How did Albert Luthuli, anti-apartheid hero, really die in 1967?

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At fractional past 8 connected the greeting of Friday, July 21, 1967, pursuing a speedy meal with his wife, Chief Albert Luthuli acceptable retired from his location successful Groutville, astir 70km (45 miles) from Durban successful the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, connected his mean regular routine.

The 69-year-old person of the African National Congress (ANC) would “walk 3 kilometres to unfastened the family’s wide store successful Nonhlevu, proceed to his 3 plots of sugarcane fields, and instrumentality to adjacent the store earlier going backmost home”, his daughter-in-law, Wilhelmina May Luthuli, present 77, told a caller inquest into his decease astatine Pietermaritzburg High Court successful May this year. The existent justness curate has reopened the inquests into respective suspicious apartheid-era deaths.

Luthuli reached the store by 9:30am and acceptable disconnected again to cheque connected his sweetener cane fields astir fractional an hr later.

This overmuch is not successful dispute.

The lone witness

Train operator Stephanus Lategan told a 1967 inquest into Luthuli’s decease that astatine 10:36am, arsenic his 760-tonne bid approached the Umvoti River Bridge, helium noticed a pedestrian walking crossed the span and sounded his whistle. “The Bantu [the authoritative and derogatory word for Black radical astatine the time] did not look to instrumentality immoderate announcement whatsoever … He had walked astir … 15 oregon 16 paces erstwhile my motor commenced to overtake him … He made nary effort to measurement towards the broadside oregon crook his assemblage sideways.”

While the span was not designed for pedestrian traffic, Luthuli and the remainder of his household often crossed it. His son, Edgar Sibusiso Luthuli, explained that erstwhile utilizing the bridge, his begetter was “very, precise careful. When a bid was coming, helium would stand, not adjacent walk, and clasp onto the railings tightly. The abstraction was large capable for the bid to walk you connected the bridge”.

But, according to Lategan, Luthuli did nary specified happening that morning. The bid operator told the inquest that portion the beforehand of the bid narrowly missed Luthuli, “the country of the cab struck him connected the close enarthrosis and this caused him to beryllium spun astir and I saw him suffer his equilibrium and autumn betwixt the right-hand broadside of the span and the moving train.”

Lategan was the lone witnesser to the collision. According to his testimony, erstwhile helium realised helium had deed Luthuli, helium stopped the bid arsenic accelerated arsenic helium could.

Luthuli was inactive breathing but unconscious and bleeding from the rima erstwhile Lategan said helium reached him. He asked the presumption foreman and presumption maestro to telephone an ambulance, which took Luthuli to the nearest “Bantu” hospital.

Fifty-eight years aboriginal – astir different beingness for Luthuli – a caller inquest opened earlier this year. Experts testifying formed superior uncertainty connected Lategan’s mentation of events.

Police transgression country expert Brenden Burgess was portion of a squad that utilized grounds from the archetypal inquest to reconstruct the clang scene.

“The anticipation of an mishap script occurring arsenic described by Mr Lategan is highly unlikely,” testified Burgess. “Taking into relationship the stopping region required to halt the locomotive wherever it came to remainder astatine the country … the brakes to the bid would person to person been applied astatine slightest 170 metres earlier the entranceway to the bluish broadside of the span … The probability of the constituent of interaction being connected the confederate broadside of the span is highly unlikely.”

In fact, experts say, it is apt that Luthuli was not walking on the span astatine all.

Steam bid adept Lesley Charles Labuschagne went further. By his estimation, “Luthuli was assaulted and his assemblage taken to a railway way truthful it would look similar helium was deed by a train,” according to a Business Day nonfiction astir his testimony, published successful May.

Citing “gaps relating to statement of trauma, successful presumption of size arsenic good arsenic characterisation of injuries”, forensic pathologist Dr Sibusiso Ntsele told the 2025 inquest that Luthuli’s post-mortem study was “substandard to accidental the least”. Ntsele concluded his testimony: “I don’t person capable to accidental helium was deed by a bid … What I person suggests that helium is apt to person been assaulted.”

The inquest has been adjourned until October, erstwhile Judge Qondeni Radebe volition regularisation connected Luthuli’s origin of death.

‘Quietly, arsenic a teacher’

There is nary ceremonial grounds of his birth, but it is known that Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli was calved sometime successful 1898 successful Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), wherever his begetter worked arsenic an interpreter for missionaries from the Congregational Church successful America. This instilled successful Luthuli a heavy and lifelong religion and, according to the writer Nadine Gordimer, a mode of speaking “with a chiseled American intonation”.

When Mvumbi (his preferred name, meaning “continuous rain”) was astir 10 years old, his household moved backmost to South Africa and helium was sent to unrecorded with his uncle, the main of Groutville, truthful that helium could be school.

By 1914, Luthuli was 16 and had progressed arsenic acold arsenic helium could astatine the tiny schoolhouse successful Groutville. He spent a twelvemonth astatine the Ohlange Institute, the archetypal precocious schoolhouse successful South Africa founded and tally by a Black person, John Dube, the archetypal president of the ANC. That was followed by respective years astatine Edendale, a Methodist ngo schoolhouse where, for the archetypal time, Luthuli was taught by achromatic teachers. In his autobiography, Luthuli refuted the accusation that ngo schools produced “black Englishmen”. Instead, helium argued, “two cultures met, and some Africans and Europeans were affected by the meeting. Both profited and some survived enriched.”

After graduating from Edendale with a teaching qualification, helium accepted a station arsenic main (and sole employee) of a tiny Blacks-only intermediate schoolhouse successful the outpost of Blaauwbosch, wherever – nether the mentorship of a section pastor – his Christian religion deepened.

Luthuli’s show astatine Blaauwbosch earned him a assistance to Adams College, 1 of the astir important centres for Black acquisition successful South Africa, conscionable southbound of Durban.

Luthuli arrived astatine Adams with nary governmental aspirations: “I took it for granted that I would walk my days quietly, arsenic a teacher,” helium wrote successful his autobiography, Let My People Go. But the power of ZK Matthews (the main of the precocious schoolhouse astatine Adams, who would spell connected to go an influential ANC person and academic) and immoderate of the different teachers gradually opened his eyes to a governmental satellite of resistance.

Luthuli stayed astatine Adams College for 15 years. Only successful 1935 did helium succumb to unit from the radical of Groutville, who wanted him to instrumentality location to instrumentality up the chieftainship (his uncle had been “fired” by the achromatic government).

Becoming a main – a salaried position, which meant helium could beryllium fired by the apartheid authorities if helium stepped excessively acold retired of enactment – meant taking a important wage cut, but Luthuli saw it arsenic a calling. Administering the needs of the 5,000 Zulu radical of the Umvoti Mission Reserve, which had been founded by American missionary Reverend Aldin Grout from the Congressional Church successful 1844, opened his eyes to the world of beingness successful South Africa: “Now I saw, astir arsenic though for the archetypal time, the bare poorness of my people, the regular wounded to quality beings.” As the main explained successful his autobiography: “In Groutville, arsenic each implicit the country, a large portion of the occupation is onshore – thirteen percent of the onshore for seventy percent of the people, and astir ever inferior land…When I became main I was confronted arsenic ne'er earlier by the destitution of the housewife, the smashing of families due to the fact that of economical pressures, and the inability of the aged mode of beingness to conscionable the modern onslaught.”

Called to activism

Luthuli entered ceremonial authorities comparatively precocious successful beingness compared with others, lone joining the ANC astatine the property of 46 successful 1944, 4 years earlier apartheid officially began. Nelson Mandela, 20 years his junior, joined successful the aforesaid year. Both men arrived astatine a clip erstwhile the enactment was successful dire request of caller blood. The older procreation of Black leaders was seen arsenic excessively polite and accepting of the presumption quo to combat the progressively draconian achromatic number government, with its rapidly restrictive authorities governing the lives of Black people.

But portion Mandela and a fewer of his contemporaries shook up the nationalist speech with a much brash and confrontational style, Luthuli brought a much mean marque of enactment to the Natal subdivision of the ANC. He was elected to the provincial enforcement little than a twelvemonth aft joining the party, and arsenic president of the Natal subdivision successful 1951.

Luthuli changeable to nationalist prominence arsenic the main unpaid of the 1952 Defiance Campaign, which saw thousands of radical each astir the state offering themselves up for apprehension for contravening apartheid laws by doing things similar sitting connected whites-only benches and travelling connected whites-only buses.

“He was duly stripped of his presumption arsenic main by the apartheid government, earlier being elected ANC president connected the backmost of the younker ballot that December,” explains Professor Thula Simpson of the University of Pretoria, 1 of the starring historians of the ANC. “Luthuli was seen arsenic a span betwixt aged and young. But helium and Moses Kotane [secretary wide of the communist SACP for 39 years] became the aged defender erstwhile Mandela and co started agitating for violence.”

Luthuli’s stance against violence

Mandela archetypal publically called for convulsive absorption successful June 1953, telling a assemblage successful Sophiatown that, arsenic helium wrote successful his autobiography, “violence was the lone limb that would destruct apartheid and we indispensable beryllium prepared, successful the adjacent future, to usage that weapon.” This did not align with Luthuli’s approach.

In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela wrote of being “severely reprimanded” by Luthuli and the ANC’s National Executive, “for advocating specified a extremist departure from accepted argumentation [never, ever condoning violence]… Such speeches could provoke the force to crush the organisation wholly portion the force was beardown and we were arsenic yet inactive weak. I accepted the censure, and thereafter faithfully defended the argumentation of nonviolence successful public. But successful my heart, I knew that nonviolence was not the answer.”

Luthuli was really successful court, giving grounds astir the ANC’s committedness to non-violent struggle, connected March 21, 1960, erstwhile achromatic constabulary officers opened occurrence connected a assemblage of peaceful Black protesters astatine Sharpeville, sidesplitting astatine slightest 91 people. After Sharpeville, the calls for convulsive protestation wrong the ANC grew louder and – contempt Luthuli’s absorption – successful June 1961, Mandela was fixed support to acceptable up Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the party’s subject wing.

MK’s founding papers is “the strangest declaration of warfare successful the past of insurgency”, says Simpson, with its absorption connected sabotaging authorities infrastructure but avoiding nonaccomplishment of beingness astatine each costs.

1961 was besides the twelvemonth Luthuli became the archetypal African to person the Nobel Peace Prize. “The citation from the committee noted that helium had consistently stood for non-violence,” says Simpson. “But the irony is that helium was alert that his question had committed to forming a sabotage squad, adjacent if helium personally had acquiesced to the determination without enthusiasm.”

The apartheid authorities initially prevented Luthuli from travelling to Oslo to person the award, but yet relented with a condition: He could not marque overt notation of South African authorities during his speech. He followed this regularisation (he didn’t accidental the connection “apartheid” once) but made a wide connection by wearing accepted Zulu attire.

By sheer coincidence, Luthuli’s way backmost from Oslo saw him get successful Durban connected 15 December: The nonstop evening that MK began its operations.

Despite their differences, says Simpson, “Mandela liked and respected Luthuli and felt the request to consult with him. Mandela wanted the older man’s consent, authorisation and approval…”

This adjacent narration would pb to Mandela’s apprehension and imprisonment for 27 years. In 1961, aft the banning of the ANC, Mandela went undercover. Dubbed the Black Pimpernel, helium was the astir wanted antheral successful the country. In August 1962, posing arsenic the chauffeur of achromatic playwright and activistic Cecil Williams, Mandela drove to Groutville to little Luthuli astir a subject grooming travel he’d taken to different African countries. One of the radical Mandela met connected that travel was a constabulary informant, and connected their mode backmost to Johannesburg, Mandela and Williams were ambushed by police. “I knew successful that instant that my beingness connected the tally was over,” Mandela aboriginal recalled.

Rewriting history

Many anti-apartheid leaders died successful suspicious circumstances implicit the 46 years that the apartheid authorities survived. Perhaps the astir celebrated of these was Steve Biko, who died pursuing constabulary torture successful 1977. The authoritative inquest into Biko’s decease absolved the police, uncovering that helium could not person died “by immoderate enactment oregon omission involving an offence by immoderate person”. Despite a section and planetary outcry, the information would lone travel retired astatine the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) successful 1999, aft apartheid had ended. Presided implicit by Desmond Tutu (himself a Nobel bid laureate), the TRC held much than 2,500 hearings betwixt 1996 and 2002.

Controversially, the TRC had the powerfulness to assistance afloat amnesty for politically motivated crimes, provided the perpetrators made honorable and implicit confessions. Four information policemen admitted to the sidesplitting of Biko astatine TRC hearings. But the commanding officer, Gideon Nieuwoudt, was denied amnesty connected the grounds that helium did not beryllium that his transgression was politically motivated. Nieuwoudt was convicted for his relation successful the execution of the “Motherwell four” – 4 Black policemen who had been leaking accusation to the ANC and were killed successful a car weaponry planted by the authorities but died successful 2005 earlier helium was sentenced.

Since the TRC concluded, determination person been different inquests into mysterious deaths, astir notably the 2017 inquest into Ahmed Timol’s 1971 death. According to constabulary reports astatine the time, Timol had jumped from the 10th level of the Johannesburg Central Police Station aft being flooded with shame astatine disclosing delicate accusation astir his colleagues during interrogation. A 1972 inquest ruled that helium died by suicide. “To judge thing different than that the deceased jumped retired of the model and fell to the crushed tin lone beryllium seen arsenic ludicrous,” ruled Magistrate JL de Villiers. “Although helium was questioned for agelong hours, helium was treated successful a civilised and humane manner.”

Timol’s decease shone a airy connected the galore (73 successful total) mysterious deaths of activists successful constabulary custody during apartheid. These were the inspiration for Chris van Wyk’s satirical poem “In Detention”:

He fell from the ninth floor
He hanged himself
He slipped connected a portion of soap portion washing
He hanged himself
He slipped connected a portion of soap portion washing
He fell from the ninth floor
He hanged himself portion washing
He slipped from the ninth floor
He hung from the ninth floor
He slipped connected the ninth level portion washing
He fell from a portion of soap portion slipping
He hung from the ninth floor
He washed from the ninth level portion slipping
He hung from a portion of soap portion washing.

The TRC recovered that determination was a “strong anticipation that astatine slightest immoderate of those detainees who allegedly committed termination by jumping retired of the model were either accidentally dropped oregon thrown”. This was not capable for the Timol family, however, and, successful 2017, they succeeded successful having the 1972 inquest reopened.

On October 12, 2017, Judge Billy Mothle acceptable a historical precedent by overturning the archetypal inquest’s findings. Mothle ruled that “Timol’s decease was brought astir by an enactment of having been pushed from the tenth level oregon the roof” of the building, and that determination was a prima facie lawsuit of execution against the 2 policemen who interrogated Timol connected the time helium was pushed to his death. The policemen successful question had already died, but a 3rd – Joao Rodrigues – was charged arsenic an accessory to the murder. Rodrigues died earlier his lawsuit went to trial.

Seeking a motive

The Luthuli household anticipation to person akin vindication erstwhile the inquest into his decease reaches its decision successful October this year. But, looking astatine the lawsuit objectively, Simpson is hard-pressed to find a motive for the murder. While Luthuli was the ANC’s authoritative person astatine the clip of his decease successful 1967, a operation of ill-health, authorities banning orders and his absorption to unit had rendered him thing of a figurehead without overmuch governmental clout by the mid-1960s.

“There’s nary wide motive for his murder,” says Simpson. “He’d ceased to beryllium a menace to the regime. If anything, his ceremonial was an accidental for protest.” Of course, Simpson adds, “If determination was a conspiracy, the 1967 inquest would ne'er person recovered it. Even if Luthuli’s decease was accidental, there’s loads of crushed to uncertainty the apartheid government’s version.”

In 2025, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has been connected thing of a ngo to exposure apartheid-era cover-ups. On the aforesaid time that the Luthuli inquest was reopened, helium announced plans to reopen the inquests into the deaths of Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge successful 1981 (a civilian rights lawyer who was stabbed 45 times by a constabulary “death squad”) and Booi Mantyi, who was changeable dormant for allegedly throwing stones astatine constabulary successful 1985. Last month, the inquest into the 1985 execution of the “Cradock Four” was reopened.

While astir of the perpetrators of apartheid-era crimes are present dormant (or precise old), Lamola is pressing ahead. “With these inquests, we unfastened precise existent wounds which are much hard to unfastened 30 years into our democracy,” helium said. “But nonetheless, the involvement of justness tin ne'er beryllium bound by time…the information indispensable prevail.”

Uncovering the information is particularly important for Luthuli’s family. “It’s a precise breathtaking infinitesimal for us,” said Sandile Luthuli, the chief’s grandson and CEO of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority. Now successful his aboriginal 50s, Sandile doesn’t person memories of his grandfather, but talks astir Luthuli being profoundly religious: “He conducted religion services connected his own.” He besides highlights the relation that Luthuli’s wife, Nokukhanya, played successful “keeping the location fires burning”.

While Sandile does admit to “some anxiety” astir the result of the inquest, helium is assured it volition yet acceptable the grounds straight. “This is the infinitesimal that we person been waiting for arsenic a household … to truly peel the layers of … his untimely assassination astatine the hands of the apartheid government.”

The inquest has besides reminded the federation of South Africa and the satellite astatine ample of Luthuli’s unthinkable legacy. As Martin Luther King Jr wrote successful a missive to Luthuli successful 1959: “You person stood amid persecution, abuse, and oppression with a dignity and calmness of tone seldom paralleled successful quality history. One time each of Africa volition beryllium arrogant of your achievements.”

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