The daughter-in-law of the late ANC president-general Albert Luthuli, told the Pietermaritzburg high court his family had always believed his death was not an accident but murder.
Wilhelmina May Luthuli, 77, who took the witness box on Tuesday, said there was a definite cover-up of the death of her father-in-law.
In her four-page affidavit, Wilhelmina — who was 20 years old when Luthuli died — said an inquest conducted by the Stanger magistrate’s court concluded that the anti-apartheid stalwart was struck on the head with a heavy iron object.
She said she was the last person to see Luthuli on the day he was found injured next to a railway line in KwaZulu-Natal in 1967.
“When he left home at about 6.30am, he was fine and healthy,” Wilhelmina said.
She said news that Luthuli was found injured on a railway line came to her first while she was home doing the laundry.
“It was about 9am when someone came home and relayed the news that Luthuli was found injured on a railway line and taken to Stanger hospital,” she said.
Wilhelmina said she rushed to the hospital and while she was waiting to see him other family members arrived.
“When we were allowed in, I noticed that he had a deep wound in the middle of his head and one of his arms was injured. He was trying to speak to us but failed. I suspected it was because of his injuries,” she said.
She said that the injuries he sustained contradicted the claim that he may have been hit by a train.
Wilhelmina also disputed media reports at the time of Luthuli’s death that he was sick, saying the family has no doubts that state agencies colluded and covered up the nature of his death.
Afterwards, members of the apartheid police special branch would barge in at their home in Groutville without any reason, she told the court.
There were times when they would park their car outside their home without entering, Wilhelmina testified.
“It was clear that we highly monitored by the apartheid agencies,” she said.
Lt-Col Johannes Steyn, one of the investigating officers into the death of Luthuli after his inquest was reopened, testified that it seems the magistrate who presided over Luthuli’s initial inquest in 1967 — CI Boswell — had already concluded the outcome even before the hearing.
Steyn said a letter written by Boswell, dated September 11 1967, stated that a postmortem report found that Luthuli had died as a result of a goods train accident.
He said Boswell had taken the decision before he looked at the evidence.
Steyn said in the documents he obtained regarding Luthuli’s death, he found some letters that were written by him. He said in one letter Luthuli had asked for the relaxation of restrictions on his movements per a banning order issued by the then National Party government.
Steyn said they did not locate a secret circular when doing their investigation.
Wilhelmina’s cross-examination is expected to start on Wednesday.
TimesLIVE
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