By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is set to reopen an inquest into the 1977 death of Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) leader Stephen Bantu Biko.
Biko died on the 12th of September 1977, after being tortured by the then apartheid regime.
Regional spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, said the reopening of the inquest follows approval of the request from the National Director of Public Prosecutions which was also supported by the legal representatives of the Biko family.
Tyali said an inquest in 1977 exonerated the apartheid-era policemen accused of his death.
He said the main goal is to present evidence to the inquest court that will enable the court to make a finding as to whether Biko’s death was brought about by any act, or omission, that amount to an offence on the part of any person.
Biko was arrested with Peter Jones, at a roadblock near Grahamstown (Makhanda) on 18 August 1977.
Tyali said, that he was arrested for violating his banning orders, which restricted his movement to King Williamstown (Qonce).
“He was taken to Walmer Police Station in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), where he was tortured while shackled with leg irons and kept naked in a cell. It was only after 24 days in custody that medical assistance was sought for him after “foam” was noted around his mouth.
“On 11 September 1977, he was loaded unconscious, still naked and shackled, into the back of a police Land Rover, and transported to a prison hospital in Pretoria, 1,200 kilometres away.
“He died outside a Pretoria hospital on 12 September 1977 at the age of 30,” Tyali added.
The NPA said the cause of Biko’s death was recorded as extensive brain injury caused by centralisation of blood circulation and intravascular blood coagulation, acute kidney failure and uremia.
“A formal inquest was held in November 1977. The version of his captors and interrogators of the notorious police Special Branch (SB) members at that inquest was that he had sustained his injuries when he banged his head against a wall.”
Apartheid-era security officers applied but were denied amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 1997.
The officers admitted that they colluded and fabricated their versions, submitting false affidavits during the initial investigation into Biko’s death.
“The main goal of reopening the inquest is to lay before the court evidence that will enable the court to make a finding in terms of section 16(2) (d) of the Inquests Act 58 of 1959, as to whether the death was brought about by any act, or omission, which prima facie involves or amounts, to an offence on the part of any person.
“The NPA and its partners will continue their efforts to address the atrocities of the past and assist in providing closure to the Biko family and society at large, “Tyali said.
Biko rejected the idea that the solution to South Africa’s fundamental problem, meaning apartheid, lay in a nonracial coalition between black and white. He said black South Africans could not look to their white counterparts for their freedom.