A South African court has ruled that the 1967 death of Nobel laureate Albert Luthuli was caused by an “assault” by apartheid police, overturning the long-held claims that it was an accident.
An inquest held under the apartheid government came to the conclusion that Luthuli, the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize, passed away after being struck by a freight train as he walked along a railway line.
However, Luthuli’s family, as well as activists, doubted the findings, leading the case to be reopened this year by South Africa’s government.
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On Thursday, a judge ruled that the anti-apartheid hero died because of a fractured skull and a cerebral haemorrhage that was caused by an assault, and his family has welcomed the judgement.
At the time of his death, Luthuli was the leader of the then-banned African National Congress (ANC), and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for initiating the fight against apartheid.
The ANC went on to lead the struggle against white minority rule and came to power in 1994, following the first democratic elections.
Back in April, South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority reopened fresh investigations into the death of Albert Luthuli as family and activists suspected the apartheid authorities had killed him and covered it up.
On Thursday, in delivering the judgment, Judge Nompumelelo Radebe said evidence presented at the reopened inquest did not support the 1967 inquest findings.
“It is found that the deceased died as a result of a fractured skull, cerebral haemorrhage and concussion of the brain associated with an assault,” Judge Nompumelelo ruled.
Nompumelelo stated that Luthuli’s death was attributable to “assault by members of the security special branch of the South African police, acting in concert and in common purpose with employees of the South African Railway Company”.
She reportedly mentioned the names of seven men, whose whereabouts could “not be ascertained”, as being complicit in the murder. Should they be discovered by authorities, they could face criminal charges.
After the judgment was read out, the spokesperson for the Luthuli family deemed it “the first part of finally getting justice”.
Also, ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu welcomed the court’s decision, which she said “corrected a long-standing distortion of history”.
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“This ruling brings justice, truth and dignity to the memory of one of South Africa’s greatest sons and to all those who suffered under apartheid brutality,” Bhengu added.
