Courtesy of Luthuli Museum
1967 INQUEST FINDINGS:
- Date of Incident: July 21, 1967
- Location: Near the Umvoti River Bridge, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Witness: The train driver, Stephanus Lategan, stated that Luthuli walked onto the bridge without noticing the train, leading to the collision.
- Cause of Death: The inquest ruled that Luthuli suffered a fractured skull and died from injuries sustained in the accident.
- No Criminal Culpability: The inquest found no evidence of wrongdoing by railway employees or any other parties.
2025 INQUEST FINDINGS
“The finding and the ruling of the magistrate Mr. C.I. Boswell, dated 19 September 1967, at the Stena Magistrates’ Court under Inquest No. 76 of 1967, is set aside.
b. In terms of section 17, capital letter A, subsection 3, read with section 16, subsection 2 of the Inquest Act 58 of 1959 as amended, the following orders are made:”
“Roman Figure 1.
In terms of section 16, subsection 2, A, the deceased is Chief Albert John Mvumbi Lutuli, an African male, and the President of the African National Congress.”
“Roman Figure 2.
In terms of section 16, subsection 2, B, as to the cause or likely cause of death it is found that the deceased died as a result of a fractured skull, cerebral hemorrhage, and concussion of the brain associated with an assault.”
READ JUDGMENT
WATCH Inquest Proceedings into the death of Chief Albert Luthuli
South Africa: Justice Committee Chairperson Welcomes New Inquest Finding on Chief Luthuli’s Death
Government called out for apartheid reparations delays
Chief Luthuli family ‘vindicated’ by ruling on death
New inquest rules South African Nobel laureate Albert Luthuli was beaten to death in 1967
LA TIMES Story by
A new inquest into the 1967 death of South African Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti-apartheid leader Albert Luthuli has found that he was beaten to death, and it rejected a previous finding that he died as a result of being hit by a train.
Thursday’s judgment by a court in the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg came after more than 50 years of suspicion that Luthuli was killed by apartheid police because of his leadership of the African National Congress that opposed the system of white minority rule.
Doctor ‘finished off’ murdered anti-apartheid icon Luthuli
CAPE TIMES 30 OCTOBER 2025
ANTI-APARTHEID icon and Africa’s first Nobel Peace Prize Laureate chief Albert Luthuli died as a result of a fractured skull, cerebral haemorrhage and concussion of the brain associated with assault.
That is the conclusion the Pietermaritzburg High Court came to on Thursday, resulting in Judge Nompumelelo Radebe setting aside the 1967 inquest that found that the former ANC president died as a result of being hit by a goods train.
The court found that Luthuli was beaten to death by apartheid police, working in conjunction with employees from the then South African Railway Company.
ANC welcomes ruling confirming Chief Albert Luthuli was beaten to death by apartheid police
30 October 2025 INSIDE POLITICS By Charmaine Ndlela
The ANC has welcomed the KwaZulu-Natal High Court ruling that has revealed that Chief Albert Luthuli was brutally beaten to death by the apartheid police in 1967.
This after Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe overturned an inquest on Thursday which concluded that former ANC president died after being hit by a train.
The inquest into Luthuli’s death was reopened earlier this year.
“The Court, presided over by Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe, affirmed that both oral and documentary evidence presented in the reopened inquest do not support those discredited findings,” said ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu.
“The ruling restores historical integrity and strengthens our nation’s collective memory… His spirit continues to guide our journey of national renewal and social transformation.”
KZN High Court Rules Chief Albert Luthuli Was Beaten to Death by Apartheid Police, Overturning 1967 Train Accident Finding
October 30, 2025 CENTRAL NEWS
KZN High Court Rules Chief Albert Luthuli Was Beaten to Death by Apartheid Police, Overturning 1967 Train Accident Finding
Pietermaritzburg – In a landmark judgment that sheds new light on one of South Africa’s darkest chapters, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court has declared that former ANC President-General Chief Albert Luthuli was brutally beaten to death by apartheid police. This ruling, delivered on Thursday, 30 October 2025, sets aside the original 1967 inquest which claimed Luthuli died after being struck by a train. Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe found that apartheid-era security branch officers acted in concert with employees from the South African Railway Company – now known as Transnet Freight Rail – to murder the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and stage the scene as an accident.
NPA to probe disappearance of boy who allegedly witnessed fatal assault on Luthuli
EWN Thabiso Goba 30 October 2025
On Thursday, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court ruled that the former African National Congress (ANC) President-General was beaten to death by apartheid police and employees from the SA Railway Company.
The National Prosecuting Authority has been instructed to investigate the disappearance a boy who allegedly witnessed Chief Albert Luthuli being assaulted by white men on the day of his death.
High Court rules former ANC leader Chief Albert Luthuli was beaten to death by apartheid police
IOL 30 October 2025
The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled that former African National Congress (ANC) president-general Chief Albert Luthuli was beaten to death by apartheid police.
This was heard on Thursday during the delivery of the ruling on the reopened inquest, presided over by Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that the court also overturned the findings of the September 1967 inquest into Luthuli’s death.
Luthuli died on July 21, 1967, and it was widely reported at the time that he died soon after being struck by a goods train.
