Some key witnesses in Chief Albert Luthuli's death missing, court hears
Hawks detective Steyn said he failed to track down Daniel Greyling, a firefighter who responded to Luthuli’s train accident back in the day.
Albert Luthuli. Picture: Wikicommons
DURBAN - The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court has heard how some key witnesses in the deaths of Chief Albert Luthuli are now missing.
Tuesday was day two of the recently re-opened inquest into the 1967 death of Luthuli.
The apartheid government said Luthuli died after being hit by a train in kwaDukuza, but the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is disputing that.
Hawks detective Adolph Steyn took the witness stand on Tuesday.
Steyn said part of his assignment was to track down the train conductor, Peter van Wyk, whose last known address was in Durban.
“I managed to trace a house, but only parts of the house were still standing. I met a security guard who was guarding the next door house and he informed me no person was staying in the house for a year and the person Peter van Wyk was unknown to him.”
Steyn said he also failed to track down Daniel Greyling, a firefighter who responded to Luthuli’s train accident back in the day.
“On 17 October 2024, at 7:30 am, I went to the St Andrews Hotel in St Andrews Street in Durban. The building is in a bad condition. I did inquire if he’s inside the building, but all the workers have not been working there for a long period. Daniel Greyling is unknown to them. No register dating back before the year 2000 are available.”
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Today is Day 2 of the re-opened inquest into former Groutville Zulu Chief, Albert Luthuli.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) April 15, 2025
Luthuli was also the ANC President-General and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The apartheid government said he died after being hit by a train, which the NPA is disputing. TCG pic.twitter.com/4hceFtbSgD
PRESIDING MAGISTRATE ALREADY HAD PREDETERMINED OUTCOME - NPA
The NPA has claimed the magistrate who presided over the inquest of Luthuli’s death already had a predetermined outcome.
The State has presented into evidence a letter written by Magistrate CI Boswell on 11 September 1967 to the Secretary of Justice.
This was eight days before Boswell presided over Luthuli’s inquest into his death.
In the letter, Boswell said he was confident the outcome of the inquest would be that Luthuli’s death would be ruled accidental.
Steyn said this only meant one thing.
“That the magistrate had already given indication of what these findings will be on the 19th of September, but he had already made those findings on the 11th of September.”
The inquest continues.