Johannesburg – The family of slain antiapartheid activist Dulcie September is “heartened” final arguments in a case to determine whether the France should have provided her with protection will be heard today in Paris.
“Today is a historic occasion in the efforts to achieve justice for Dulcie,” the family said Wednesday morning.
Dulcie was Chief Representative for the African National Congress (ANC) in France, Switzerland, and Luxembourg at the time of her assassination in Paris on 29 March 1988.
For the first time in more than 34 years since Dulcie’s assassination, the Tribunal judiciare de Paris (Court of Paris) will sit and hear final arguments in a case to determine whether the French state should have provided her with protection after she had asked them twice when she informed the local police that her life was in danger.
“We are heartened that this hearing is finally taking place, even though it does not deal with who had murdered her, and the reason(s) for her murder,” the family said in a statement.
“Over the years, efforts to find the culprits responsible for Dulcie’s assassination have come to naught.
“The court hearing today is a step in the right direction.
“We hope for a favourable outcome, which is expected in about four weeks time, and it is our fervent wish that it will be a catalyst to a fully-fledged investigation into her murder.”
Last year, on 29 May, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Dulcie September exhibition at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg during a visit to South Africa.
Macron acknowledged the efforts of the foundation to have the investigation into her unsolved murder reopened.
He also gave a verbal undertaking to ensure that the relevant authorities in France respond to the efforts as a matter of importance.
In Wednesday’s statement, Dulcie’s family said: “We call on both the French and South African governments to work together to solve this murder.
“Finally, we express our deepest appreciation to all those who have kept the memory of Dulcie September alive over the years.
“Thank you, too, to Advocate Yves Laurin and his team in Paris for the sterling work that they have done in bringing the case to this point. Advocate Laurin and this team represent the family pro bono in France.
“Thank you, too, to our legal representative in South Africa, Shaatirah Hassim, from the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in Johannesburg.”
The LRC represents the family pro bono in South Africa.
