the inquest into his death.
The family initially asked the presiding Judge, Isaac Madondo, to postpone the proceedings to allow them to obtain a critical affidavit and documents from the 1977 inquest.
The family wants the documents translated from Afrikaans into English to ensure that all participating legal teams have an accurate understanding of their contents.
Madondo refused the postponement of application, citing time constraints.
The urgent application was initially scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, but the court ordered that all parties involved in the inquest be consulted before the matter could be heard.
The family’s legal representative, Sakhela Ngqiqo, says the family has submitted an affidavit to the court.
“Now, the court has to satisfy itself that, indeed, everyone was served before the matter is heard. So, we are grateful to the court for granting that indulgence to the family and also that the court had some things to verify. Then the matter is going to be heard tomorrow at half past nine,” says Ngqiqo.
