In a historic ruling that rewrites one of apartheid’s darkest chapters, the Pietermaritzburg High Court has officially declared that ANC President-General Chief Albert Luthuli was beaten to death by apartheid police in 1967, conclusively overturning the decades-old lie that he was killed by a train.
Judge Nompumelelo Radebe delivered the landmark judgment on Thursday, setting aside the 1967 inquest finding by Magistrate CI Boswell. She stated that new, compelling evidence presented to the court proved that the original narrative was a fabrication, meticulously concocted to cover up a state-sanctioned murder.
“The evidence presented in the first inquest in 1967 was concocted to set a narrative that Luthuli was killed by a goods train,” Judge Radebe stated. The court heard from locomotive and simulation experts who demonstrated that a train accident could not have caused Luthuli’s injuries. The judge noted that victims of train collisions are typically dismembered, yet Luthuli’s body was found intact with a head gash and arm wounds, consistent with an assault.
A Witness, an Assault, and a Disappearance
The judgment shed new light on the grim details of Luthuli’s death. The court heard testimony about a key witness, Mbhemu Mnyandu, who allegedly saw white males assaulting Luthuli with a shovel. In a chilling postscript that underscores the brutality of the era, Judge Radebe revealed that “a few days later, after Mnyandu witnessed the assault, he was taken by police for questioning, and he never returned.”
The judge has now recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions investigate the circumstances surrounding Mnyandu’s disappearance, opening a new avenue for accountability.
She found that Luthuli was killed by members of the special branch in collusion with railway staff. While acknowledging that the direct perpetrators are now dead, Judge Radebe affirmed that “the truth has to come out.”
A Long-Awaited Vindication
The ruling was welcomed by the Luthuli family and the ANC, who have maintained for over half a century that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was murdered by the regime.
Luthuli’s daughter-in-law, Wilhelmina Luthuli, expressed her relief, stating that while the perpetrators cannot be prosecuted, the family is happy that the truth has finally been officially recognized.
The judgment stands as a powerful, if belated, correction of the historical record, confirming what many have always believed and delivering a form of justice through truth for one of South Africa’s most revered leaders.
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