As the Highgate Hotel massacre inquest draws to a close, the presiding judge has appealed to anyone with information about what led to the death of five patrons and wounding of seven others more than 32 years ago to come forward.
Judge Denzil Potgieter made the plea during this week’s wrap of evidence at the inquest held at the Vincent tribunal court on Wednesday.
The inquest started on January 27 2025 and is expected to conclude when it resumes from September 1-5.
It is being held to determine if anyone should be held criminally liable for the attack.
About four witnesses, including national NPA spokesperson Mthumzi Mhaga and two askari members, are expected to take the stand.
More than 20 witnesses have testified before Potgieter.
They include the Hawks investigating officer, survivors, families of those killed, ballistic experts, former police officers, commanders from the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Apla) and private investigators appointed by the families.
The court has also conducted an inspection at the scene.
On May 1 1993, two masked gunmen entered the hotel bar and opened fire with AK-47 rifles, also throwing a hand grenade and releasing teargas.
At the time, the attack was widely linked to Apla.
The judge said: “At the end of the proceedings and in terms of Section 16(2) of the Inquest Act, I am required to record a finding upon the inquest as to the identity of the deceased persons; the cause or likely cause of deaths; the date of the deaths and whether the deaths were brought about by any act or omission prima facie involving or amounting to an offence on the part of any person.
“Should I be unable to record any such finding, I am required to record that fact.
“To achieve this purpose, it is necessary for any person who bears knowledge of the circumstances leading to the deaths and/or the incidents of the deaths to avail such information to the court conducting the inquest proceedings.
“This court will welcome any information that will assist these proceedings.”
Information may be submitted to Captain Vaughn Peterson at PetersonVW@saps.gov.za or the attorneys of the families at Paige.Winfield@cdhlegal.com/011 562 1763.
Outside court and speaking on behalf of the families, Sesethu Holomisa, spokesperson for the Foundation for Human Rights, said evidence led during the inquest had beaten the narrative that Apla was behind the attack.
“We are hoping the next sitting will give us more answers as to who was behind the attack versus who wasn’t.
“And we have heard from a lot of different witnesses ... who showed us the reasons why we shouldn’t believe that it was Apla.
“I think we are a bit disappointed that a lot of the police officers don’t recall any of the information from the attack on [the pub on] May 1 1993.
“We ... hope the judge’s call for more people to come forward and share information is heard and received by the right people, so that in September we have a more productive sitting.”
They were hoping for a breakthrough in September that “someone who knows something, with evidence, will come forward and share what happened”.
Attack survivors and families of the dead have been attending the inquest from the beginning
“We just want to know the truth, and that’s what we hope for,” Holomisa said.
Two police witnesses who testified on Wednesday and were assisting the team investigating the massacre said they could not recall much about the incident and were not involved in the investigation.
Holomisa said: “It is concerning. It’s very disappointing, and we don’t know why people aren’t willing to share what they know.
“This is not to say that we don’t believe them as to whether they can recall or not, but it’s difficult to understand.”
NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said: “We are pleased with the progress we have made in the three sessions which have sat already and we are hoping the inquest will be concluded when it returns for the fourth session.”
Daily Dispatch
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