Former apartheid police captain recounts clash with Steve Biko
Daniel Petrus Siebert, a former captain in South Africa’s apartheid police, said at the reopened inquest into Steve Biko’s death that during the activist’s interrogation on September 6, 1977, several Security Branch officers wrestled with him and punched him, while one of them struck him with a cut garden hose. The hearings are taking place at the High Court in Gqeberha.
Daily Maverick reports on Siebert’s testimony. Biko, the leader of the Black Consciousness Movement, died in police custody on September 12, 1977, at the age of 30.
The former officer’s account
According to Siebert, during the clash at the Security Branch headquarters in what was then Port Elizabeth, Biko hit his head against a wall, fell to the floor and appeared dazed and disoriented. Siebert also said that he ordered Biko to be handcuffed so that he could not fight again.
The former officer said the conflict began after he ordered Biko to get up from a chair and removed it. According to Siebert’s version, when the activist sat in another chair, he pulled him off it. Biko then allegedly pushed or threw the chair in his direction. Siebert said that Captain Jacobus Johannes Oosthuizen Beneke shoved Biko shoulder-first into the wall, and that during the ensuing fight Sergeant Gideon Johannes Nieuwoudt struck him with a cut hose.
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Questions over the injuries
Siebert, now 80, was unable to explain whether the September 6 incident was what caused the head injury that led to Biko’s death five days later. He also could not say whether it was the only incident of violence against the activist. Earlier, Dr. Shakira Holland testified that Biko sustained injuries on different days.
On September 11, 1977, Siebert and other officers transported Biko to Pretoria, where the activist died the following day. According to Siebert, Biko wore only underwear during the journey, although he was provided with sufficient mats and blankets. Siebert was also asked why Biko was not taken to a provincial hospital in Gqeberha, although Dr. Colin Hersch had recommended this. The former officer replied that he was following the orders of Colonel Piet Goosen and did not make decisions regarding medical care.
Reopened inquest
The original formal inquest in November 1977 accepted the version that Biko sustained his injuries by hitting his head against a wall. The then attorney general of the Eastern Cape declined to bring charges in connection with his death. Five Security Branch officers linked to Biko’s death later applied for amnesty from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and admitted that they had falsified parts of their testimony. South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority reopened the inquest in 2025 to determine whether Biko’s death was the result of a crime. The next hearing is scheduled for September 7, 2026.
