Overview

• The National Prosecuting Authority says the inquest will be registered in court on Friday, Sept. 12, the 48th anniversary of Biko’s death.
• The proceeding is intended to present evidence that enables a court finding on potential criminal liability by any person involved.
• Biko was arrested in August 1977 and allegedly beaten, kept shackled and transported unconscious to Pretoria, where he died at age 30.
• A 1977 inquest accepted police claims and led to no prosecutions, while the Truth and Reconciliation Commission later found officers lied and denied them amnesty.
• The move forms part of a broader reopening of apartheid-era cases, including new inquests into Albert Luthuli, Griffiths Mxenge and the Cradock Four, and it remains unclear whether officers implicated in Biko’s case are still alive.