Luthuli was killed by apartheid regime, ANC’s Jeff Radebe tells inquest

An inquest into the death of ANC president-general chief Albert Luthuli was told on Tuesday that the leader was killed by the apartheid regime because he was regarded as a threat.

KwaZulu-Natal ANC convener Jeff Radebe, who took the witness stand in the Pietermaritzburg high court, said the murder took place because under Luthuli’s leadership the ANC had started to become more militant against the apartheid government.

Radede said under his leadership, the ANC’s military wing uMkhonto we Sizwe and the ANC Youth League were formed.

He said the blueprint of the Freedom Charter was adopted in Kliptown in 1955 while Luthuli was at the helm of the ANC.

“During Luthuli’s leadership, the defiance campaigns were intensified and as a result the apartheid government regarded our president-general as a danger, so he had to be killed,” Radebe said.

He said despite various banning orders against him including house arrest, Luthuli was able to hold secret meetings plotting against the apartheid government.

Prosecutor advocate Ncedile Dunywa put it to Radebe that his evidence on Luthuli’s militancy was in contrast to the picture created of a man of God who loved peace.

Radebe conceded Luthuli was a man of peace but said his attitude changed because of the approach of the apartheid government.

He said their tactics forced cadres to have two options — to submit or fight against the oppressive regime.

“Cadres like Luthuli chose to fight instead of submitting,” Radebe said.

He said his influence also got international recognition, resulting in him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway in 1961.

“Fellow Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King Jnr, who spoke highly about Luthuli and held him in high regard, was also eventually killed,” Radebe said.

He said former US president John F Kennedy, who visited Luthuli in Groutville, was also assassinated, adding that many people who associated themselves with the ANC leader were killed or imprisoned.

He said because of his influence, the apartheid government had no choice but to kill him and cover up his cold-blooded murder as an accident.

“As the ANC we never believed the lies [that] Luthuli was hit by a goods train, and that is why we are here today,” he said.

Radebe said after Luthuli’s assassination many freedom fighters in Africa, such as Eduardo Mondlane of Frelimo in Mozambique and Amilcar Cabral of Guinea-Bissau were killed.

After the court sitting, KwaZulu-Natal ANC co-ordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu said they were happy the inquest would bring closure.

“Even though many people who may be implicated in the death of Luthuli are dead by now, the family deserves to know what actually happened and who killed their father,” he said.

Mabuyakhulu said they needed to defend the revolution because many comrades like Luthuli paid for it with their blood.

Hundreds of ANC supporters from across the province gathered outside the court in support of Radebe.

He is expected to continue with his evidence on Wednesday. 

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