Editor's Note: This article was updated after publication.
GQEBERHA - The Steve Biko inquest has been halted after his family secured an urgent interdict from the high court.
Judge Johannes Eksteen granted an order halting the continuation of the inquest proceedings after the family’s lawyer, Ngqiqo Sakhela, approached the court on an urgent basis.
Sakhela had previously asked the presiding officer in the inquest, Judge Isaac Madondo, to postpone proceedings because they were not ready to proceed for a number of reasons.
Madondo declined and proceeded with the inquest anyway.
The family then moved a review application of Madondo's decision to proceed, citing it was unconstitutional.
In a fresh application, the family approached the court to have the inquest before Madondo interdicted. Eksteen ruled in the family's favour and ordered the inquest proceedings to be halted pending the finalisation of the review application.
The family said the pause is needed to ensure the long-running inquest is conducted properly and can meaningfully address the circumstances surrounding Biko’s death.
Advocate Dali Mpofu told the court that the Biko family has endured 49 years of trauma without accountability from security branch police believed to have been involved in the anti-apartheid activist’s death.
He argued that the family’s priority is to ensure the proceedings are effective and thorough, particularly as some of those suspected of involvement are still alive.
In his ruling, Judge Eksteen said he was persuaded by the fact that the application was unopposed, including by the National Director of Public Prosecutions. The state previously supported the application for postponement.
READ: Biko inquest: Former Security Branch officer denies covering up torture
He said he was satisfied that a proper case had been made for the court to intervene.
The judgment has been welcomed by Biko’s son, Samora, who was just two years old when his father died in detention in 1977.
Samora said slowing the process down could ultimately give the inquest greater meaning and help establish what really happened to his father.
Further announcements on the future of the inquest are expected.
For now, the Biko family is preparing to mark 49 years since Steve Biko’s death on 12 September 1977, while its long-standing demand for accountability continues.
Read more: Biko family files papers to halt inquest into anti-apartheid activist's death