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7h ago

High Court Rules Albert Luthuli Was Murdered, Overturning 1967 Inquest

The ruling assigns culpability to apartheid security police working with railway staff.

Chief Albert John Luthuli photographed before he boards a plane to Oslo, Norway, to be presented with the Nobel Peace Prize, 8 December 1961. (Photo: Keystone / Getty Images)
FILE - Albert Luthuli, winner of the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to nonviolent resistance to apartheid, is shown in his home in Groutville, Natal Province, South Africa, on Oct. 24, 1961. (AP Photo, File)
Chief Albert Luthuli in Oslo, Norway on 15 December 1961. Picture: AFP
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Overview

  • Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe found Luthuli died from head injuries consistent with an assault rather than a train strike.
  • The Pietermaritzburg High Court set aside the 1967 magistrate’s inquest, describing it as deeply flawed and part of an institutional cover-up.
  • The judgment identified railway personnel and a Special Branch detective, including Stephanus Albertus Lategan, Daniel Greyling, Pieter van Wyk and Charles Barend Petrus Lewis, as having committed or been complicit in crimes, with their current whereabouts unknown.
  • The court urged the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate the alleged kidnapping and disappearance of eyewitness Mbhemu Myandu.
  • Government leaders and the ANC welcomed the decision, while analysts noted prosecutions are unlikely after more than five decades with many witnesses deceased or untraceable.