By Celani Sikhakhane
- Chief Luthuli’s train death is under renewed scrutiny as prosecutors seek to reopen the 1967 inquest.
- He was removed as a chief for resisting apartheid and confined to his home until his death.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, Advocate Elaine Harrison, is preparing to reopen the inquests into the deaths of ANC President General and Nobel Peace Prize winner Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli and struggle lawyer Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge.
This will be done under Section 17A(1) of the Inquests Act 58 of 1959.
Advocate Harrison explained that the law allows the minister of justice and constitutional development to request a judge president of the Supreme Court to reopen an inquest if it’s necessary for justice.
“The minister (of Justice and Constitutional Development) may, on the recommendation of the Attorney General concerned, at any time after the determination of an inquest and if he/she deems it necessary in the interests of justice, request a judge president of a provincial division of the Supreme Court to designate any judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa to reopen that inquest, whereupon the Judge thus designated shall reopen such inquest,” said Harrison.
Chief Luthuli became the ANC president-general in 1952 and held the position until his death in 1967.
He was born in 1898 and rose to prominence in 1937 when he was appointed by the department of native affairs as chief of the Zulu community in Groutville.
He joined the ANC in 1944 and played a key role in organising resistance to apartheid laws, including leading the Defiance Campaign with Nelson Mandela and other leaders.
Because of his activism, the apartheid government removed him as chief and placed him under strict banning orders that confined him to Groutville. He was only allowed to be with his immediate family and could not be in groups.
Despite this, people continued to call him Chief Luthuli. In 1960, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work promoting equality and peace.
Chief Luthuli died on 21 July 1967. It was reported that he was struck by a train. An inquest was held two months later, on 19 September 1967, and ruled that no one could be held criminally responsible.
But now, decades later, his death is being questioned again.
Pictured above: The late ANC President General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Chief Albert Luthuli’s death is under review.
Image source: Britannica History
