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3w ago

Inquest Into Steve Biko’s Death Reopened on 48th Anniversary

Prosecutors plan to present new evidence in Gqeberha to test whether apartheid-era police actions amounted to criminal conduct.

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Souvenirs with faces of the late anti-apartheid activists and politicians of South Africa including Nelson Mandela, Steve Bantu Biko and Winnie Madikizela Mandela are displayed at a makeshift stall on Vilakazi Street, the only street in the world which was home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners, President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in Soweto, South Africa, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
Crowds pay tribute to anti-Apartheid hero Steve Biko as President Nelson Mandela unveils a statue of him outside the East London city hall, September 12/File Photo
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Overview

  • The National Prosecuting Authority formally registered the case at Gqeberha High Court and the hearing was adjourned to schedule witnesses and evidence.
  • The justice minister authorized the reopening, which Biko’s family supports as a step toward truth and accountability.
  • NPA officials said former police officers could face murder charges if the court-accepted evidence warrants it, noting there is no statute of limitations for murder.
  • The original 1977 inquest cleared officers despite Biko’s fatal injuries, while the 1997 Truth and Reconciliation Commission denied amnesty to implicated officers after finding their accounts untruthful.
  • The move forms part of a wider reassessment of unresolved apartheid-era deaths, including new inquests into cases such as Albert Luthuli, Griffiths Mxenge and the Cradock Four, with the status of Biko’s implicated officers uncertain.