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New Inquest Commences into Death of Anti-Apartheid Icon Albert Luthuli
A South African court has initiated a new inquest into the demise of Albert Luthuli, a celebrated campaigner against South Africa’s apartheid system. The initial ruling in 1967 controversially deemed his death accidental. This renewed inquiry seeks to address long-standing doubts surrounding the circumstances of his passing and investigate whether the incident, initially attributed to a train accident, was indeed an assassination.
Initial Ruling and Persistent Skepticism
The 1967 inquest concluded that Chief Albert Luthuli succumbed to fatal injuries after being struck by a train while walking on a railway track. The inquest determined that the cause of death was a fractured skull sustained in this accident. However, activists and the Luthuli family have consistently questioned the veracity of this official account. They have voiced their belief that the apartheid regime may have been involved in his death, making the re-opening of the inquest a welcome development for those seeking truth and justice.
ANC Leader and Nobel Laureate
At the time of his death, Luthuli was the leader of the African National Congress (ANC), a political organization then outlawed by the apartheid government. He garnered international recognition for his non-violent resistance to racial segregation, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for his pivotal role in spearheading the struggle against apartheid. The ANC later became the dominant political force in South Africa, leading the nation’s transition to democracy after decades of white-minority rule.
National Prosecuting Authority to Present Evidence
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has announced its intention to present evidence in court aimed at overturning the original findings regarding Chief Luthuli’s death. While the specifics of this evidence remain undisclosed, the NPA stated that the initial inquiry concluded nearly six decades ago that there was no evidence of criminal culpability on the part of railway employees or any other individuals.
Family’s Perspective and Pursuit of Truth
Campaigners and the Luthuli family have long suspected a cover-up, alleging that authorities may have orchestrated his death. Luthuli’s grandson, Sandile Luthuli, described the initial investigation as a “whitewash” designed to conceal the actions of the former apartheid government. He expressed hope for an independent judicial process that will deliver impartial findings about the events of July 1967.
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- Sandile Luthuli commended the NPA for its handling of this complex and sensitive case.
- He highlighted the ongoing dialogue between the NPA and the family since the matter was first brought to prosecutors in the early 2000s.
Hopes for Closure and Accountability
Speaking on the family’s expectations for the extended hearing, Sandile Luthuli articulated their dual hope for closure: to definitively ascertain how Chief Luthuli died and to establish criminal liability, if any, for his death.
“Hopefully, through this inquest, we will be able to find both. If not, maybe the first one, being exactly the opportunity to correct the historical record and really debunk this myth of him being hit by a train,” he stated.
Calls for Justice and Addressing the Past
Another grandson, Albert Mthunzi Luthuli, conveyed to South Africa’s IOL news site that the family welcomes the inquest’s reopening, acknowledging the passage of time since the deaths of individuals potentially implicated in his grandfather’s death. He also voiced criticism of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), suggesting it failed many families of victims by granting amnesty to apartheid-era perpetrators of violence.
Context of Luthuli’s Restrictions
At the time of his death, Chief Luthuli was subject to severe restrictions, confined to his residential area in Groutville, KwaZulu-Natal province, and prohibited from engaging in political activities.
Luthuli’s Legacy and Other Inquests
Chief Albert Luthuli holds the distinction of being South Africa’s first Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Subsequent South Africans recognized with the award include Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1984, and Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk jointly in 1993.
The Luthuli inquest is one of two significant inquests into the deaths of anti-apartheid figures resuming. The other concerns the death of lawyer Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge, who was brutally murdered in 1981. Mxenge was stabbed multiple times and his throat was slit.
Mxenge Inquest and New Evidence
A prior inquest into Mxenge’s death, conducted a year after his murder, failed to identify his killers. It was only nine years later that Butana Almond Nofemela confessed to killing Mxenge and other ANC members. Nofemela was part of a covert counter-insurgency unit responsible for detaining and assassinating anti-apartheid activists.
Nofemela, along with squad commander Dirk Coetzee and David Tshikalange, were convicted of Mxenge’s murder in 1997. However, they were granted amnesty by the TRC before the conclusion of the criminal case.
The justice ministry explained that the reopening of the Mxenge inquest was prompted by new evidence indicating that crucial information was not presented to the TRC. In South Africa, inquests serve to determine the cause of death and ascertain potential accountability.