Luthuli family, ANC deny that he died after being hit by a train
The Luthuli family denies that he died after being hit by a train and they seek answers
Closing arguments in the reopened inquest into the death of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Chief Albert Luthuli have entered their second day.
Luthuli died in 1967.
The initial inquest at the time found that Luthuli died after being hit by a goods train at Groutville, north of Durban. However, his family and fellow African National Congress comrades rejected this version, calling for the reopening of the inquest into his death.
Evidence leader Advocate Annah Chuene is highlighting what they identify as inconsistencies and improbabilities between the evidence of the workers on the train and that of witnesses who arrived at the scene after the alleged train accident.
Advocate Annah Chuene says the staff reported that the train accident had occurred at 10:38 am, whilst the telephone call the hospital received, informing them of the incident, had been made at 10:40, indicating an interval of two minutes between the accident and the receipt of the call by the hospital.
Chuene adds that this was highly improbable and the evidence showed that Van Wyk, the guard, first went to inspect the deceased as he lay on the bridge and then telephoned the station master, Pretorius, using the telephone box to inform him of the accident.
She concludes by saying that this process alone would have taken more than two minutes.
VIDEO | INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF CHIEF ALBERT LUTHULI | 14 OCTOBER 2025
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