Significant inquests reopened by NPA into the deaths of Chief Luthuli and Mxenge.
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Advocate Elaine Harrison, the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, will reopen the inquests into the deaths of Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli and Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge.
NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, reopened the inquests after recommendations from the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).
"The two inquests will take place concurrently, in different court rooms, in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday, April 14," Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said.
Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli was born in 1898. He rose to prominence in 1937, when the then-Department of Native Affairs nominated him as Chief of the Zulu people in Groutville. In 1944, he joined the African National Congress (ANC), ultimately becoming its President General.
Chief Luthuli, Nelson Mandela, and other ANC leaders planned many actions, notably the Defiance Campaign of 1952, to demonstrate their opposition to apartheid legislation in existence at the time. Chief Luthuli's activities were deemed terroristic by the then-government, and his appointment as Chief was terminated.
After losing his title, he was subjected to a series of banning orders, which eventually limited his travels to Groutville, where he could only be in the company of one person at a time, with the exception of his immediate family members.
Despite the revocation of his title by the then-government, he was nevertheless referred to as Chief Luthuli by local and foreign populations alike. In 1960, Chief Luthuli received the renowned Nobel Peace Prize.
He continued to struggle for equal rights for all races in South Africa through speeches and writings until his tragic death on July 21, 1967. It was generally stated that he died shortly after being hit by a cargo train. An inquest was held on September 19, 1967, presided over by Magistrate CI Boswell.
The court determined that there was no proof of criminal guilt on the side of any South African Railways workers or anybody else.
Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge was born on February 27, 1935. Mxenge was jailed for 180 days on March 29, 1966, and advised by security police that they did not intend to prosecute him. They required him to testify against two men he had contacted: MD Naidoo and Rowley Arenstein.
Mxenge declined to provide evidence. He was then accused of promoting the interests of a banned organisation, the African National Congress (ANC), in violation of Act 44 of 1950 (The Suppression of Communism Act).
He was convicted on February 9, 1967, and sentenced to two years in jail on Robben Island. He was freed on February 8, 1969, but was subject to a number of bans. He completed his LLB degree in the same year.
In 1970, he joined as an articled clerk at a Durban law practice, but after completing his articles, the then-government refused to allow Mxenge to practice as an attorney due to his previous conviction and banning order. Mxenge was not recognised as a practicing attorney until 1974, following repeated petitions to the then Minister of Justice.
NPA's new investigation into the deaths of Luthuli and Mxenge: A step towards justice.
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In 1975, he established his own legal business in Durban. He represented ANC members, including Joseph Mdluli, as well as members of other political parties. He was a key member of the Mandela Release Committee as well as Lawyers for Human Rights. Mxenge was a founder member of the South African Democratic Lawyers' Association.
In November 1981, Mxenge was murdered at Umlazi, near Durban. He was stabbed 45 times, and his neck was slashed. Despite an inquest into Mxenge's death on July 15, 1982, the culprits could not be identified.
Butana Almond Nofemela drafted a confession nine years after Mxenge's killing, revealing the murderers. Nofemela, David Tshikalange, and Dirk Coetzee were convicted of Mxenge's murder in 1997, but the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) gave them amnesty before being punished by the Durban High Court. As a result, the trial was called off.
"Following the collaboration between the NPA KZN TRC Unit and the NPA TRC Unit at the National Office, the 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 Mxenge, overturned. The purpose of inquests is to determine how a person died and if anyone should be held responsible for their death.
"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," said Ramkisson-Kara.
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