Deneys has secured the admission of the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) as amicus curiae in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in the matter of Rorich v the State and Others (SCA Case no. 1173/2025).
The matter concerns the prosecution of two former operatives of the apartheid state who in 1982 lured four teenage boys, subsequently known as the COSAS 4, to a building on an abandoned mine before detonating explosives that had been planted earlier, killing three of the boys. The accused subsequently sought amnesty from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was refused on the basis that their actions were not proportional to their political objectives. They now face five charges: kidnapping, three counts of the crime against humanity of murder, and the crime against humanity of apartheid.
In April 2025, Judge Dosio of the Johannesburg High Court dismissed the accused’s objection to the charges of crimes against humanity in what is regarded as a historic judgment. The decision affirmed the state’s obligation to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed in South Africa before and after 1994, and marked a critical milestone in the pursuit of accountability for apartheid-era atrocities. It is against that judgment that the accused now seek to appeal at the SCA.
The HSF’s Intervention
The Helen Suzman Foundation seeks, as amicus curiae, to advance submissions on the prohibition of crimes against humanity as a peremptory norm of international law (jus cogens), which imposes a duty on the state to prosecute the crime of apartheid domestically, even where those crimes were committed before the enactment of the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act, 2002.
The HSF submits that this is in line with South Africa’s obligation to honour its international law commitments, and that a constitutional democracy built on respect for human rights must not allow impunity for the most serious violations of international law.
Deneys Team
The Helen Suzman Foundation is represented pro bono by Max du Plessis SC, Andreas Coutsoudis and Lerato Zikalala, instructed by Deneys’ Social Impact team under the supervision of Jason Whyte, supported by Chuma Bubu.
Media Enquiries
Cherisse Rao
Chief Marketing Officer, Deneys c/o Elizabeth Ferreira
liz.ferreira@narrateglobal.com
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