Revisiting the past: NPA to re-open inquests into Luthuli and Mxenge deaths

The Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Advocate Elaine Harrison will be re-opening the inquests into the deaths of Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli and Mr Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge. The inquest is being reopened after recommendations from the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). 

The two inquests will take place concurrently (in different courtrooms) in the Pietermaritzburg High Court from Monday, April 14, to May 16. Evidence will be led by Advocates from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Unit in KZN.  

Regional spokesperson for the NPA, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Chief Luthuli was born in 1898 and became a public figure in 1937. He was appointed by the then Department of Native Affairs as the Chief of the Zulu tribe in Groutville, KwaDukuza (formerly Stanger).

“In 1944 he became a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and later became the President General of the same organisation. In showing resistance against Apartheid legislation in force at the time, Chief Luthuli, Mr Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the ANC organised various protests including the Defiance Campaign of 1952. The actions of Chief Luthuli were considered to be those of a terrorist by the then government and as a result, his appointment as a Chief was revoked,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

After being stripped of his title, he was placed under various banning orders, which ultimately restricted his movements to Groutville, where he could not be in the company of more than one person at a time, except that of his immediate family members, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara. Despite the revocation of his title by the then government, he was still referred to as Chief Luthuli by local and international communities at large.

In 1960, Chief Luthuli was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. He continued to advocate for equal rights among all race groups within South Africa through various speeches and writings until he died on July 21, 1967.  

“It was widely reported that he died soon after being struck by a goods train. An inquest was held on September 19, 1967 and was presided over by Magistrate C.I. Boswell. The court found that there was no evidence which disclosed any criminal culpability on the part of any of the employees of the South African Railways or anyone else,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

Mr Mxenge was born on February 27, 1935. On March 29, 1966, he was detained for 180 days, and the security police informed him that it was not their intention to charge him. 

“They required him to give evidence against two people with whom he had contacted, namely Mr Arenstein and Mr MD Naidoo. Mr Mxenge refused to give evidence. He was then charged with furthering the interests of a banned organisation, namely the ANC, in contravention of Act 44 of 1950 (The Suppression of Communism Act). He was convicted on February 9, 1967 and sentenced to a two-year term of imprisonment on Robben Island. He was released on February 8, 1969, but placed under various banning orders. He managed to complete his LLB degree in the same year,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.

In 1970, he enrolled as an articled clerk at a law firm in Durban, but on completion of his articles, the then Government refused for Mr Mxenge to be admitted as a practising attorney based on his previous conviction and banning orders, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara. It was only in 1974, after numerous applications to the then Minister of Justice, that Mr Mxenge was admitted as a practising attorney. 

In 1975, he opened his own legal practice in Durban. He represented members of the ANC, such as Mr Joseph Mdluli and members of other political formations. He was an active member of the Release Mandela Committee and served as a member of Lawyers for Human Rights. Mr Mxenge was a founding member of the South African Democratic Lawyers Association.

“In November 1981, he was assassinated in Umlazi, south of Durban. He had been stabbed 45 times and his throat slit. The perpetrators behind the murder of Mr Mxenge could not be established even though an inquest into his death was held on July 15, 1982. The perpetrators who killed Mr Mxenge were revealed nine years after his death through a confession drafted by Mr Butana Almond Nofemela,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara. “In 1997, Mr Nofemela, together with Mr David Tshikalange and Mr Dirk Coetzee were found guilty of the murder of Mr Mxenge. 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.”

Following the collaboration between the NPA KZN, TRC Unit and the NPA TRC Unit at the National Office, the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) and the National Archives, the NPA will be presenting evidence before the court in an attempt to have the initial findings, into the deaths of Chief Luthuli and Mr Mxenge, overturned, Ms Ramkisson-Kara said.

“The purpose of inquests is to determine how a person died and if anyone should be held responsible for their death. The prosecutors in KZN have provided regular updates to both the Chief Luthuli and Mr Mxenge families on the developments in these matters. We have employed this approach to all TRC matters,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara. “The NPA and its partners will endeavour to address the atrocities of the past and assist in providing closure to the families of the victims of these crimes.”