His father Phillip Mabelane, 95, told the Cape Times's sister paper , the Pretoria News, that after the Pretoria High Court ruled the death of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol, under similar circumstances, was murder and not suicide, they had renewed hope that the truth of Matthews's death would come out. The Hammanskraal family have been seeking closure on the death of the then 23-year-old in 1977. At the time, apartheid police said hejumped to his death during an interrogation. But Mabelane said he did not buy the "cover-up story" that his son dived from the same floor and in the manner that Timol reportedly did. After Judge Billy Mothle ruled that Timol did not commit suicide, but was pushed to his death from the 10th floor or rooftop, the family said it could only be the same finding for Matthews. They have since appealed to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to assist them in their quest for the truth. "I may have finally accepted that my son is no longer with us, but I will never forget listening to a broadcast on the old Sesotho radio station that a young student detainee had jumped to his death from the 10th floor of John Vorster Square," Mabelane said. "I remember a black police officer knocking on my door, telling methat my sonhad died. I was shocked and I asked him: 'Are you telling me that the young man they were talking about on the radio was my son?" The family said they were told that Matthews had joined Umkhonto weSizwe and headed for Botswana during the pupils' exodus at the time of the unrest in Soweto.
They lived in Meadowlands at the time. Matthews had not been gone for long when he was detained on January 27, 1977 at the Botswana border after then minister of police Jimmy Kruger announced amnesty for children who returned home. He was held under section 6 of the Terrorism Act of the apartheid laws. In documents shown to the Pretoria News, the family wrote to Judge Mothle while awaiting the outcome of the reopened inquest into Timol's death, stating that they did not believe Matthews had committed suicide. They wrote that he loved life and wanted very much to live. Matthews's brother , Lasch Mabelane, said: "In an old newspaper, a police spokesperson said Matthews had opened a window and climbed through it before anyone could stop him,
while an interrogating officer had gone to answer a telephone. "It was further alleged that Matthews had run along the edge and then stumbled and fell, according to an eyewitness." In the documents, the family said they had been informed that Matthews fell onto the bonnet of a police officer's vehicle and that his skull had cracked. In the documents sent to the judge, the family said that when Matthews's parents received his clothing after his death, they found the message written in the lining of his pants. The family have kept newspaper cuttings about all they went through, before and after Matthews was laid to rest at Avalon Cemetery in Soweto. The family's lawyer, Samuel Mabelane, said a document from the UN showed that a WP Mormehl was the magistrate, who found that Mabelane fell by accident and had died of multiple injuries. Mormehl also found that no person to blame. Samuel said that when Judge Mothle found that Timol was murdered, he encouraged the prosecuting authority and the SAHRC to assist other families who sought the truth to access the information they needed.
"We want to know how Mat thews died. "Timol's casehas shed some light on these matters. "We hope the NPA, the SAHRC and the police will assist us in collecting information, so that we can get to the truth," he said. Samuel has already found another family who also don't believe the accuracy of the explanation for the death of their family member. "We are collecting information and speaking to experts, and we will take the matter to court in due time." He added that he hoped to see justice for his son before he died.
Source: Cape Times