Testimony at the Imam Abdullah Haron death inquest has taken an emotional turn as his children recount the events that led to his imprisonment, and the impact it had on their family.

The Imam’s son, Dr Mohammed Haron was 12 when his father was nabbed by the Apartheid Security Branch.

Haron told the court how a man claiming to need charity had informed the regime about the Imam’s movements.

By 1969 the Imam had been intensely monitored by the Security Branch for his activism against the oppressive regime.

His son recounted the outrage he felt when he heard that his father had been labelled a terrorist.

He questioned this charge, especially as his father was dedicated to uplifting people who were struggling under the oppressive Apartheid regime.

The Imam’s eldest daughter, Shamela Shamis had earlier told the inquest that there had been communication that the apartheid Security Branch had interrogated him about his funding.

But Haron had insisted that he works alone, and that the regime could find nothing to implicate him.

Judge Daniel Thulare has noted to the court that it appears that the Imam was beaten to death because of his resolve to protect the resistance and his comrades.