NPA seeks to discredit 1967 inquest into Albert Luthuli's death

JOHANNESBURG - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is seeking to discredit the 1967 inquest, which found that former African National Congress (ANC) struggle stalwart Chief Albert Luthuli died as a result of an accident.

On Tuesday, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court in Pietermaritzburg sat for a second day of testimonies during the recently reopened inquest into Luthuli’s death.

Luthuli died at the age of 69, with the apartheid government saying he was knocked over by a steam train.

As part of re-investigating Luthuli’s death, Hawks detective Adolph Steyn also had to go look for old documents in the National Archive.

Steyn submitted to a court a letter written by Magistrate CI Boswell to the secretary of justice on 11 September 1967.

The letter was written a week prior to Boswell presiding over the inquest into Luthuli’s death.

State prosecutor Ncedile Dunywa read some of it into record.

"From the reports available at present, I do not expect the finding to be none other than accidental death. I gather, however, the cause of death, as furnished by the district surgeon, might be questioned by the relatives, but I cannot anticipate on what grounds the dispute is based."

Dunywa said it was clear there was a predetermined outcome before the inquest even began.

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