By OBAKENG MAJE
17 November 2025- An inquest case into the alleged death and disappearance of Nicholas Majestic Boiki Tlhapi (26) was postponed by the North West High Court sitting in Mahikeng to 2 March 2026. The matter was postponed to allow three persons of interest, Johannes Venter, Itumeleng Matiti and George Mbathu a sufficient time to finalise their applications for legal representation.
Venter, Matiti and Mbathu, who were police officers at the time when Tlhapi disappeared, briefly appeared before the Judge President of the North West High Court Ronald Hendricks, where they were informed of their rights to legal representation during the proceedings. Tlhapi was a community activist and a politically active member of the Ikageng Civic Association in Potchefstroom.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, Sivenathi Gunya said on the evening of 20 March 1986 at approximately 8pm, he and eleven other mourners boarded a taxi to attend the funeral of three comrades who had been shot by the police. Gunya said the group was arrested at Jouberton Township en route to Klerksdorp during the State of Emergency declared by the government at the time.
“While all of Tlhapi’s fellow detainees were released after approximately 14 days in custody, Tlhapi never returned home and has not been seen in the last 38 years. An inquest into his disappearance was first held on 5 July 1995 at the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court (Inquest No. 49/94).
“The court ruled that it could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that Tlhapi was deceased, despite hearing evidence from his father, James Tlhapi and others. The matter was later referred to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) as one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases,” he said.
Gunya further said the investigation, guided by the NPA, led to a subsequent application by the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to reopen the inquest. He added that the Minister then requested the Judge President of the North West Division of the High Court, in terms of Section 17A(1) of the Inquests Act 58 of 1959, to designate a judge to preside over the reopened inquest.
Tlhapi family spokesperson, Teffo Tlhapi said they are grateful to see the matter being reopened. He said this will shed more light on what really happened to his brother.
One of the police officers, George Mbathu who has turned a state witness said this is painful because Tlhapi’s family does not have closure. Mbathu said he had five children, but he had buried four of his sons and only left with one.
“I still remember the incident vividly in Oppenheimer. So, it is painful because Tlhapi’s mother has always wanted to know what happened to her son. These parents have lost their children for something that one cannot explain.
“In 1996, the president said, now there will be no crime in this country referring to these activists who died. I do have a document with me. My house was bombed several times, but here I am still standing and I am willing to die for justice to prevail,” he said.
Mbathu alleged that Tlhapi was never released alive, if he was ever released. He said he saw Tlhapi and some police officers came to his house, took him to a mine shaft, where he told him not to worry anymore as they had dumped the bodies of activists in that mine shaft.
“That shaft was not closed down by the Department of Mineral Resource and Energy, but by the police. Today, that shaft is owned by a white person and we cannot visit it anymore. The owner of the shaft alleged that he closed the shaft because his cows fell into it.
“However, if it happens that one day that shaft is opened and we cannot find the bones of human beings there, I am prepared to be arrested and go to prison,” said Mbathu.
Meanwhile, the South African Communist Party (SACP) Chairperson in North West, Smuts Matshe said: “Well, some of us know Tlhapi from the time we were involved in a struggle of national liberation. His disappearance is something that for sometime, we said we need nothing else but the truth. So, we are happy to see the NPA re-opening this matter.
“We hope that this will also give direction to what happened to other activists who disappeared without trace. We cannot have a democracy that is built on secrets. A true democracy must tell the truth on what happened to those who fought for national liberation. So, we believe that this process will tell us nothing but the truth.”
The Guardian 