Probe into Steve Biko’s death reopened

A South African court has reopened an inquest into the death of anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko exactly 48 years after he died of brain injuries in police custody, in a case that shocked the world and heightened pressure for an end to white minority rule.

The move was supported by legal representatives of the Biko family, and aims to determine if Biko’s death involved any criminal act, the country’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday.

Biko was the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement who died in police custody on Sept. 12, 1977, allegedly due to torture by members of the apartheid regime’s Special Branch — a police entity responsible for intelligence gathering.

They were never prosecuted. A 1977 inquest concluded that Biko died from injuries sustained during a supposed scuffle with officers, with no criminal responsibility assigned.

South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission decided in 1999 not to grant amnesty to the officers involved, two of whom the NPA said were still alive.

“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,” the statement said.

Three decades after the end of white minority rule, South Africa is still grappling with unresolved crimes that took place under apartheid.

Earlier this year South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa set up a judicial commission to establish whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation or prosecution of apartheid-era crimes, following a complaint by victims’ families.

The reopened inquest has been adjourned to Nov. 12 for case management in the High Court of South Africa, Eastern Cape Division, the NPA said.

• Reporting by Anathi Madubela.