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A South African court has ruled that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Albert Luthuli’s 1967 death was caused by an assault by apartheid police, overturning the long-held claim that it was an accident.
Under apartheid, an inquest had concluded that Luthuli — then the president of the banned African National Congress (ANC) — died after being hit by a freight train near his home in KwaZulu-Natal. But his family and activists had always disputed that finding, insisting the anti-apartheid icon was murdered.
After fresh investigations were launched earlier this year, Judge Nompumelelo Radebe ruled on Thursday that Luthuli died from a fractured skull and cerebral haemorrhage consistent with an assault, not an accident.
“The deceased died as a result of a fractured skull, cerebral haemorrhage and concussion of the brain associated with an assault,” she said, adding that members of the apartheid-era Security Branch police acted “in concert and with common purpose” with officials of the South African Railways.
The court named seven men believed to have been involved, though their whereabouts remain unknown. If located, they could face criminal charges.
Luthuli’s family welcomed the ruling as “the first step toward finally achieving justice,” while the ruling ANC said it corrected a “long-standing distortion of history.”
“This ruling brings justice, truth, and dignity to the memory of one of South Africa’s greatest sons and to all those who suffered under apartheid brutality,” said ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu.
Luthuli, who became the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for his leadership in the fight against apartheid, remains one of South Africa’s most revered figures.
The judgment comes amid renewed efforts to deliver justice for victims of apartheid-era crimes. Last month, prosecutors reopened the inquest into the 1977 death of Steve Biko, who died in police custody after being tortured.
In May, President Cyril Ramaphosa established a judicial commission to investigate claims that political interference had delayed prosecutions for apartheid crimes.
