Was Chief Albert Luthuli’s death a tragic accident or the deliberate stemming of a critical voice by the apartheid government?
Fifty years later, the death of Chief Albert Luthuli remains an unsolved mystery that his family still demands answers to.
The recently re-opened inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol has opened a window for an investigation into the death of Luthuli, a former president of the African National Congress and Nobel Peace Prize winner, when he was supposedly run over by a train in Groutville in 1967.
The new Timol inquest concluded that he had been murdered by being pushed out a window of the John Vorster Square building, Johannesburg police headquarters, in 1971 and the story that he had committed suicide by jumping to his death was a cover-up.
Also read: Zuma declares Albert Luthuli’s grave a national heritage site
With three remaining Luthuli siblings, the family is hoping for an investigation that will reveal their beloved father and enemy of the apartheid government’s death was not an accident, but that he too had been silenced.
In a recent interview with the Courier his daughter, Dr Albertina Luthuli, said the family had never accepted that his death had been an accident.
“The day it happened is still fresh in my mind. It was July 21, 1967, and I was driving from Hammarsdale where I was running a surgery at the time. The radio presenter announced that my father died when he was struck by a train in our hometown, Groutville. I was in a complete state of shock and immediately knew that something was off. He was alive, he was not reported to have been ill, he was in his right senses and from the conditions surrounding him we surely did not believe it was an accident,” she said.
The post-mortem reports were not signed and the family claim the officials conducting the inquest at the time were biased employees of the state.
A little girl from Groutville was the last to see the chief alive. When interviewed, she reported that soon after hearing a loud noise, she saw a man standing next to Chief Luthuli’s body. The man’s identity had never been investigated and still remains unknown.
Dr Luthuli, also an activist against the apartheid regime, recalls the deliberate disruption the apartheid government had brought in their lives while her father was leading the ANC. The chief was considered an enemy of the apartheid regime for saying things the state would have rather ignored.
“He spoke against racism, segregation and inequality. He was a powerful man with influence and everything that came out of his mouth was against the government. My dad was serving banning orders from 1952 which stated he could not leave his area (Groutville) or meet with more than one person at a time. Even if he was sick, we had to request permission from Pretoria to take him to hospital.
“The special branch used to visit our home frequently with the objective of harassing our family and humiliating that great man. They would enter the house in the middle of the night, march us all to the lounge and ransack the place. Us children used to sometimes react because we could not take it, but my father would calm us down. He was a man who responded to rudeness with kindness.”
Chief Luthuli was a deacon at the Groutville Missionary church who dedicated his life to helping his community and fighting injustices. He did not drink alcohol and was in good health at the time of his death.
Before his death, Luthuli was stripped of his chieftainship and was watched closely by informers. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize and a visit to his home by by New York senator Robert F Kennedy sparked outrage in the government.
“People like Mandela had to meet in secret with my father and these meetings usually took place in the sugar cane bushes. By the time the state was informed, it would be too late. When Senator Kennedy visited South Africa and requested to meet my father, he was told by the state to do so at his own risk and that they would not provide him with any security which he would certainly need. The visit angered the government.
“Another thorn in their side and the reason my father was stripped of his chieftainship was that Groutville was the only area that had a democratically elected chief. The chiefs were supposed to administer people on behalf of the government and earn their living from the money they made from the people from resolving minor matters. My dad could not do this because he knew his people were struggling. The government could not understand why he would use his power to not be on their side, but rather to lead an agency that was considered rough.”
Dr Luthuli said the inquest could take years to take place but that she hoped there would finally be closure in the family and justice for her father.
>> Ready to say ‘I Do’ on the Dolphin Coast? Meet the team ready to advise, help and deliver on your big day.
>> Visit our Education feature for a collection of all the best schools, tutoring systems, and even some colleges and training facilities on the North Coast.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.
Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
