Steve Biko’s family plans to ask South African court to halt renewed death inquest
The family of South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko plans to apply to the High Court in Gqeberha to halt the renewed inquest into his 1977 death. As Daily Maverick reports, the hearing of the application, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed until Wednesday so that the legal team could provide the court with proof that documents had been served on all parties.
The family’s interests at the hearings are represented by Nqkiko Sakhala, while advocate Dali Mpofu is expected to argue the application. The applicants named in the court papers are Biko’s widow, Nontsikelelo “Ntsiki” Biko, and his son, Nkosinathi Biko. The respondents include Judge Isaac Madondo, National Director of Public Prosecutions Andy Mothibi, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi, as well as former apartheid-era security police officers Daniel Petrus Siebert and Jacobus Johannes Oosthuizen Beneke.
Reasons for the application
At the start of the renewed inquest, the family’s representatives said the case was not ready for hearing. On August 25, Sakhala requested a postponement, including because thousands of pages of materials needed to be translated from Afrikaans into English. The lawyers also said they needed time to consult with Nontsikelelo Biko and prepare an affidavit. During consideration of the previous application, it emerged that the widow may have information important to the inquest.
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Judge Madondo dismissed the postponement application on August 26. One of the reasons he cited was the age of two people of interest to the inquest and the risk of further deterioration of their memories. Siebert is 80 and Beneke is 76; both said they did not remember some of the circumstances of Biko’s death. Their current testimony, according to the publication, contains discrepancies with evidence given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997 and during the original inquest in November 1977.
Testimony at the hearings
During the hearings, Beneke, who testified remotely, described his meeting with Biko on September 6, 1977, as accidental. According to his version, he heard commotion in a neighboring office, saw Biko and several security police officers there, and decided that the activist was attacking Siebert. Beneke claimed that he struck Biko with his shoulder in an attempt to restrain him, after which a scuffle began. He also recalled that Gideon Johannes Nieuwoudt beat Biko with a hose, but said he did not see all the actions of the other people present and did not remember details of the fight.
Devendran Govender, the evidence leader in the case, drew attention to contradictions in Siebert’s testimony regarding the scuffle and Biko’s transfer to Pretoria North Prison on September 11, 1977. Forensic expert Shakira Holland, who reviewed the autopsy materials, said there were numerous injuries on Biko’s body. In her assessment, ten injuries may have been caused by a hose, and the injuries were inflicted at different times and could not have occurred in one day or during one scuffle. Siebert rejected the suggestion that he and other security police officers beat Biko in a way that caused his death.
