High Court Pursues Apartheid-Era Truths in Luthuli and Mxenge Death Inquests
Decades-Old Mysteries Reignite National Quest for Justice
The Pietermaritzburg High Court has become the epicentre of South Africa’s reckoning with its fractured past. It prepares to hear groundbreaking arguments this week. The arguments involve the reopened inquests into the deaths of two anti-apartheid icons. One is Nobel Peace Prize laureate Chief Albert Luthuli. The other is human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) collaborates with the Hawks and the National Archives in apartheid-era truths.
- Unearthing Apartheid-Era Truths: The Luthuli Case
- Mxenge’s Murder: A Quest for Apartheid-Era Truths
- The TRC’s Unfinished Legacy: Why These Inquests Matter
- Families’ Long Road to Closure
- The Road Ahead: Apartheid-Era Truths and National Healing
- FAQs Apartheid-Era Truths: Luthuli, Mxenge Inquests Seek Justice
Together, they have reignited a national conversation about accountability, truth, and the unresolved wounds of apartheid-era crimes. For families, comrades, and historians, these proceedings represent more than legal formalities. They are a final bid to uncover apartheid-era truths. These truths have been buried beneath decades of state-sanctioned lies.
Unearthing Apartheid-Era Truths: The Luthuli Case
Chief Albert Luthuli was Africa’s first Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He was also president of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1952 until his death in 1967. He was officially declared a casualty of a freight train accident near his home in Stanger (now KwaDukuza).
The apartheid-era inquest, conducted hastily in 1967, concluded no foul play, attributing his death to “misadventure.” Yet suspicions of assassination have lingered for over half a century.
Luthuli, a global symbol of nonviolent resistance, had been subjected to relentless persecution by the apartheid regime. He was banned and confined to his rural homestead. He was also surveilled. His sudden death at the age of 69 struck many as incongruous with his cautious nature.
ANC leaders and historians have long argued about the narrative of a lone elderly man stumbling onto railroad tracks. They say it makes no sense. They find this explanation illogical. They emphasise that it defies common sense. “Nobody believed the apartheid regime’s story,” said former ANC Treasurer General Dr. Zweli Mkhize. “There was always something sinister about it, but without evidence, we only speculate.”
New evidence, reportedly sourced from declassified Security Branch files and testimonies from former operatives, aims to challenge the 1967 findings. The NPA’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) unit has uncovered documents. These documents suggest Luthuli’s movements were closely monitored in the days leading to his death. Witness accounts from railway workers, once silenced, now allege the presence of security police near the tracks that fateful day.
The apartheid regime hoped these stories would die with their victims. But our memory is stronger than their lies.
“This inquest isn’t just about correcting history; it’s about restoring dignity,” said NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara. “We owe it to Luthuli’s family and to South Africa to confront these apartheid-era truths head-on.”
Mxenge’s Murder: A Quest for Apartheid-Era Truths
Griffiths Mxenge’s brutal assassination in 1981 laid bare the apartheid state’s ruthlessness. The Durban-based lawyer, renowned for defending political detainees, was stabbed 45 times and left on an Umlazi sports field.
His killers Butana Nofemela, David Tshikalange, and Dirk Coetzee confessed to the murder during TRC hearings. They claimed they acted on orders from Security Branch superiors. They were granted amnesty in 1999. Their testimonies exposed a web of state-sanctioned hit squads operating from covert farms like Vlakplaas and Camperdown.
Yet the 1983 inquest, overseen by apartheid magistrates, did not recognise perpetrators. Evidence of surveillance on Mxenge’s office, poisoned guard dogs, and threats from security police were dismissed.
“The regime didn’t just kill him; they mocked justice,” said Mxenge’s niece, Thandeka Mxenge, in a recent interview. “We’ve waited 44 years for someone to acknowledge this wasn’t just a crime; it was political warfare.”
The NPA’s case relies on fresh affidavits from former askaris. These are ANC defectors turned police informants. Archived intelligence reports also link Mxenge’s murder to a broader assassination campaign.
Lieutenant Colonel Andy Taylor, named in prior investigations as the Camperdown farm commander, remains a person of interest. Taylor died in 2010. He allegedly orchestrated killings under the guise of “counterinsurgency”. These included the 1991 assassination of Table Mountain chief Mhlabunzima Maphumulo.
“The Camperdown farm was a slaughterhouse,” said a former askari in a 1997 Witness report. “We were paid R30,000 per kill blood money to silence dissent.”
The TRC’s Unfinished Legacy: Why These Inquests Matter
The TRC, lauded for its role in South Africa’s transition, left critical gaps. While it granted amnesty to perpetrators who confessed, it lacked the power to prosecute those who evaded scrutiny. Over 300 cases referred for prosecution by the TRC stalled, buried under bureaucratic inertia or lost evidence.
“The TRC was a beginning, not an end,” said Dr. Mkhize. “But for families like the Luthulis and Mxenges, amnesty felt like betrayal. How do you reconcile when the truth remains half-told?”
The NPA’s decision to revisit these cases signals a seismic shift. Advocates Elaine Harrison and Ramkisson-Kara, leading the prosecution, have emphasised the role of the National Archives in digitising apartheid-era records. “Technology allows us to cross-reference names, dates, and locations in ways the TRC couldn’t,” said Harrison. “We’re piecing together puzzles deliberately scattered by the regime.”
For the ANC, these inquests are symbolic of broader accountability. “This is about honouring all who died in darkness,” said ANC KZN spokesperson Fanele Sibisi. “From Steve Biko to Ahmed Timol, apartheid-era truths must no longer be deferred.”
Families’ Long Road to Closure
For the Luthuli and Mxenge families, the emotional weight of these inquests is immeasurable. Chief Luthuli’s granddaughter, Dr. Albertina Luthuli, recounted growing up with “a legacy shrouded in whispers.”
“We were told he was careless and struck by a train. But how does a man banned from public spaces wander alone at night? This inquest is our chance to reclaim his story,” she said.
This inquest isn’t just about correcting history; it’s about restoring dignity.
The Mxenges, meanwhile, have fought tirelessly to hold surviving collaborators accountable. Griffiths’ brother, Mhleli Mxenge, narrowly escaped assassination in 1985. “The same hands that killed Griffiths came for me,” he said. “I survived, but justice didn’t.”
The Road Ahead: Apartheid-Era Truths and National Healing
As the court convenes, South Africa watches closely. Legal experts caution that prosecuting octogenarian former agents prove challenging, but advocates argue symbolic accountability is paramount.
“These inquests are not about vengeance,” insisted Ramkisson Kara. “They’re about affirming that truth, delayed, can’t be extinguished.”
For Dr. Mkhize, the process is a testament to resilience. “The apartheid regime hoped these stories would die with their victims. But our memory is stronger than their lies.”
As the gavel falls in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa inches closer to a reckoning long deferred. In the words of Chief Luthuli himself: “The truth can’t be chained.”
FAQs Apartheid-Era Truths: Luthuli, Mxenge Inquests Seek Justice
Was Albert Luthuli assassinated?
The apartheid government claimed Luthuli died in a train accident in 1967. The ANC and historians have long suspected foul play. The reopened inquest aims to find out whether his death was an assassination disguised as an accident.
Who was Griffiths Mxenge, and why was he killed?
Griffiths Mxenge was a human rights lawyer who defended anti-apartheid activists. He was brutally murdered in 1981 by security police operatives to silence his legal challenges against the regime.
Why are these inquests happening now?
New evidence from declassified apartheid-era files and witness testimonies has prompted the NPA to revisit these cases. The goal is to deliver justice and closure to the victims’ families after decades of unanswered questions.
Did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) investigate these deaths?
Yes, but while Mxenge’s killers confessed and received amnesty, Luthuli’s case was never thoroughly examined. The TRC’s limited mandate left many apartheid-era crimes unresolved.
What will happen if the court overturns the original inquest findings?
If the court rules the deaths were homicides, surviving perpetrators or state institutions face legal consequences. More importantly, it would rewrite history and affirm long-held suspicions of state-sponsored killings.
