An inquest into Luthuli’s death in 1967 found there was no proof that anybody had criminal responsibility.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has suggested that there could have been some foul play in the death of former ANC president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Chief Albert Luthuli.
During his opening statement at the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Monday, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Ncedile Dunywa, questioned how the apartheid government had initially conducted the first inquest into Luthuli’s death.
The initial inquest was held in 1967. At the time, the conclusion was that Luthuli was killed by a goods train while walking on the railway. He was the president of the ANC from 1952 to 1967.
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Luthuli had some unexplained injuries
“The court will hear of the presence of injuries on the arms and hands of the deceased. However, during the initial inquest no questions were led as to understand how the deceased could have sustained those injuries.
“How can a person who was struck by a train have injuries on the arms and hands. The court will hear the classification of these injuries as defensive injuries, then one would wonder if Chief Luthuli was defending himself against the train for him to sustain injuries on the arms and the hands,” he said.
Witness testimonies
Dunywa said during the initial inquest an eyewitness who was working near the railway said they had seen the train moving fast but nothing was mentioned about seeing Luthuli being hit by it.
“As the train entered the bridge it was not blowing. Rather it was travelling very fast, no evidence was solicited about Chief Luthuli,” he said.
He said the train driver was called to testify to the South African Railway police about the incident.
“During cross-examination after the reading of the affidavit, he told the court that he first noticed the deceased while he was 160 feet away walking towards the train. He conceded that he did not slow down and was knocked down on the side of the engine.
“Can it be said that the inquest court conducted an investigation into the death of Chief Luthuli in a manner that was so thorough that the public and interested parties were satisfied that there has been a full and fair investigation into the circumstances of the death?” asked Dunywa.
NPA to bring a number of experts to testify
He said the court will hear new evidence, which could overturn the 1967 inquest findings.
This includes evidence from police, medical experts and those who specialise in reconstructing accident scenes.
“This court shall hear evidence of the family members who will inter alia testify about his life, harassment and persecution they endured at the hands of the South African security agency,” he said.
Dunywa said the state would draw similarities in the manner in which Luthuli died to that of other liberation leaders.
Harassment by the apartheid regime
Luthuli was arrested several times for his political activism and received many banning orders from the apartheid regime.
He said while the old affidavits still exist, the witnesses who testified in the first inquest could not be traced.
The court ruled that the inquest into Luthuli’s murder should be re-opened. However, it is not clear if the initial findings of the first inquest will be set aside.
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