The ANC and the National Party struck a deal not to prosecute culprits behind political killings and should be probed, an inquest into the death of ANC president-general chief Albert Luthuli heard on Thursday.
Luthuli’s grandson, Mthunzi Luthuli, wrapping up his testimony in the high court in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday, criticised the party his grandfather led, saying ANC leadership allowed people that he believed murdered Luthuli to die and then initiated an inquest into his death.
Luthuli died on June 21 1967, allegedly after he was hit by a train near Gledthrow station in KwaZulu-Natal. At the time, Luthuli was the leader of the ANC, which was a huge threat to the rule of the racist apartheid government.
Former justice minister Ronald Lamola announced last year that inquests into the death of Luthuli, anti-apartheid activist Griffiths Mxenge and Booi Mantyi would be reopened.
Mthunzi said his grandfather was hit on the head with a sharp weapon that penetrated his skull, after which he was dragged to a railway line in what he believes was an orchestrated murder made to look like a suicide or accident.
He said he spent years gathering information on his grandfather’s death and found Luthuli had spoken to two schoolgirls before he died. “The two girls said he was hit with a sharp weapon coming from the train. He was then dragged to the railway,” he said.
Mthunzi said he tried to trace the two witnesses — one lives in Mpumalanga and the other he believes is still in KwaZulu-Natal — but has no direct contact with them.
“Given the fact that Luthuli could hear and see, he would have heard and seen the signals and warnings of an oncoming train. I mean, we understood and respected these signals as children growing up. What more with him as an adult?
“One of the girls that saw chief Luthuli is reported to have mentioned that she saw a big steel weapon, something that looked like a shovel, coming out of the train and hitting Luthuli at the back of the head.
“She said Luthuli was temporarily dragged towards the train and then thrown out onto the side of the railing. They got scared and ran away,” he said.
Mthunzi said Luthuli had one major injury, a deep gash at the back of his skull, and there were no other injuries except for a few minor injuries to his upper body.
The injury profile was inconsistent with the government’s explanation that Luthuli was run over by a train.
Mthunzi was asked if he could give the names of the two witnesses for the court officials to contact them. He said he would look into his files to get the names.
He said at some point a former uMkhonto we Sizwe member offered to trace one of the witnesses, but the family could not afford his services.
Mthunzi was adamant apartheid officials wanted Luthuli to die. He said Luthuli was left unattended for hours at the hospital after suffering the head injury.
He said the train driver and engineer have both died. He blamed the ANC for not pushing for the inquest to have been done sooner.
“The people who committed this crime need to be prosecuted and if found guilty, imprisoned. This has not happened. We believe this court needs to establish why it did not happen,” he said.
There was a deal between the National Party government and the ANC not to prosecute these cases, he said.
“It is not a conspiracy theory or unjustified belief, we believe it is true. It cannot be that these inquests are suppressed for 30 years until the people that are guilty die and then it is OK to open them after that. Something is amiss there. It is a gross injustice.”
Speaking to Business Day, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the Luthuli family had never expressed the views that Mthunzi had stated in court on Thursday.
“From what we know as the ANC the official spokesperson of the family is Sandile Luthuli and the family has never said that to the ANC.
“The Luthuli family is a very dignified family and have never played politics using the name of our former president-general.
“It is the first time we hear something of that nature. There is no such a view from the family,” she said.
The inquest hearing continues on Friday.
Update: April 24 2025
This story has been updated with new information.
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