The first sitting of the inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist, Ahmed Timol, is set to begin at the High Court in Johannesburg on Monday.

This comes after the inquest into the death of the teacher, who died in police custody 45 years ago, was reopened by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Timol’s death was ruled a suicide in 1972. However, a private investigation launched by Timol's family into his death uncovered new evidence which it presented to the NPA, asking for the inquest to be reopened.

The inquest will be held between June 26 and June 30, and then resume between July 24 and August 4, and August 10 and 11.

Judge Billy Mothle will oversee the inquest.

The Roodepoort teacher's loved ones did not believe Timol, the 22nd person to die in police custody, had jumped from the 10th floor of John Vorster Square (now called the Johannesburg Central Police Station) while being interrogated by security police.

Timol left South Africa in December 1966 to perform hajj in Saudi Arabia and moved on to London where he linked up with his exiled friends, Essop and Aziz Pahad.

He underwent political training at the Lenin School in the Soviet Union in 1969, accompanied by Thabo Mbeki and Anne Nicholson.

He returned to South Africa in 1970, where he built underground structures for the then banned African National Congress and the South African Communist Party.