Apartheid Police Beating Killed Nobel Laureate Luthuli, South African Court

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Apartheid Police Beating Killed Nobel Laureate Luthuli, South African Court

A South African court has ruled that Lobel Laureate Albert Luthuli’s 1967 death was the result of being “assaulted” by the apartheid police, which overturned decades was dangerous.

An inquiry held under the apartheid government concluded that Luthuli, the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize, died after being hit by a freight train while traveling on a railway line.

But activists and his family had long been skeptical of the findings, and the South African government reopened the case this year.

A jury on Thursday ruled that the anti-war hero died of a severe head injury and cerebral haemorrhage associated with the attack. His family has welcomed the judgement.

Luthuli, who was the leader of the then African National Congress (ANC), won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 to withdraw the fight against apartheid.

The ANC continued to lead the struggle against white supremacy – minority rule and came to power in 1994, following the first democratic elections.

The National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa in April reopened a new investigation into the death of Luthuli as the family and activists of the apartheid administration had revealed.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Judge Nompumelelo Radebe said that the existing evidence will be re-examined and does not support the findings of the 1967 inquiry.

“It is found that the deceased died due to a fractured head, cerebral haemorrhage and mental retardation associated with the attack,” Judge Nompumelelo ruled.

The judge said that Luthuli’s death was apparently caused by ‘members of the Security Special Branch of the South African Police, acting in concert and with the common intention of the employees of the South African railway company’.

He named seven men, whose chances are “not found”, just as he did or made a deal in this case of murder. If found, they could face criminal charges.

After the verdict was read out, a spokesperson for the Luthuli Family called it “the first and last step to get justice”.

ANC national spokesperson Mahengi Bhengu also welcomed the court’s decision, which he said “corrected his long-standing distortion of history”.

“This decision brings justice, truth and dignity to the memory of one of South Africa’s greatest sons and to all those who suffered under the brutality of apartheid,” Bhengu added.

The case at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg is the latest in renewed efforts by the South African authorities to bring justice to the victims of apartheid and closure for their families.

Last month, South African prosecutors reopened the case after the death of anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko, who died in police custody in 1977 after being tortured.

In May, President Cyril Ramaphosa established a judicial commission of inquiry to look into allegations of undue influence in delaying or preventing prosecutions and crimes of apartheid.