The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Truth and Reconciliation Unit (TRC) in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday argued that several apartheid-era government entities colluded to cover up the true cause of Chief Albert Luthuli’s death.

Luthuli’s death was officially ruled an accident in 1967.

During the reopening of the inquest at the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg, Deputy Director for Public Prosecutions in KZN, Advocate Ncedile Dunywa, said new evidence would expose a conspiracy involving security police, district surgeons, pathologists, prosecutors and magistrates - including the one who presided over the original inquest.

“Evidence shall be placed before your Ladyship which will expose collusion between the security police, district surgeons, pathologists, prosecutors, and magistrates,” Dunywa said in his opening statement.

Luthuli, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and president-general of the ANC, died on July 21,1967, reportedly after being struck by a goods train near his home in Groutville.

An inquest held that September found no evidence of criminal culpability.

Born in 1898, Luthuli was a key figure in the anti-apartheid struggle and led resistance campaigns such as the 1952 Defiance Campaign.

He was later stripped of his chieftaincy and placed under house arrest by the apartheid regime.

Dunywa said the reopening of the inquest is in terms of Section 17A of the Inquest Act No. 58 of 1959, which allows for a new inquest if deemed necessary in the interest of justice.

The NPA, in collaboration with the Hawks, the TRC units at provincial and national levels, and the National Archives, plans to present evidence to overturn the initial findings.

“My Lady, the friends and family of Chief Luthuli, and indeed the international community, have for more than half a century been wanting to find out the truth behind his death,” said Dunywa.

The NPA said it would bring experts to testify on the case, which could overturn the case.

Dunywa argued that a testimony from Dr Sibusiso Ntsele, chief pathologist for KwaZulu-Natal, would testify that Luthuli’s injuries were inconsistent with being hit by a moving train.

Ntsele will argue that injuries such as bruises on the hands and a fractured ulna suggest he was assaulted and attempted to defend himself, he said.

Dunywa said Ntsele will highlight the inadequate medical care Luthuli received, which reflected the apartheid regime’s racially discriminatory health system.

Meanwhile, investigators, including SAPS officials Captain Frank Kgamanyane, Colonel Johannes Mothle, and Lt. Colonel Thomas Steyn, have recovered archived justice department files and secured testimony from experts in locomotive operations.

Among the expected witnesses are steam train driver Lesley Labuschagne and boilermaker Gert van Tonder, who will testify about the train’s capabilities and whether it could have caused the type of injuries found on Luthuli’s body.

Retired outpatient clerk Haji Hanif Manjoo will challenge earlier evidence regarding who transported Luthuli to Stanger Hospital, where he died.

According to him, Manjoo claims the ambulance driver was not the person identified in the original inquest.

Family members, including Luthuli’s daughter, Dr Albertinah Luthuli, grandson Mthunzi Luthuli, and daughter-in-law Wilheminah Mary Luthuli, are expected to testify about the harassment he endured from state security forces.

ANC KZN convener Jeff Radebe, along with other prominent figures, will provide historical context on Luthuli’s leadership and the persecution of Black South Africans under apartheid.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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