Latest news with #Luthuli
IOL News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
NPA has four months to prepare closing argument's on Luthuli's inquest
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), will concluding its work on the Inkosi Albert Luthuli's inquest in October by presenting closing arguments at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Image: RANJITH KALLY THE ball is now with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) advocates to give Judge Nompumelelo Radebe a convincing argument that Inkosi Albert Luthuli was killed by apartheid operatives, not a goods train as it was found soon after he died in 1967. Advocates Ncedile Dunywa, Annah Chuene, Siyabonga Ngcobo, and Xolani Msimango concluded, leading several people with evidence on June 11. Since the beginning of the inquest at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on April 14, the advocates have led an array of witnesses with evidence. Those who testified included South African Police (SAPS) members, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) officials, scene reconstruction and simulation experts, forensic analysts, medical evidence, family members of Chief Luthuli, anti-apartheid activists, and friends of Luthuli. Former justice minister Jeff Radebe also testified. The matter was postponed from June 11 to October 13, where the advocates would be given until October 16 to give closing arguments. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The same court also postponed on June 17 the inquest on the death of another struggle stalwart, Griffiths Mxenge, who was killed by stabbing in Umlazi on November 19, 1981, to October 9. The Mxenge matter was first postponed on 14 April to give those who felt they might be implicated in his death, who were apartheid police officers at the time, a chance to apply for the government to provide them with legal representatives, as they were employed by the state when Mxenge was killed. The court first postponed Mxenge's matter to June 17, which was the holding date to establish if the officers had succeeded in finding lawyers. On their return on June 17, the court heard that their applications to have the state-provided lawyers were still pending. Since the beginning of Luthuli's inquiry, scores of Luthuli's family members, ANC leaders and supporters have been frequenting the court to hear what caused the death of the president-general of Africa's biggest liberation movement and the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Luthuli died at the age of 69 at the Stanger Hospital on July 21, 1967, hours after he was found with multiple head and upper-body injuries at the railway line Mvoti River bridge. The inquest heard that even his death at the hospital was questionable because he was not afforded proper medical attention that could have saved his life. The NPA instituted an inquiry as there were beliefs that the initial inquest conducted in September 1969 misled the public about the cause of his death. Magistrate C.I. Boswell, who presided over the inquest at the Stanger Magistrate's Court, had concluded that Luthuli had been hit by the goods steam train that was traveling to Durban as he was crossing the bridge to his sugarcane farm. The report indicated that Luthuli might not have heard the train hooting or seen it coming, despite that it was approaching him from the front. Another theory was that Luthuli deliberately ignored the train to kill himself. However, experts who testified before Judge Radebe indicated that Luthuli was likely attacked. The experts were backed by the National Archives Advisory Council chairperson, Sibongile Mnyandu-Nzimande, who testified that her family member witnessed white men assaulting Luthuli with a shovel near the bridge where the train was stationed. Mnyandu-Nzimande told the judge that her relative, who was a messenger transporting documents between Luthuli and her grandfather, was few days later taken away by police to state what he witnessed, but was never found again. At the beginning of the inquest, Dunywa said the outcome of the inquest, held the same year Luthuli died, was not based on fact and evidence, 'but rather on the suppression of justice aimed at ensuring that the perpetrators remained hidden and protected". He said Boswell wrote correspondence on August 4, 1967, preempting the outcome even before the evidence was presented before him. Dunywa stated that Boswell communicated his written opinion to the Secretary of Justice that 'I had to report that an inquest in connection with the death of Albert John Luthuli will be held at Stanger by me on 19 September 1967 at 10 am. 'From the report available at present, I do not expect the finding to be anything other than accidental. The cause of death furnished by the district sergeant might be questioned by the relatives, but I can not anticipate on what grounds the dispute is raised."
IOL News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
NPA concludes witness testimony in Chief Albert Luthuli inquest, proceedings postponed to October
Chief Albert Luthuli, whose 1967 death is under renewed scrutiny in a reopened inquest. The reopened inquest into the death of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and anti-apartheid leader Inkosi Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli has been postponed to October for closing arguments after the state concluded its list of witnesses. On Wednesday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that proceedings in the Pietermaritzburg High Court were adjourned to October 13 to 16, 2025. The NPA, represented by Advocates Ncedile Dunywa, Annah Chuene, Siyabonga Ngcobo and Xolani Msimango, led testimony from an extensive list of witnesses since the inquest resumed on April 14 this year. 'In this reopened inquest, the NPA led an array of witnesses, including South African Police (SAPS) members, Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) officials, scene reconstruction and simulation experts, forensic analysts, medical evidence, family members of Chief Luthuli, anti-apartheid activists, and friends of Chief Luthuli,' NPA Regional Spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara stated.
IOL News
06-06-2025
- IOL News
The inquest into Albert Luthuli's death: A family's search for truth
A reopened inquest into Inkosi Albert Luthuli's death on July 21, 1967, is being held at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Image: Supplied The National Archives Advisory Council chairperson, Sibongile Mnyandu-Nzimande, described at the inquest into Inkosi Albert Luthuli's death this week how her father died heartbroken because of her uncle's disappearance without a trace at a young age after being kidnapped by apartheid police. Mnyandu-Nzimande, who was born in 1957, said police kidnapped her uncle after he had witnessed white men assaulting Luthuli at the Umvoti River railway bridge, Groutville, outside Stanger in the north coast on the morning of July 21, 1967. She was testifying at the reopened inquest, which the National Prosecuting Authority established to dispel findings of an initial inquest held in 1967, shortly before Luthuli's death from injuries a few hours after being brought to the Stanger Provincial Hospital. The initial inquiry has concluded that Luthuli had died after being hit by a goods steam train through his failure to avoid it while walking on the bridge, and that there was no one to be held accountable. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ She said she was never told about the name of her kidnapped uncle, although her father said his parents and siblings loved him. The former head of the Department of Arts and Culture said her father, Phothwayo Barnabus Mnyandu, had succeeded her grandfather, Thomas Mnyandu, to be traditional leader at La Mercy on the north coast. 'My father lived and died with a heavy heart from the disappearance of his brother at the hands of the police.' She said years before his death, his father, Mnyandu, who was the last born among Thomas's children, told the family about the disappearance of his brother, which also left her grandfather heartbroken until his death. Mnyandu-Nzimande said she was told that there was no case opened about her uncle's disappearance, and it was seldom talked about as the family feared that should they do that, they would face police brutality. 'It was a deep, cutting feeling of helplessness and despair as the family feared losing more lives at the hands of the police. 'This may also be because at the time, which was in the 1960s, the police were seen as a symbol of authority who could do no wrong in upholding the law in its purest form. 'When the police had committed a wrong, even as deep as killing a relative, the fear of consequences (when reporting it) was palpable.' She said it was when she was an adult and working that her father shared with her the story of how her uncle disappeared. The story started with her uncle delivering a letter from her grandfather to Luthuli using a bicycle. She said before being taken away by the police, the uncle told the family that on his arrival at Luthuli's home, he was told that Luthuli was working at his sugarcane field. As he proceeded to the fields, he witnessed a group of white men assaulting Luthuli with a shovel near a goods steam train that was stationed on a bridge. She said her father told her that her uncle reported that after witnessing the attack on Luthuli, he fled on realising that the assailants had seen him and reported to her grandfather what he witnessed. 'The word soon spread that the police were looking for him, and he was advised to go into hiding, though I believe the effort was not well planned. 'Hiding completely was nearly impossible because the community was scarcely populated and everyone knew one another, and the possession of a bicycle at the time was a glaring fact, and people would have known who had a bicycle,' said Mnyandu-Nzimande. She said a few days later, some community members told the family that they had seen the police walking with her uncle toward the Tongaat Police Station. 'Even today, he had never been found nor did the police ever come back to report what happened to him despite my grandfather being induna and well known in the area,' she said. She said she was not certain of the date of her grandfather's death, but her father died at the age of 94 in 2018.
IOL News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Albert Luthuli's reinstatement as Inkosi of Umvoti Mission Reserve on the agenda in KwaZulu-Natal Legislature
A reopened inquest into Inkosi Albert Luthuli's death on July 21, 1967, is being held at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Luthuli's reinstatement as Inkosi of Umvoti Mission Reserve could be discussed at the next sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. Image: Independent Media Archives Inkosi Albert Luthuli's reinstatement as Inkosi of Umvoti Mission Reserve could be discussed at the next sitting of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. A request from the Luthuli family for his reinstatement was tabled at the legislature by the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, on Thursday. Chief Luthuli, Nelson Mandela, and other ANC leaders planned many actions, notably the Defiance Campaign of 1952, to demonstrate their opposition to apartheid legislation in existence at the time. He was deemed a terrorist by the then-government, and his appointment as chief was terminated. After losing his title, he was subjected to a series of banning orders, which eventually limited his movements to Groutville, where he could only be in the company of one person at a time, except his immediate family members. Despite the revocation of his title by the then-government, he was nevertheless referred to as Chief Luthuli by local and foreign populations alike. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) re-opened the inquests into the deaths of Luthuli and Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge. It was revealed in the original 1967 inquest that Luthuli walked on the Mvoti River railway bridge and was hit by an oncoming train moving at a speed of 40 km/h. However, recent testimonies before the Pietermaritzburg High Court from a hospital staff member and people known to Luthuli painted a different picture. Duma said that testimony given at an investigation into Luthuli's death revealed that he was assassinated by the apartheid government. Testimonies given in court indicate that Luthuli was physically assaulted and died of his injuries in Stanger Hospital. Still alive and semi-conscious, he was transported to the hospital with bruises on his arms and hands, a broken rib, and a gash on the back of his head. The court also heard that an eyewitness was allegedly taken away by police a few days later to an unidentified police station to state what he saw, but he disappeared, and his family never saw him again. "They feared him and worried about his influence. They described Luthuli as a terrorist and revoked his appointment as Inkosi. I also salute President Cyril Ramaphosa for his bold leadership and determination to ensure that the Luthuli family and the people of this country know the truth. I welcome the dedication and efficiency displayed by the National Prosecuting Authority in terms of exposing the perpetrators of this gruesome act," Duma said. Luthuli was born in 1898. He rose to prominence in 1937, when the then-Department of Native Affairs nominated him as Chief of the Zulu people in Groutville. In 1944, he joined the African National Congress (ANC), ultimately becoming its president general. In 1960, Chief Luthuli received the renowned Nobel Peace Prize. He continued to fight for equal rights for all races in South Africa through speeches and writings until his tragic death on July 21, 1967. In 1981, Mxenge was returning home from his legal office in the Durban central business district when he was kidnapped, brutally murdered, and his body found on a sports field in Umlazi, south of Durban. Both inquests are under way in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. [email protected]
TimesLIVE
27-05-2025
- TimesLIVE
Luthuli had a hideout beneath his home, daughter tells inquest
The reopened inquest into the death of ANC president-general chief Albert Luthuli heard evidence he had a hideout underneath his Groutville home. Luthuli used this secret place to hide from members of the apartheid police unit's special branch. This evidence came from his daughter Dr Albertina Luthuli, 93, during the second day of her testifying in the Pietermaritzburg high court on Wednesday. She told the court the hideout was also used to keep his important documents. 'Members of the special branch would just come and search the house, not knowing that there is a secret place underneath it,' she said. Albertina said the members would come to their home almost every night during supper. 'They would come, ransack the house, they would go even to my father's bedroom and turn his bed upside-down,' she said, adding that the members of the special branch would not tell the family what they were looking for. Albertina told the court her mother Nokukhanya Luthuli always thought her husband would be killed one day. 'One day, my mother told baba (my father) that it would be easy for his enemies to kill him because they knew his day-to-day routine,' she said. Her father would wake up, do his chores, go to his shop, then the sugar cane fields and then go back to his house. 'Even my father was aware one day he would be killed, but as a deep Christian he was not afraid to die, especially for the cause of liberating people,' she said. Albertina said due to safety concerns her mother tasked a Mr Mabaso, who worked for her father on his farm, to act as his bodyguard. Prosecutor Adv Annah Chuene asked Albertina if Mabaso was with her father on July 21 1967, the day he died. Albertina said she was not sure, but from her understanding he was supposed to be with him. The initial inquest conducted in 1967 concluded Luthuli died after he was struck by a goods train, a claim his family is disputing. The inquest continues on Wednesday.
