Witness recounts seeing Timol’s body
A former petrol attendant, who saw the body of Ahmed Timol, has testified at the inquiry into the freedom fighter’s death.
The witness, Abdullah Adam, worked at filling station near the John Vorster Square police headquarters at the time of Timol's death in 1971.
Adam says it was around mid-morning on October 27 when his manager asked him to go and find out the cause of the commotion across the street.
“It took me about 4 to 5 minutes to cross the street, to get from the garage to where the body was. I was about 10 meters from Timol's body, it was lying face up because the shoe was pointing up,” says Adam.
Security police claim Timol committed suicide by jumping from the tenth floor window of the building. The cause of Timol's death is being disputed by his family.
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The time of Timol’s death is also the subject of scrutiny. Adam says he still remembers the exact time he saw the body, as it was his tea-time.
“We looked forward to our tea-time because we didn’t have breakfast. We never had breakfast. We got up early because there was no transport. We took the ‘red busses’ and they only allowed ten non-whites but when the bus came, it was full. Tea was about quarter to ten or around ten,” says Adam.