NPA reopens inquests into Chief Albert Luthuli and Griffiths Mxenge’s deaths

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will, from Monday, present evidence before the Pietermaritzburg High Court to overturn the initial finding into Chief Albert Luthuli and Griffiths Mxenge’s deaths.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, Advocate Elaine Harrison, will be reopening the inquests into the deaths of Luthuli, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former ANC president, and Mxenge, a prominent human rights lawyer.

A goods train reportedly struck and killed Chief Luthuli, as local and international communities called him, on 21 July 1967.

Inquests into Luthuli and Mxenge’s deaths reopened

An inquest into his death was presided over by Magistrate C.I. Boswell on 19 September 1967. According to the court, there was no proof that any South African Railways employees or anybody else had criminal responsibility.

Mxenge was brutally stabbed 45 times, and his throat was slit in Umlazi near Durban in November 1981.

The inquest into his death on 15 July 1982 did not initially reveal his perpetrators. They revealed themselves nine years after Mxenge’s death through a confession drafted by Butana Almond Nofemela.

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In 1997, Nofemela, David Tshikalange and Dirk Coetzee were found guilty of Mxenge’s murder; however, they were granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) before they could be sentenced by the High Court sitting in Durban. This resulted in the discontinuation of the trial proceedings.

Section 17A(1) of the Inquests Act 58 of 1959 states as follows: “The minister (of Justice and Constitutional Development) may, on the recommendation of the Attorney General concerned, at any time after the determination of an inquest and if he/she deems it necessary in the interests of justice, request a judge president of a provincial division of the Supreme Court to designate any judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa to reopen that inquest, whereupon the judge thus designated shall reopen such inquest.”

Minister Kubayi reopened inquests after NDPP recommendations

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi reopened the inquests after recommendations from the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).

NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the opening came following the collaboration between the NPA KZN TRC Unit and the NPA TRC Unit at the national office, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) and the National Archives.

“The purpose of inquests is to determine how a person died and if anyone should be held responsible for their death,” Ramkisson-Kara said.

“The prosecutors in KZN have provided regular updates to both the Luthuli and Mxenge families on the developments in these matters. We have employed this approach for all TRC matters.”

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Born in 1898, Luthuli rose to prominence in 1937 when he was appointed chief of the Zulu tribe in Groutville. He joined the ANC in 1944 and later became its President General, playing a key role in anti-apartheid resistance, including the 1952 Defiance Campaign.

Due to his activism, the apartheid government stripped him of his chieftaincy and placed him under strict banning orders. Despite this, people continued to respect him, and the Nobel Committee awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960. He continued to advocate for equality until he died in 1967.

Mxenge, born on 27 February 1935, was a prominent anti-apartheid activist and lawyer. He was detained in 1966 for refusing to testify against fellow activists and later convicted for supporting the banned ANC, serving two years on Robben Island.

Despite ongoing state repression, he completed his law degree and, after persistent efforts, the authorities admitted him as an attorney in 1974. Mxenge opened his legal practice in Durban, where he defended political activists and worked with organisations like the Release Mandela Committee and Lawyers for Human Rights. He was also a founding member of the South African Democratic Lawyers Association.

The two inquests will take place concurrently in different courtrooms in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday, 14 April 2025. Advocates from the NPA TRC Unit in KZN will lead the evidence.