Pretoria – A South African court has reopened the inquest into the death of anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko, exactly 48 years after he died in police custody.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed on Friday that the Eastern Cape High Court is revisiting the 1977 case to determine whether any criminal act was involved in Biko’s death. The move was made with the support of his family’s legal team.
Biko, who founded the Black Consciousness Movement, died on 12 September 1977 from brain injuries sustained while in detention under the apartheid regime. He was allegedly tortured by members of the Special Branch, a police intelligence unit. An inquest that same year ruled that his death followed a scuffle with police, assigning no criminal responsibility.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission later denied amnesty to the officers implicated, two of whom are still alive. The NPA said the reopened proceedings form part of efforts to address past atrocities and provide closure to the Biko family.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently established a judicial commission to investigate whether prosecutions for apartheid-era crimes were deliberately blocked. The Biko matter has now been set down for case management on 12 November in the Eastern Cape.
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